TERTIARY EFL TEACHERS' CHALLENGES AND RECOMMENDATIONS IN IMPLEMENTING REFLECTIVE PRACTICES

Reflective practice plays a crucial role in teaching English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers, allowing them to constantly enhance their teaching methods and improve the students’ learning experience. However, various barriers hinder EFL teachers from actively engaging in reflective practices. This study seeks to investigate the obstacles faced by tertiary EFL teachers and suggestions to foster their reflective practice. Employing qualitative research methods, including questionnaires and semi-structured interviews, data was collected from fifteen tertiary EFL teachers at a private university in Salatiga. The findings identified issues such as inexperience and training gaps, limitations within the Indonesian educational system, skepticism toward reflective practices, workload constraints, and challenges in engaging in reflective writing. As a response to these challenges, suggeted recommendations include tailored professional development programs, mentoring initiatives for a reflective culture, and the integration of digital resources to enhance the reflective process in teaching practices. Further, it is expected to adopt a comprehensive approach, involving the integration of various methods such as classroom observations, focus groups, and the analysis of teaching materials. To enhance research findings, the inclusion of longitudinal studies and cross-cultural comparisons is recommended. This approach contributes to a deeper understanding of nuanced characteristics within tertiary education and reflective practice methods