Mentors’ views about developing effective English teaching practices

Effective mentoring in English is considered paramount to a preservice teacher’s development. What are mentors’ views about developing effective English teaching practices in their mentees? This study used quantitative data (survey) and qualitative data (questionnaire) on 24 mentors’ perceptions of mentoring second-year preservice teachers for teaching English and, in particular, the teaching of writing. Quantitative data measured mentors’ perceptions of their attributes and practices across five factors for mentoring (i.e., Personal Attributes, System Requirements, Pedagogical Knowledge, Modelling, and Feedback) with 67% or more of these mentors (n=24) agreeing or strongly agreeing they provided all of the advocated attributes and practices to their mentees. The System Requirements factor had the lowest percentage range (67-71%) while Feedback had the highest range. Qualitative data indicated that developing a good rapport in a mentor-mentee relationship keeps lines of communication open in order to assist the mentee’s learning. Mentors advocated methods for enhancing mentoring practices, however, mentees may not agree with their mentors’ perspectives; hence further research comparing the two perspectives may lead towards understanding effective approaches for mentoring.