Pre-service English teachers’ perceptions of World Englishes: Focusing on a Case of University A in Kyungnam

Objectives The 2022 revised English curriculum defines English as a means of communication used by global citizens and aims to develop the ability to communicate in English with people from different linguistic and cultural backgrounds. This study aims to provide foundational data for improving the curriculum of English teacher training programs by investigating the perceptions of English education majors at a teacher's college regarding English as a global language. Methods To achieve this, 111 students from the English Education Department of a teacher's college in Kyungnam province participated in the study. Data was collected through questionnaires. To understand the overall perceptions of the students, means and response distributions were compared. T-tests and ANOVA were conducted to examine differences according to background variables, and Scheffé post-hoc tests were performed for further analysis. Results Among the students, 98.2% and 95.5% respectively responded that English serves as a common language in the international community. Regarding World Englishes, slightly more than half (54% and 60.3%) of the students responded that it is possible to communicate in English even if it is not from an English-speaking country, and that they do not have a negative perception of English used by people from non-English-speaking countries. In particular, the majority of students responded that wolrd Englishes is not incorrect English. Only 32 students (28.8%) responded that there should be no grammatical errors to achieve fluent English skills, and 61 students (54.9%) responded that one must have native-like pronunciation to be fluent in English. 80.1% of the students had a very positive perception of teaching world cultures in English classes, but only 20.7% agreed that the focus of English education should shift away from English-speaking countries. The students' perceptions showed no significant differences by gender, but significant differences were found by academic year. Conclusions The results of this study indicate that students have a very positive perception of the role of English as a global language and cultural diversity. However, their perception of English education from the perspective of world Englishes is low. Although students' understanding and perception of world Englishes have improved compared to previous studies, it suggests the need for further discussion on English education as a world Englishes. Teacher education programs should reflect the necessary changes following the paradigm shift in English education and develop practical teaching strategies.