Pre-service English Teachers’ Perceptions Toward Effective English Teachers: A Study of English Student Teachers in a Faculty of Education at a Thai University

Abstract

This research article aimed to investigate the characteristics of an effective English teacher as perceived by first-year English Student teachers. The purposive selection was utilized to select twenty-six English Student teachers in the first year of the English major at Rajabhat Rajanagarindra University, Chachoengsao province as samples. The instruments for collecting data were a questionnaire and an interview. The questionnaire consists of three main categories: subject matter knowledge, pedagogical knowledge, and socio-affective skill. After the process of data collection was completed, descriptive statistics, content analysis, and manifest content were used to illustrate the respondent's responses. The findings revealed that first-year English Student teachers rated pedagogical knowledge as the highest rank out of the three categories. English Student teachers seemed to agree more strongly that an effective English teacher should provide students opportunities to use English through tasks and activities, provide activities that attract students to be interested, and use various teaching strategies to help students learn because one effective teaching strategy might not fit for every group of students. It is therefore important for English teachers to learn their students’ behaviors and their learning style preferences. The findings of the study have practical implications for English Student teachers themselves as future English teachers as it can be a useful tool to help them develop and enhance their teaching techniques, English language proficiency, and behaviors in order to be successful within their intended field of teaching in future careers.