Original scientific paper
https://doi.org/10.15516/cje.v23i0.4035
Teachers’ Conceptualisations and Needs in Developing Foreign Language Literacy Skills at Primary Level
Mateja Dagarin Fojkar
orcid.org/0000-0002-0953-1065
; Faculty of Education University of Ljubljana Kardeljeva ploščad 16, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
Tina Rozmanič
orcid.org/0000-0003-4890-9953
; Faculty of Education University of Ljubljana Kardeljeva ploščad 16, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
Abstract
As many European countries have introduced English language teaching at preprimary
and primary levels, the need for effective development of foreign language
literacy skills has proved to be essential. Traditionally, literacy is defined as the
ability to read and write. However, broader definitions include understanding of a
wide range of texts and the ability to communicate in multilingual environments.
Most teacher education programmes do not provide sufficient training for the
development of initial and basic foreign language literacy skills of learners, and
teachers feel they do not receive enough support in this area. As a result, Slovenian
pupils of English are the least proficient in reading of all the language skills, with
12 % of them failing to reach A1 level in reading and 29 % remaining at this level
at the end of primary school (European Commission, 2012).
The aim of the present study was to investigate the perceptions of English teachers
(N=112) regarding the development of foreign language literacy skills in Slovenian
primary schools. For this purpose, a questionnaire was used to research how
teachers conceptualise the development of FL literacy, how they assess pupils’
difficulties with reading and writing tasks and the literacy areas in which they
think they would need more support in their teaching. A quantitative approach
and a content analysis of the open questions were used. The differences between
the teacher groups were measured with the Chi-square test. The study indicated
teachers’ restricted views on the meaning of literacy in the open questions, while
the closed questions implied a broader understanding of the concept. Most teachers
expressed a desire to gain more professional knowledge in this area. The results of
the study will provide a starting point for developing more effective teacher training
programmes in foreign language literacy and for supporting in-service teachers in
developing foreign language literacy at primary level.
Keywords
primary education; professional development; reading; teachers’ perceptions; writing
Hrčak ID:
256983
URI
Publication date:
3.5.2021.
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