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English Language Learning in English Language Teacher Education in El Salvador. Manuel de Jesús Laureano-Alvarenga,
pp. 80-90, Revista entorno, número 71, enero-junio 2021, ISSN: 2071-8748, e-ISSN: 2218-3345
Los hallazgos establecen que a) el énfasis de la
preparación de maestros de inglés debe enfocarse
en comprensión auditiva, expresión oral y adquisición
de vocabulario, b) las asignaturas que contribuyen
al desarrollo de competencias lingüísticas son
expresión oral, comprensión lectora y gramática,
c) la evaluación de competencias lingüísticas se
realiza a través del examen TOEFL-ITP, entrevistas
y exámenes escritos, d) las estrategias de éxito en
exámenes estandarizados son la práctica y el estudio
constante, e) las estrategias que las universidades
emplean para desarrollar competencias lingüísticas
son la práctica, cursos de refuerzo, oportunidades
de desarrollo profesional y facilitar materiales, y f) las
principales actividades que docentes en preservicio
realizan fuera del aula son ver películas, escuchar
música y la práctica constante.
Palabras clave
Inglés - Enseñanza - Evaluación - Estudios de casos.
Profesores universitarios - evaluación - Estudios
de casos. Formación profesional de maestros.
Entrenamiento en servicio de maestros. Lingüística.
the qualitative software NVivo 10. The ndings revealed
that a) teacher education should be emphasized
mainly on listening, speaking, and vocabulary, b)
the courses that help student teachers to enhance
English prociency are speaking, reading, and
grammar, c) student teachers’ prociency is evaluated
mainly through the administration of the international
TOEFL-ITP test, oral interviews, and paper and pencil
tests, d) the main strategies student teachers employ
to be successful on prociency achievement tests are
practice and self-paced learning, e) the strategies
universities implement to enhance prociency in
teacher education programs are practice, remedial
courses, professional development opportunities,
and giving materials for self-study, and f) the activities
student teachers frequently do outside the classroom
to develop prociency in English are watching movies,
listening to music, and self-practicing.
Keywords
English – Teaching – Assessment – Case Studies.
University Professors – assessment – Case Studies.
Professional teacher education – In-service teacher
training. Linguistics.
Introduction
This study seeks to inquiry how Salvadoran universities
aid in enhancing pre-service teachers’ English
prociency to be able to teach the language with a
high level of prociency. In El Salvador, the Ministry of
Education publishes every year longitudinal data related
to the enrollment and graduation rates of students in the
different programs offered by all universities. The data
shows that the total number of students enrolled in the
Bachelor of Arts Degree programs and the Associate
Degree in English teaching from 2011 to 2015 was 44,407
students. The same statistical report demonstrates that,
in the same period of time (from 2011 to 2015), only
2,409 students graduated from the Bachelor of Arts and
Associate Degree programs in English teaching. The
data presented reveals that the number of graduates
represents just the 5.42% (MINEDUCYT, 2016a). The
low graduation rate in English teaching programs might
be associated with students that are not meeting the
exit requirements in the English Language Teaching
programs established by the Ministry of Education
due to the poor and low quality preparation given in all
universities. In this regard, students taking the Bachelor
of Arts Degree programs in English language teaching
must achieve a 551 score on the TOEFL-ITP test, and
student teachers taking the Associate Degree must
achieve a 520 score to exit the program, on the same
test, so they can become certied English teachers.
However, as statistics of passing rates from 2013 to 2015
illustrate, only 31% of student teachers have passed the
test with 520 or above (MINEDUCYT, 2016b). Therefore,