Strengths and weaknesses of current foreign language education through the lens of primary school teachers in Slovakia

The aim of the authors was to map the current state of early childhood language education in Slovakia from the perspective of 374 foreign language teachers in primary schools. The range of the questionnaire aimed to obtain a descriptive yet comprehensive view of both the external settings and, from the teachers’ perspective, their internal prerequisites for their foreign language teaching (FLT) for pupils aged 6-10. The respondents expressed their opinions on their own FLT competencies as well as the objective conditions for meeting the expected goals of FLT within the current primary school environment, including the level of attention given to the quality of FLT for young learners. The data include respondents’ evaluations of their principals’ roles in providing qualified staff (including native speakers), appropriate resources, supporting teachers’ professional development, paying attention to varying levels of foreign language proficiency, and monitoring pupil and parent satisfaction. The teacher respondents highlighted areas where they need more support and training, such as activating effective methods for teaching vocabulary, pronunciation, grammar, and language skills to mixed-ability groups of pupils. The most revealing results relate to both positive and negative feedback from pupils and parents on teachers’ performance.