Teaching Immunity of Language Teachers: A Reflective Approach

Abstract

The shield analogy, which teachers have developed to protect themselves naturally against the difficulties that arise in the teaching process, is one of the most effective expressions used to express teacher immunity. Teacher immunity and reflective teaching are very important constructs that can affect language teachers’ practices and professional development. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate how reflection on teaching practice influences the teaching immunity of pre-service EFL (English as a Foreign Language) teachers. It also investigated factors influencing the changes in the teaching immunity of pre-service EFL teachers. The participants were six pre-service EFL teachers at a state university in Turkey. Data were collected through reflection forms during teaching practice and follow-up interviews with the participants. The content analysis method was used to analyse the collected data. The findings revealed that reflecting on teaching practice raised teachers’ awareness about their instructional practice, affective factors, and professional development. Additionally, the results indicated that teaching responsibilities, coping strategies, and contextual factors were the three main factors influencing the changes in the teaching immunity of teachers. It would be fair to state that reflecting on teaching practice may help teachers be resilient to burnout, open to change, tolerate negative behaviours, and, thus, increase their instructional effectiveness.