The merits of teaching practice in motivating students to be English Teachers

Teacher is the builder of our nation. The strength of every profession in our country lies on the teachers, making the profession of teachers a serious matter. Anyone who wants to become a teacher must follows certain procedures, and Teaching Practice program was one of the many requirements one must fulfill. The writer sees Teaching Practice program as a great stepping stone for student who wants to be a teacher, especially in Widya Mandala Catholic University Surabaya where he/she studies. \n\tBelieving that Teaching Practice can give many benefits for teacher trainees in a way that they are to be motivated to be English teachers later on, the writer proposes two research questions in this study: “Which merits of Teaching Practice motivated the students to be English Teachers the most?”, and “How did the merits of Teaching Practice motivate the students to be English Teachers?”. \n\tTo answer these questions, the researcher compiled the research data using questionnaire and interview in the form of students opinion regarding their motivation to become English teachers related to the merits of Teaching Practice program which the students had carried out. Motivation is divided into two categories, intrinsic motivation and extrinsic motivation. One’s motivation is determined by their perception of their environment. Through the data and with the help of some related literature, the writer could unfold the relation between the merits from Teaching Practice components to students’ motivation to be English Teachers. \n\tThe result of this study indicated that it was the merits during Teaching Practice process that motivated the students the most to be English Teachers. The merits that significantly motivated the students were their experience being English Teacher during Teaching Practice, their students during Teaching Practice, and their Teaching Practice tutor. \n\tBased on the findings, it is recommended that the Teaching Practice Laboratory increase the quality of Teaching Practice process, as it is the most motivating element for the students to be English Teachers, while maintaining the good quality of administrative services of Teaching Practice, such as: the preparation, the reflective hearing meeting, evaluation, and the Teaching Practice report.