English as a Foreign Language Instructors’ Induction: Early Practices of Language Teachers Teaching at Tertiary Level

This study aimed to investigate the nature of the induction process of English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers teaching at tertiary level through individual interviews. In order to gather intended data, fifteen novice instructors teaching at four different public universities in Ankara were interviewed on a basis of two criteria: (a) having 1 to 3 years of teaching experience, and (b) teaching at higher education level. The data gathered from the interviews were transcribed, coded, and categorized under themes in a qualitative research tradition. Subsequently the findings were interpreted. The findings were organized around research questions and there appeared four main themes: (1) nature of induction process; (2) common concerns of novice teachers; (3) possible adaptation challenges; and (4) practices to overcome difficulties. The results revealed that pre-service education, especially of the graduates of non-Education Faculties, did not adequately respond to the needs of the novice teachers in induction period. Considering this insufficient preparation and unsatisfactory pedagogical formation processes, an effective teacher education program as well as a contributing teacher induction program was claimed to be adopted by higher education institutions.