THEORETICAL AND METHODOLOGICAL FOUNDATIONS OF REFLECTIVE AND REFLEXIVE PRACTICE IN THE PROFESSIONAL PREPARATION OF FUTURE ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHERS

Abstract

This article analyzes the relationship between the concepts of reflection, reflexive practice, and reflective practice widely used in teacher education, and identifies their operational differences. The theoretical framework of the study draws on the views of John Dewey, Donald Schön, Thomas S. C. Farrell, Jack C. Richards and Charles Lockhart, Peter Hudson, Tracey Sempowicz, and other scholars of reflective pedagogy. The pedagogical practicum of pre-service English language teachers is considered a natural professional environment for developing reflective competence. Although the terms reflective and reflexive are often used in closely related ways in the international literature, the article proposes an operational distinction between them for the purposes of pedagogical research. Within this approach, reflective practice is understood as the concrete forms and tools used to organize reflection, including reflective journals, self-assessment, peer observation, mentoring, portfolios, video analysis, and reflective dialogue, whereas reflexive practice refers to the continuous process of consciously interpreting, analyzing, reconsidering, and transforming professional activity on the basis of these tools and the insights they generate. Consequently, reflection is conceptualized not as a formal reporting exercise, but as a mechanism for enhancing the quality of pedagogical decision-making and supporting continuous professional development.