ELT STUDENT TEACHERS’ COMPETENCE FOR TEACHING LANGUAGE SKILLS: A QUALITATIVE EXPLORATION

Abstract

As a result of the European integration process of Turkey, there have been radical changes in the education system of the country within the framework of a constructivist approach. Undoubtedly, teachers and teacher competencies play a critical role in these changes. Within this context, in 2006, the Ministry of National Education General Directorate of Teacher Training prepared “Generic Teacher Competencies”, which identify task definitions of teachers. Later in 2008, subject-specific competencies were identified for different subjects including English language teaching (ELT). The present qualitative study attempted to explore 21 senior ELT student teachers’ competence regarding specifically the teaching of four basic language skills. Field notes, interviews and follow-up focus group interviews comprised the data sources for the study. Findings indicated that student teachers do not possess all the competencies required by the Ministry and that there is still room for improvement. Overall, the results are informative both for future researchers and those currently involved with teacher training in Turkey

Keywords

• ELT student teachers, competencies, language skills

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