Fostering literacy: Pre-primary pre-service teachers’ reading habits and literature knowledge

Abstract

In pre-primary education, there is a need for specific research into developing awareness of literary genres that can be used in the EFL classes to promote literacy. A total of 264 students on the Teaching English for Pre-primary Education course participated on an online questionnaire adapted from Cremin et al. (2008), using both qualitative and quantitative questions to provide an insight into the issue. The first part of the questionnaire examined the reading habits of pre-service teachers. The second part probed into the specific knowledge of texts and authors in general for use in the EFL pre-primary classroom. The results showed that there is a very limited tradition of reading outside the EFL classroom from students’ experiences, that there is a very narrow catalogue of texts and genres that students are familiar with and lastly, that literature is primarily seen as a vehicle for vocabulary acquisition. Thus, it is essential to encourage future EFL teachers not only to become more knowledgeable about genres, but also aware of the different reasons to use literature in the classroom to promote literacy.