Keywords
Online teaching practicum
Teacher emotions
Ideal teacher self
Feared teacher self
Metaphors
How to Cite
Abstract
This study investigated (1) the ideal and feared teacher selves of eight pre-service EFL teachers during an online practicum conducted amid the COVID-19 pandemic in Türkiye, (2) their emotional trajectories throughout the practicum, and (3) their perceptions of online teaching as articulated through metaphors. Thematic analysis revealed that most participants positioned themselves closer to their ideal teacher selves while actively distancing themselves from their feared selves over the course of the practicum. Moreover, initial negative emotional experiences gradually subsided, giving way to feelings of relief and, by the end of the second semester, predominantly positive emotions. Metaphorical analysis of the pre-service teachers’ online practicum experiences yielded five interrelated sub-themes: emerging teacher identity, distance, challenge, uncertainty, and hope. Collectively, these findings illuminate how pre-service language teachers negotiated their emotional experiences and possible language teacher selves within an online practicum context, shaped by the unprecedented conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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