A profile of students pursuing a Degree in Primary Education, Foreign Language Track

Abstract

Degree Programme for Primary Education, English as a Foreign Language Track. In particular, this research analyses their previous linguistic knowledge, their perception of the linguistic competence of a primary school English teacher, and their perception on their own linguistic competence. The findings for this research show that the students’ linguistic competence at the beginning of their studies is far from their perception of the linguistic competence that a primary-school English teacher should have. Another important finding reveals how their perception of the English language and the teaching of English will affect their decision when choosing this degree. The sample was 38 students enrolled in the fourth year of this particular degree in three consecutive years (2017/2018, 2018/2019, 2019/2020). The research tool was an ad hoc, 33-item questionnaire that was administered online. This paper uses a quantitative approach and data were analysed with descriptive statistics: Kruskal-Wallis one-factor and U-Mann Whitney. This investigation emphasises the important role of foreign-language linguistic competence in the training of primary- school English teachers.