Video-based reflection in second language teacher education: developing reflective practice through microteaching

This study explores the integration of video-based reflection in pre-service language teacher education as a means to support teacher candidates in developing reflective skills. Adopting a qualitative action research design, two teacher educators from different institutional contexts incorporated video-stimulated reflection into their methodology courses, centred around microteaching tasks. Twelve teacher candidates, working in pairs, recorded their lessons and participated in stimulated recall interviews with their teacher educators. This cycle of teaching and reflection, spanning 3 months, was repeated twice. The findings suggest that video-based reflections can evolve into a dialogic and collaborative space where teacher candidates learn to reflect both on and for action, especially when guided by teacher educators. The study also highlights that solid pedagogical content knowledge and language proficiency are prerequisites for meaningful reflection, and that peer dialogue plays a key role in facilitating teacher learning.