This study attempts to explore pre-service teachers’ perceptions of English teaching practices and the challenges of being nonnative English-speaking teachers in their microteaching experiences. Twenty- two pre-service EFL teachers at a university in South Korea participated in a microteaching process in which they created lesson plans, conducted and video-recorded their lessons, watched their microteaching performances, and wrote reflective journal reports on their experiences to obtain the perceptions of their lesson planning and microteaching experiences. The thematic analysis of the data was conducted, and three main themes emerged: 1) struggles in creating a lesson plan based on the communicative approach, 2) challenges of being a nonnative speaker aspiring to be a qualified English teacher, and 3) strategies to deal with unexpected situations in the classroom due to a lack of pedagogical experience. The results suggest that pre-service teachers should be given enough teaching opportunities to become accustomed to classroom situations. The findings of this study imply the significant role of practicum programs and teaching opportunities in helping pre-service teachers bridge the gaps between their beliefs and classroom performances in improving teachers’ professional development.
