Type of instructional delivery and second language teacher candidate performance: online versus face-to-face

Abstract

Research conducted over the past decade has consistently reported no significant differences in learning outcomes for students of fully online or face-to-face (F2F) instruction. Only a small number of these studies, however, have focused on courses in second language (L2) teacher preparation programs. Even fewer studies have compared the impact of online and F2F instruction on classroom practice. To fill this void in the research, an investigation was conducted of the impact of method of instructional delivery on the performance of teacher candidates in a Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL) program during their culminating student teaching internship. Focusing on a group of TESL interns who completed either online or F2F methodology training, a mixed methodology was used to compare student teacher outcomes on two key performance assessments and to compare university supervisor perceptions of student teacher performance. While the type of instructional setting was not found to significantly impact the teaching performance of the interns, interview data suggested that support from a cooperating teacher and prior experience working with students of diverse language and cultural backgrounds strongly influenced the teacher candidates’ instructional practices.