Bilingual Teacher Training: Failure or Success? A Students’ and Teachers’ Perspective

Abstract

The paper is devoted to the discussion of the controversial issue concerning bilingual teacher training. The research will be carried out among BA students trained to become both English and Spanish teachers as well as among lecturers involved in training these students. The aim of the research is to find both the students’ and the teachers’ opinion about the effectiveness of bilingual teacher training paying attention to its strengths and weaknesses. The author will consider, among others, such factors as: course curriculum (i.e., the list of subjects devoted to English and Spanish, culture and foreign language methodology training as well as the amount of hours devoted to each subject) and the students’ competence in English and Spanish. The students will be asked to express their opinions on their competence as far as practical English and Spanish are concerned as well as methodology of teaching English and Spanish as a foreign language. The teachers, on the other hand, will be expected to evaluate the students’ language competence as well as their potential competence to teach English and Spanish as foreign languages. The author intends to use two types of research tools: interview with teachers and questionnaire for students.

Appendices

Appendix 1

Minimum number of hours assigned to classes and practices and minimum number of ECTS points assigned to particular modules (retrieved from http://isap.sejm.gov.pl/DetailsServlet?id=WDU20120000131)

Module	Module components	Hours	ECTS points
Module 1 Content preparation to teach the first subject	Content preparation—in accordance with the description of the teaching outcomes for a carried out field of studies	*	**
Module 2 Psycho-pedagogical preparation	General psycho-pedagogical preparation	90	10
	Practice	30
	Practice	30
Module 3 Didactic preparation	Bases of didactics	30	15
	Subject didactics at a given educational stage or at given educational stages	90
	Practice	120
Module 4 Preparation to teach the following subject	Content preparation	*	**
	Subject didactics at a given educational stage or at given educational stages	60	10–15
	Practice	60
Module 5 Preparation in the field of special pedagogy	Special psycho-pedagogical preparation	140	25
	Special didactics	90
	Practice	120

1. *In the amount enabling content preparation to teach the subjects
2. **In the amount assigned to the carried out field of studies

Appendix 2: Questionnaire for the Students

Questionnaire

Dear ladies and gentleman,

I am preparing an article on Bilingual Teacher Training: Success or Failure (A Students’ and Teachers’ Perspective). Please complete the questionnaire below. The obtained answers will enable me to evaluate the phenomenon of bilingual teacher training from students’ point of view. Make sure that the answers contain maximum 1 to 3 sentences. Time allowed to complete the questionnaire: 40 min.

Respondent’s particulars

• 1. $\begin{array}{*{20}c} {\text{Gender}} & {} & {} & {} & {\text{F}} & {} & {} & {} & {} & {} & {\text{M}} \\ \end{array}$

• 2. Age__________________________

• 3. How long have you been learning English?__________________________

• 4. Please evaluate your proficiency in English (according to the CEF scale)

  $\begin{array}{*{20}c} {\text{A1}} & {} & {} & {\text{A2}} & {} & {} & {{\text{B}}1} & {} & {} & {{\text{B}}2} & {} & {} & {{\text{C}}1} & {} & {} & {{\text{C}}2} \\ \end{array}$

• 5. How long have you been learning Spanish?________________________

• 6. Please evaluate your proficiency in Spanish (according to the CEF scale)

  $\begin{array}{*{20}c} {\text{A1}} & {} & {} & {\text{A2}} & {} & {} & {{\text{B}}1} & {} & {} & {{\text{B}}2} & {} & {} & {{\text{C}}1} & {} & {} & {{\text{C}}2} \\ \end{array}$

• 7. What made you choose the field of studies connected with bilingual teacher training?

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• 8. What were your expectations concerning the studies?

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• 9. Have you met the expectations? Why yes or no?

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• 10. Please point to the advantages of the covered curriculum

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• 11. Please point to the disadvantages of the covered curriculum.

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• 12. Is the choice of the subjects included in the curriculum correct? Why yes or no?

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• 13. Which subject are, according to you, irrelevant and which should be added?

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• 14. Is the order in which the subjects are covered correct? If not, what changes do you suggest?

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• 15. Is the amount of hours assigned to particular subjects enough? If not, which subjects should have more and which fewer hours?

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• 16. What other changes, according to you, should be introduced in the curriculum?

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• 17. Do you think that the idea of bilingual teacher training is success or failure? Why success or why failure?

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Appendix 3: Interview Questions

• 1. What is your opinion on bilingual teacher training?

• 2. What are the advantages and the disadvantages of this type of training?

• 3. Do you think that it is possible to train a teacher of two languages in a three-year cycle assuming that the candidates come with a B2 proficiency level of the main language and they study the second language from scratch?

• 4. How do you evaluate the students’ competence in the language you are teaching? What are their biggest problems? What does not cause them problems?

• 5. You are preparing the students to write a diploma work in methodology of the language you are teaching. What problems do students have while writing the diploma work?

• 6. Do you consider the discussed type of training success or failure? Why?