The Impact of Practicum Experiences on MA Students at KAU

Abstract

Practicum is a field experience that allows students to observe and document how working professionals perform their job responsibilities. Usually, students get involved or start conducting their practicum practices after they have reached the final stages of theoretical experience, or even after they have finished their studies and started working in their line of profession. In this paper, 10 MA students in TESOL are asked to reflect on their practicum experiences and report on what changes, if any, practicum brought about in terms of their look at their field of profession or in terms of teaching skills in general. The participants in this research are 5 MA male students and 5 MA female students from The English Language Institute at King Abdulaziz University. Students were asked to reflect on their experiences from the angle of five areas, the area of practice and teaching, planning, material development, knowledge (gap between theory and practice) and class management. After analyzing the replies of the students, it was noticed that the students have different opinions on the impact of practicum in their line of work and professional life in general, however, the results were in line with and echo the already established literature we have on the same topic.