ABSTRACT

Candra, Rukma Lita Adi. 2022. “Pre-Service English Teachers' Challenges in Classroom Management during Online Teaching Practice”. Sarjana’s Thesis. English Language Education Study Program, Faculty of Teachers’ Training and Education, Lambung Mangkurat University, Banjarmasin. The first advisor: Dr. Jumariati, M.Pd., the second advisor: Elvina Arapah, M.Pd

Keywords: pre-service English teachers, challenges, classroom management, online teaching practice

Teaching practice, also known as the Field Experience Program, is an activity that must be carried out by students to train them in improving their abilities as prospective teachers to gain teaching skills and experience in schools, especially in mastering classroom management. However, considering the situation in the era of the Covid-19 pandemic, teaching and learning activities cannot be carried out in the classroom and must be done through online education at home. Therefore, this study investigated about the challenges experienced by pre-service English teachers in classroom management during online teaching practice.

In this study, the researcher used a qualitative descriptive method. The subjects were the students of Batch 2018 at the English Language Education Study Program, Lambung Mangkurat University. The participants were 16 students who were selected by purposive sampling technique. The instruments used in this study were questionnaires, interviews, and documentation.

Based on the research findings, the challenges are divided into five components based on the theory of Garrett (2014). The first is a non-physical classroom environment including limited quota data, unstable internet, and pre-service English teachers' limitation in controlling all students in a real and direct way.  The second is the rules and routines, which include difficulties in setting rules for using school uniforms during online classes and many students who do not comply with the rules. The third is the teacher-student relationship which includes difficulties in establishing good interaction and communication, more passive students, and lack of discussion in online classes. The fourth is engaging instruction and motivation which consists of difficulties in delivering material in full English in online classes and difficulties in building student motivation. The last is discipline, these challenges include lacking of students’ attention during teaching and learning activities, lacking of students’ punctuality for online classes, limited time available in online classes, and difficulties in setting real sanctions for students who violate the rules.

From this research, it is suggested that pre-service English teachers must be provided with online classroom management experience that can give them more knowledge about how to avoid and handle problems with online classroom management. Furthermore, it is hoped that lecturers will provide additional examples and guidance to students on how to build and design interesting learning activities to reduce the challenges in classroom management that come with online classes. This research can also be used as a reference for other researchers conducting research about solving those challenges.