An Assessment Of Pre-Service Language Teachers’ Practicum Observation Forms: Descriptive Observation vs

Practicing the role of teacher and auditing/observing experienced teachers are essential parts of practicum studies of pre-service teachers. Regarding observation we differentiate between two kinds of practice: descriptive observation and critical observation. In this paper we reported on 38 pre-service teachers ’ weekly practicum study observation reports of the classes they taught and audited over a twelve week period during their practicum study. The study examined the level of critical observation in the observation forms of pre-service teachers over twelve weeks ’ period. Results showed that pre-service teachers mostly focused on the identification of techniques and strategies their cooperating teachers employed and only rarely were critical regarding the cooperating teachers ’ lesson preparation, classroom management, communication with her/his students and his/her using methods and techniques during the classes. This paper discusses the drawbacks of simple, descriptive observation and provides guiding questions to help pre-service teachers conduct critical observations in their practicum study