Teacher Competences for Teaching English as a Foreign Language in the First Educational Cycle of Primary Education

Abstract

<p style="text-align:justify">Foreign language teaching in the Slovenian educational context begins in the first grade (age 6). Many studies report a lack of qualified teachers at this stage of learning around the world and numerous authors emphasise the misconception that basic linguistic and didactic knowledge of teachers is sufficient for teaching children. All three Slovenian public universities are aware of this problem and offer pre-service and in-service programmes for (student) teachers who want to specialise in teaching English to young learners. In the present article, we focus on the subject-specific teacher competences for teaching English in the first three years of primary education; namely, linguistic, subject didactic and intercultural competences. We explore teachers’ self-assessment of these competences and their perception of certain elements pertaining to them. The study seeks to answer the following research questions: (1) What subject-specific competences do teachers consider essential for teaching English in the first cycle of primary education? (2) To what extent do teachers believe they have developed certain subject-specific competences? (3) What are teachers’ attitudes toward certain subject-specific competences that the teacher needs for teaching English in the first cycle of primary education? The results of the quantitative survey, in which 100 teachers participated, show that teachers perceive their subject didactic competence to be the most developed and their intercultural competence to be the least developed. Moreover, they consider that a basic level of English is not sufficient for teaching English in the first grades.</p>

An Exploration of Cultivation Strategies of English Core Literacy--Based on the Transformation of the Traditional Primary Classroom

“…Since subject-specific textbooks and materials are not sufficient for the construction of a complete knowledge system, it is necessary to reconstruct subjects or new subject clusters based on core literacy. We need to go beyond the boundaries of disciplines and use unit learning activities (co-teaching) or interdisciplinary teaching and learningto promote multiple perspectives and levels of understanding [19]. The design of teaching materials should not be satisfied with the transfer of subject knowledge, but should also focus on the cultivation of cultural awareness, which requires the integration of interdisciplinary content in subject materials and the flexible use of subject materials and interdisciplinary materials.…”