A study of pre-service elementary school teachers’ perceptions on English teaching demonstration competences

This study aims to examine pre-service elementary school teachers’ perceptions of English teaching demonstration competency. In the current study, 112 pre-service teachers were recruited and asked to complete a questionnaire consisting of 20 closed-ended questions about the importance and self-evaluation of the items in assessing English teaching demonstration competencies. Specifically, closed-ended questions were divided into three competency categories such as lesson planning, lesson execution, and classroom English use. They were also asked to answer two open-ended questions about the challenges they anticipate during the English teaching demonstrations and the support needed to improve their English teaching demonstration competencies. The results showed that overall, participants’ average confidence level was lower than their perceived importance of each item. Furthermore, among the three sub-skills, confidence in classroom English use skills was relatively low compared to the other skills. It was also found that participants expressed concerns about their own limited English skills and difficulties assessing learners’ level. They also said they need more training programs and practical teaching experience as the support needed to improve English class demonstration competencies. Based on the findings, discussion and suggestions on ways to improve pre-service teachers’ English teaching demonstration competencies were presented.