Innovation in Language Learning

Collaborative teaching is defined as two teachers working together with groups of students; sharing the planning, organization, delivery, and assessment of instruction, as well as the physical space (Bacharach, Heck & Dank, 2004). As a model of collaborative teaching, team teaching usually refers to two teachers combining their classes and sharing responsibility for instruction. Although it is basically a form of teacher training model and has been regarded as an alternative way of teacher development, the effects of team teaching on learners is also worth discussing. Having two minds administering a lesson to a group of students allows students to connect with different teaching styles and personal attitudes. The co-planning process encourages two teachers to bounce ideas off each other in order to deliver the strongest, most creative lessons for learners. This study examines students’ subjective experience associated with team teaching. In this study, a perception questionnaire is adapted and used to reveal the students’ perceptions towards team teaching implementations carried out during the term. The presentation will start with the description of the essence of team teaching and its benefits in language teaching. After the introduction part, methodology of the study, setting, participants, instrument and data analysis will be explained in detail. As for the results of the study, perceptions of the students regarding effects of team teaching on their learning will be presented. The presentation will end with the implications, which will give new insights to the teachers about why team teaching is an alternative model to use in language teaching.

Key words: Team teaching, collaboration, student perceptions