Assessment of English Language Student Teachers’ Perceptions of their Competency in Light of Teacher Professional Standards (ELTPSs) in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Abstract

The issue of professional teaching standards has recently generated considerable interest of the Ministry of Education in KSA and elsewhere. The purpose of this research paper was to examine the extent to which the Professional Standards for English language teachers are applied by the English language female student teachers at Al-Imam Muhammed Ibn Saud Islamic University. The descriptive method was used. The whole population (N=126) of all English language senior female student teachers during the second semester 2016/2017 was sampled. Data were gathered through a questionnaire. The participants were asked to evaluate their competencies based on the given items in the questionnaire on a 5 point Likert scale ranging from "incompetent" to "highly competent". Findings revealed that the student teachers perceived themselves to be highly competent in language proficiency with the mean scores (4.68), and theoretical knowledge (4.27), However, they were uncertain of their competency in the theoretical (3.37), curriculum design (3.14), and language pedagogy (2.81). Findings were discussed in the light of the preparation program syllabus, as well as previous related literature. Based on the research results, recommendations and suggestions for future studies were proposed. Keywords: Student teacher, Teacher Preparation Programs, EFL teacher, English Language Teacher Professional Standards (ELTPSs), Teaching competencies, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.