Exploration of Primary Teacher Trainees’ Perceptions of Activity-Based Oral English: An Explanatory Case Study at the Hapitigam National College of Education

This explanatory case study explores primary teacher trainees’ perceptions of Activity-Based Oral English (ABOE) at Hapitigam National College of Education (HNCoE), one of the several National Colleges of Education (NCoEs) in Sri Lanka that provide pre-service training to prospective primary teachers. The researcher undertakes this study because, despite trainees' enthusiasm for ABOE during training sessions, a noticeable gap exists between their training and classroom implementation. Many trainees hesitate to integrate ABOE into their teaching practice and often omit this component, despite having received formal instruction. The study employed an explanatory case study design under a qualitative research approach. The sample of the study selected using the purposeful sampling technique consisted of 45 primary teacher trainees. A questionnaire was utilized to collect primary data, which was analyzed in relation to secondary data gathered from previous national and international research on similar topics as well as the researcher’s retrospection as a teacher educator. The findings of the study revealed that the majority of teacher trainees have a satisfactory level of awareness of ABOE and maintain positive attitudes toward its implementation despite several issues, including inadequate exposure to practical training, a lack of English-speaking proficiency, and insufficient understanding of its objectives. Thus, it is recommended that more opportunities be created to improve the English-speaking proficiency of teacher trainees. Additionally, professional development programmes should be conducted regularly to empower teacher educators, enabling them to provide more specific training and feedback on ABOE. Addressing these challenges will help enhance the effectiveness of ABOE implementation and better prepare teacher trainees for classroom practice.