The purpose of the study was to explore the reflective process of pre-service English teachers by analyzing critical incidents entered in their teaching journals during a fourweek student teaching practicum. Thirty-three student teachers were asked to report critical incidents in their journals once a week, especially focusing on „lesson breakdowns‟ or „events that deserve critical significance‟ during a lesson. 133 journal entries were collected and a total of 104 critical incidents were analyzed to see some aspect of secondary classroom teaching and the reflective processes that student teachers went through right after the incidents. From the content analysis, it was found that many critical incidents happened during the initial stage of lesson and were mostly caused by student teachers‟ lack of experiences in either time management or material preparation tailored to students‟ level. By describing and analyzing critical incidents, student teachers became more aware of their assumptions about language teaching and learning and tried to transfer knowledge into real practices. A survey administered after the practicum also revealed that self-observation of critical incidents in their own classroom helped them to generate powerful insights about teaching and to develop reflective teachers.

This study attempted to explore the possibility, potential and difficulties of reflective teaching through keeping teaching journals. The focus of reflection was also examined. Six primary English teachers wrote teaching journals throughout one semester. And they were interviewed regarding keeping teaching journals at the end of the semester. Then the contents of teachers’ journals and interviews were analyzed. The analysis of teachers’ journals shows that their reflection included teachers’ beliefs about teaching and learning, their decision making process on the use of learning activities, the problems of learner differences in English ability, the effects of learning activities, the structure of lessons, their role as a fully charged English teacher, the use of classroom English, and the concern about the improvement of students’ talk. The data analysis also reveals that the teachers considered journal writing as an opportunity to reflect and improve their teaching, thus being a means for professional development as an English teacher. However, the lack of time and not being familiar with keeping teaching journals were perceived difficulties in keeping teaching journals. Further, it was pointed out that the follow-up activities such as collaboration and discussion with other teachers or teacher educators were needed for journal writing to be a more beneficial tool for teachers’ professional development.