Perceived Competence of Pre-service English Language Teachers: Reasons and Suggestions

Teachers’ perceived competence is considered the main starting point of teacher behaviours and is useful in predicting the goals that teachers set for their students. This study aims to investigate to what extent pre-service English language teachers feel competent, what they attribute their competence or incompetence to and what they recommend to become more competent. Data were collected from 97 English teacher candidates using a form developed by the researchers based on English teachers' competencies. The findings pointed out that preservice English teachers feel competent in practically all domains thanks to their teacher training program, teaching practicum and personal traits. Yet, some feel incompetent mostly because of their lack of experience, practice, and theoretical knowledge, personal weaknesses, and both their own and students’ apathy. They suggest that gaining experience, turning their theoretical knowledge into practice, researching, and starting their teaching careers might help them become more competent in these areas. This study provides valuable insights for all stakeholders of English language teacher education programs to train more qualified English teachers.