The Effect of Combining Video Lectures and Kolb Experiential Learning on EFL Student-Teachers’ Ability to Teach Communicative Coursebook and their Teaching Competencies

Abstract

Communicative-based textbooks are developed and disseminated throughout the country.
However, it is difficult for teachers who themselves have learnt English through the traditional
approaches to suddenly be familiar with CLT (Communicative Language Teaching) principles
and teach communicatively. Therefore, many teachers remain somewhat confused about what
exactly CLT is and others familiar with CLT but unable to achieve communicative classroom
teaching. Consequently, those teachers need to be introduced to the CLT principles and they need
training in how to put CLT principles into practice. Accordingly, this study aims to find out the
effect of combining video lectures and Kolb experiential learning on EFL student-teachers’
ability to teach communicative course book and their teaching competencies (Subject matters
competency (knowledge) Professional competency (Skills), and Personal competency (attitude)).
The sample is represented by (46) fourth year student-teachers at English department/evening
studies/ College of Education for Women/University of Baghdad, one of the two groups of (23)
student- teacher is selected as experimental group and the other as control group. An
observational checklist is constructed to achieve the aim of the study. After exposing the
experimental group to the video lectures combined with experiential learning phases for training
and exposing the control group to teacher- centered lectures about the teaching competencies
followed by their microteaching to get feedback and then both groups are assessed by the study
instrument. The results of the study show that the combining of video lectures and experiential
learning has an effect on the experimental group’s ability to teach communicative course book
and their teaching competencies. Based on the results, recommendations and suggestions for
further studies are put forward.