Pre-Service EFL Teachers’ Low-Level of Oral Proficiency and Suggestions for Enhancing It

English language teachers play a major role in enhancing the development of students’ speaking skills. However, only if teachers are proficient in speaking English, may they support their students in improving their oral proficiency. This qualitative case study aims at unearthing preservice English as a foreign language teachers’ (henceforth PSEFLTs) perceptions with respect to the reasons for their low level of oral proficiency, exploring the current initiatives PSEFLTs take to improve it, and finding out their suggestions concerning the improvements for the initial English as a foreign language (hereafter EFL) teacher education program they are enrolled in to assist them in the endeavors they have been making. The results obtained by administering a survey and a semistructured interview with freshman PSEFLTs indicated that they did not deem their level of oral proficiency adequate, and lack of emphasis on teaching speaking and the pressure placed on them by high-stakes testing in their prior English language learning experiences adversely affected their oral proficiency. The findings also revealed the necessity for offering all courses in initial EFL teacher education programs in English. Teacher educators, policy makers and researchers investigating the reasons lying behind PSEFLTs’ and/or EFL learners’ low level of oral proficiency and probing distinct ways of increasing it could benefit from the findings of this study.

Aday İngilizce Öğretmenlerinin Düşük Seviye Konuşma Yeterliği ve Geliştirilmesi için Öneriler

Öğrencilerin konuşma becerilerinin gelişiminde İngilizce öğretmenleri önemli rol oynamaktadır. Ancak, öğretmen, İngilizce konuşma becerisinde yetkin ise öğrencilerinin konuşma becerilerinin gelişiminde yardımcı olabilir. Bu nitel durum çalışması, İngilizceyi yabancı dil olarak öğretecek aday İngilizce öğretmenlerinin konuşma becerisindeki düşük seviyelerinin altında yatan nedenlerle ilişkili algılarını ortaya çıkarmayı, konuşma becerilerini geliştirmek adına atıyor oldukları adımları araştırmayı ve İngilizce Öğretmenliği Bölümünce, aday İngilizce öğretmenlerinin konuşma becerilerini arttırmaya yönelik neler yapılabileceğine dair önerilerini ortaya koymayı amaçlamaktadır. Birinci sınıf aday İngilizce öğretmenlerine uygulanan anket ve yarı-yapılandırılmış mülakattan edinilen verilerin analizinden elde edilen bulgular, katılımcıların konuşma becerisindeki mevcut seviyelerini yeterli bulmadıklarını, geçmiş İngilizce öğrenim tecrübelerinde konuşma becerisinin öğretimine yer verilmemesinden ve sınav odaklı uygulamalardan dolayı konuşma becerilerinin olumsuz etkilediğini göstermektedir. Bulgular, ayrıca, İngilizce Öğretmenliği Bölümünde tüm derslerin İngilizce verilmesi gerektiğini işaret etmektedir. Bu çalışmada sunulan bulgulardan, öğretmen eğiticileri, politika belirleyicileri ve İngilizceyi yabancı dil olarak öğretecek aday İngilizce öğretmenlerinin ve/veya İngilizceyi yabancı dil olarak öğrenen öğrenicilerin konuşma becerilerini geliştirmek için farklı yöntemler araştırmakta olan araştırmacılar faydalanabilir.

PDF

___

Bachman, L., & Palmer, A. S. (1996). Language testing in practice. Oxford: OUP.

Baker, J., & Westrup, H. (2003). Essential speaking skills. London: Continuum and Voluntary Service Overseas.

Bozorgian, H. (2012). The relationship between listening and other language skills in international English language testing system. Theory and Practice in Language Studies, 2(4), 657-663.

British Council & Tepav (2013). Turkey national needs assessment of state-school English language teaching. Report presented to Ministry of National Education. Retrieved on from https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/language-improvement-english-teachers

Council of Europe. (2001). Common European framework of reference for languages: Learning, teaching, assessment. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.

Chen, Z., & Goh, C. (2011). Teaching oral English in higher education: challenges to EFL teachers. Teaching in Higher Education, 16(3), 333-345.

Dinçer, A., & Yeşilyurt, S. (2013). Pre-service English teachers’ beliefs on speaking skills based on motivational orientations. English Language Teaching, 6(7), 88-95.

Doff, A. (1998). Teach English: A training course for teacher. Cambridge University Press.

Erarslan, A. (2018). Strengths and weaknesses of primary school English language teaching programs in Turkey: Issues regarding program components. Eurasian Journal of Applied Linguistics, 4(2), 325-347.

Gan, Z. (2012). Understanding L2 speaking problems: Implications for ESL curriculum development in a teacher training institution in Hong Kong. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 37(1), 43-59.

Hammad, E. A., & Ghali, E. M. A. (2015). Speaking anxiety level of Gaza EFL pre-service teachers: Reasons and sources. World Journal of English Language, 5(3), 52-64.

Hughes, R. (2002). Teaching and researching speaking. New York: Pearson Education.

Kırkgöz, Y. (2005). English language teaching in Turkey: Challenges for the 21st Century. In G. Braine (Ed.), Teaching English to the world: History, curriculum and practice (pp. 159-175). London: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Latha, B. M. (2012). Teaching English as a second language: Factors affecting learning speaking skills. International Journal of Engineering Research & Technology (IJERT), 1(7), 1-6.

Leong, L. M., & Ahmadi, S. M. (2017). An analysis of factors influencing learners’ English speaking skill. International Journal of Research in English Education, 2(1), 34-41.

Lincoln, Y. S., & Guba, E. G. (1985). Naturalistic Inquiry. Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publication.

Littlewood, W. (2007). Communicative language teaching. Cambridge University Press.

Merriam, S. (1995). What can you tell from an N of 1?: Issues of validity and reliability in qualitative research. PAACE Journal of Lifelong Learning, 4, 50-60.

Nation, I. S. P., & Newton, J. (2009). Teaching ESL/EFL listening and speaking. New York: Routledge.

Oktay, A. (2014). Foreign language teaching: A problem in Turkish education. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 174 (2015) 584 – 593.

Pandey, S. C., & Patnaik, S. (2014). Establishing reliability and validity in qualitative inquiry: A critical examination. Jharkhand Journal of Development and Management Studies, 12(1), 5743-5753.

Richards, J. C., & Rodgers, T. S. (2001). Approaches and methods in language teaching. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Sarıçoban, G., & Sarıçoban, A. (2012). Atatürk and the history of foreign language education. The Journal of Language and Linguistic Studies, 8(1), 24-49.

Savaşçı, M. (2014). Why are some students reluctant to use L2 in EFL speaking classes? An action research at tertiary level. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 116 (2014) 2682 – 2686.

Tanveer, M. (2007). Investigation of the Factors That Cause Language Anxiety for ESL/EFL Learners in Learning Speaking Skills and the Influence It Casts on Communication in the Target Language. Doctoral Dissertation, University of Glasgow.

Tüfekçi, C. D. (2017). A qualitative research: On pre-service teachers’ perceptions of teaching speaking skill. Balıkesir University The Journal of Social Sciences Institute. 20(37), 431-458.

Urrutia L. W., & Vega C. E. (2010). Encouraging teenagers to improve speaking skills through games in a colombian public school, PROFILE, 12(1), 11-31. Bogotá, Colombia.

Woodrow, L. (2006). Anxiety and speaking English as a second language. RELC Journal, 37(3), 308-328.