Promoting reflection in intial foreign language teacher education: The use of the EPOSTL revisted

Abstract

The present text presents a longitudinal study on the promotion of reflection in foreign language teacher education. The report comprises work in progress. The research design was iterative in that each of the cycles shaped the following one. The research context was an undergraduate seminar course taught in the years 2014, 2017 and 2019 with the objective to promote students’ reflection in their practicum semester (in total 61 students). The European Portfolio for Student Teachers of Languages (EPOSTL) was used and activities had been planned for its integration in the course. At the same time, research was undertaken in order to investigate the optimal ways to serve the purpose of reflection. Based on the identified shortcomings, changes to the course were made and conclusions were drawn concerning the improvements undertaken. The present paper outlines the rationale and research methodology of the project and discusses the interim results of the first two cycles. These, although far from final, indicate ways in which teacher education for reflection can be improved. Some thoughts on the expected final results of the project and the way forward conclude the paper.