Virtual Pedagogical Internship Program in the Time of Covid-19: A Case of Iranian Pre-service EFL Teachers

To assess the impact of the lockdown imposed by the novel COVID-19 pandemic on Iranian EFL teacher trainees, an online survey was conducted to see if pre-service teachers (PSTs) expose a positive level of preparedness and have a sufficient level of ICT skills to integrate into their virtual pedagogical internship (VPI) course. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected through a Likert scale questionnaire and three open-ended structured interview questions. Forty-one PSTs both male (N=33) and female (N=8) from Farhangian Teacher Training University (FTTU) in Zanjan participated in this study. Quantitative data analysis showed that the VPI course had been a disturbing experience for many participants (over 75%). Qualitative data analysis indicated that more than 50% of the PSTs were negatively exposed as they thought that their involvement had been viewed as unimportant, uninteresting, unsatisfying, or downright weak. The results likewise indicated that most participants failed to establish rapport with the students in their internship classes. They felt unconfident and uncertain about trying new ICT and felt insecure about proceeding with ICT as they lacked preparedness and comfort as well as awareness and expertise in the field. Although this study has clear implications for pre-service teachers and teacher trainers’ future studies in the area may provide safe and sound results.