An investigation into Saudi Arabian final-year student teachers’ preparedness to teach English as a foreign language.

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate final-year English major Saudi student teachers’ perceptions of preparedness as well as their actual preparedness to teach English as a Foreign Language after their graduation. Previous work did not address student teachers’ perceptions of preparedness to teach after graduation. An interpretive qualitatively dominant approach was used to explore the student teachers’ preparedness to teach English. A case study design was employed using four data generating strategies: a predominantly qualitative questionnaire; the Cambridge Teaching Knowledge Test (TKT); focus group discussions; and interviews with four teacher participants. The questionnaire and the group discussions revealed that most year-four student teachers perceived themselves as being prepared to begin teaching after graduation. Also, most student teachers ascribed their preparedness to start teaching to their teachers who helped them form their positive perceptions of preparedness to teach. Other student teachers attributed their perceptions of preparedness to teach English to the courses they studied during the four-year programme. In addition, most year-four student teachers were found to be unprepared linguistically (as per what they wrote in the questionnaire and what they said in the group discussions) to start teaching English. Student teachers’ teaching ability was assessed via the TKT which proved that most of the student teachers fall into Band 2 (as per the established Band Descriptors) which means that their teaching knowledge is satisfactory. Besides, student teachers were found to be unprepared pedagogically because most of what they studied in their English language programme only related to the English language, its literature, and Arabic and English translation courses, not to teaching methods courses. The interviews revealed that student teachers were not fully prepared to teach English as a Foreign Language. Although some of the student teachers were perceived to be prepared linguistically, most of them were perceived to be unprepared pedagogically to begin teaching. Most of the interviewees stated that the English language programme had not adequately prepared student teachers to start teaching because its focus was on language and translation, not on teaching. Almost all interviewees suggested a training programme through which student teachers can be trained on how to teach and practice teaching. The interviewees' suggestions for student teachers ranged from doing a certificate or a diploma like Cambridge CELTA and DELTA or their equivalents and volunteering for a semester or two to observe and shadow other experienced teachers in their classes.