Chinese EFL teachers' knowledge of basic language constructs and their self-perceived teaching abilities

Area of Science:

• Linguistics
• Education
• Psychology

Background:

• English as a Foreign Language (EFL) instruction is crucial in global education.
• Understanding teachers' knowledge of basic language constructs is vital for effective reading instruction.
• Elementary school teachers in China face unique challenges in EFL teaching.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess elementary school EFL teachers' knowledge and skills in basic language constructs.
• To identify correlations between specific linguistic knowledge (e.g., morphology) and self-perceived teaching abilities.
• To understand the implications of teacher knowledge for reading instruction in China.

Main Methods:

• A survey, the adapted Reading Teacher Knowledge Survey, was administered to 630 in-service teachers.
• Data were analyzed to examine self-perceived teaching abilities and correlations with linguistic knowledge.
• Statistical analyses controlled for educational attainment and years of teaching.

Main Results:

• Teachers reported highest self-perceived ability in teaching vocabulary and lowest in teaching reading to struggling readers.
• Morphological knowledge positively correlated with self-perceived teaching abilities, showing unique variance.
• Teachers demonstrated stronger implicit skills than explicit knowledge, especially for sub-lexical units like phonemic awareness and morphemes.

Conclusions:

• Elementary EFL teachers in China possess some implicit skills but lack explicit knowledge in critical areas, particularly sub-lexical units.
• The curriculum's emphasis on larger units may influence teachers' perceived strengths and actual knowledge.
• Further professional development is needed to enhance teachers' explicit knowledge of foundational language constructs for improved reading instruction.