Teacher Training Course Students’ Preferences for Instructional Language: Their Attitude Toward Teaching English in English

Abstract

This study tries to clarify what attitudes pre-service elementary school teachers have toward teaching English in English (TEE) and how they are thinking of teaching English at an elementary school. Twenty-five teacher training course students, who took a course taught by the author, were employed as the participants. The course was basically taught in English and each lesson was designed to include input, interaction and output. To investigate their preferences for TEE, the author asked them to answer a questionnaire. They were also asked to write a report to explain how they would like to teach English to elementary school children in the future. The results are: 1) the participants’ preferences for TEE vary and they do not necessarily have a positive attitude toward TEE and 2) they are likely to show an interest in introducing opportunities to negotiate for meaning into class in the future. Based on the results, the author suggests that elementary school teachers do not have to stick to TEE necessarily and argues that input, interaction and output can be assured even if teachers’ use of English in class is limited.