Assessment and Ranking Framework for the English Skills of Pre-Service Teachers Based on Fuzzy Delphi and TOPSIS Methods

Musaab Alaa,E M Almahdi,B B Zaidan,Mahmood Maher Salih,N S Jalood,Ali H Shareef,Intan Safinas Mohd Ariff Albakri,Ali Najm Jasim,Shahad Nidhal,A A Zaidan,M J Baqer,M A Alsalem,Charanjit Kaur Swaran Singh,O S Albahri,Hamsa Hammed

doi:10.1109/access.2019.2936898

Abstract

In this study, pre-service teaching refers to teaching English as a second language (TESL) to Malaysian students whose first language is not English. TESL prepares English-language learners to become future teachers of English as a second language. To date, no multi-criteria framework has been developed to evaluate and select the skills of pre-service teachers. This study presents a new framework to assess and rank the English skills of pre-service teachers on the basis of fuzzy Delphi and multi-criteria analysis. Three experiments were conducted. Firstly, criteria were identified from the literature review and the opinions of representative experts via the Delphi method. Secondly, 31 pre-service teachers were evaluated to determine the skills of pre-service teachers on the basis of Delphi criteria outcomes. English proficiency was tested through the English Language Testing Service and four language skill examinations. Each examination was evaluated by experts with vast experience in English teaching. Thirdly, pre-service teachers were ranked on the basis of a set of evaluated Delphi criteria outcomes through the technique for the order of preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS) method. Thereafter, the mean and standard deviation were utilized to ensure the identical systematic ranking of pre-service teachers. Findings are as follows. Twenty-five criteria from previous studies are representative as evaluated by the opinions of experts, which were gathered through interviews and a structured questionnaire. The validity of content was verified using a five-point Likert scale. With Delphi method outcomes, 14 criteria were selected and included in the final framework. The results of the proposed evaluation framework were tested on Malaysian pre-service teachers. TOPSIS is effective for solving the selection problems of pre-service teachers. In the final experiment, significant differences were recognized between the scores of groups, indicating identical ranking results.

Highlights

Teaching English as a second language (TESL) is a programme that teaches the language to non-English speakingThe associate editor coordinating the review of this manuscript and approving it for publication was Ching-Ter Chang.students
Pre-service teachers on practical teaching in Malaysian schools have reported that they lack the skills needed to work effectively with their students and were somewhat unprepared to help students learn
2) RESULTS FOR THE FRAMEWORK DEVELOPMENT FOR PRE-SERVICE TEACHER APPLICANTS The results of the development of a selection framework are presented in two subsections

Summary

Introduction

Teaching English as a second language (TESL) is a programme that teaches the language to non-English speakingThe associate editor coordinating the review of this manuscript and approving it for publication was Ching-Ter Chang.students. TESL aims to prepare the learners to become English as a second language (ESL) teachers [1]. ESL teachers can play an important role in increasing student knowledge and teaching them how to apply correct learning strategies to different language activities. The role of ESL teachers is to facilitate students to actively use their first language to learn a second language. ESL teachers must constantly study to acquire new knowledge and skills during their careers. ESL teachers must be kind, patient and enthusiastic and have a sense of humour to encourage TESL students to become active and attentive. ESL teachers play a critical role in learning of the language of students and must possess positive attitudes to communicate with learners and effectively teach in classrooms [2], [5], [6]

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion