Omani English language teachers' first year in the classroom

The principal aim of this study is to investigate the experience of novice English language teachers in the Sultanate of Oman. Within this broad perspective, the study focuses on the critical period of transition of these novice teachers from teacher education into the actual world of teaching. It also highlights the challenges of this transition and emphasizes issues related to it such as the socialisation process and the support required in this regard. The ultimate aim of the study is to develop insights into the experience of novice ELT teachers in Oman from their own perspectives in order to make this transition easier and their experience a more positive one. The study followed the experience of four novice ELT teachers over the course of a full academic year, their first year of teaching. The study adopted a qualitative approach using semi-structured interviews as the principal method of data collection. A total of six interviews were conducted with each novice teacher during their first year of teaching. The study highlights the interaction of a range of inter-related factors which collectively shape the experience of ELT novice teachers. It provides evidence of the complexity of this experience and focuses on the importance of considering the novice teachers' own perspectives on this experience. The study also emphasizes the impact of the work-place context on their experience especially on their socialisation process. The study shows that the four novice teachers of this study went through a number of stages in their development during their first year of teaching. They moved from their initial enthusiasm and unrealistic expectations to reality shock, therefore they faced some major challenges. In order to deal with these complications, these novice teachers started by acknowledging these difficulties and then they began their quest for survival. Some of the major challenges that the participants of this study encOW1tered were: reality shock, classroom management, assessment of students' performance, the impact of workplace context, and pressure of workload and time management. The study findings also emphasize these novice ELT teachers' vital need for both the practical and emotional support to facilitate their adjustment into the teaching profession. The type of support required could be internal, received from people around them at school; or external, such as the support provided by the supervisors or the training programmes.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo