Future Anxiety of French as a Foreign Language Trainee Teachers in Turkey

Abstract

The lack of tenured positions for French as a Foreign Language (FFL) teachers in the public sector in Turkey is a recurrent problem. The aims of this research are therefore to determine if this situation affects the level of anxiety due to non-tenure of FFL trainee teachers, to establish the possible causes of this anxiety and to understand if they are confronted with feelings of incertitude and / or doubt towards their future. Another aim of this research is to investigate the impact of non-tenure on the academic motivation of FFL trainee teachers. The research was conducted following a mixed explanatory method in two consecutive stages starting with the collection of quantitative data through the anxiety scale due to the non-tenure of trainee teachers and the Academic Motivation Scale (AMS). The sample for the quantitative phase involved 428 FFL trainee teachers from 6 Faculties of Education in Turkey. Semi-directed interview forms were used for the collection of qualitative data from 18 FFL trainee teachers from 2 universities involved in the quantitative phase. The research was conducted during the academic year 2019-2020.The findings of our research focus on the problems that FFL trainee teachers may encounter due to the lack of job positions for teachers in the public sector. It allowed a reflection on solutions that could be envisaged in higher education and at the Ministry of Education in Turkey (MEB).