‘Nothing to do with Reality’: English teachers’ perceptions of their methods preparation

There is mounting evidence that novice language teachers enter the classroom without all the knowledge, skills, and practice they need, which has sparked a debate as to how well language teacher education programs prepare teachers (Burnett, 2011; Faez & Valeo, 2012; Farrell, 2015). Furthermore, teachers’ voices are often absent in the discussions about what content or practical applications are to be included as part of their university preparation. Accordingly, the current study reports the findings of a survey addressing the opinions of recent graduates regarding their EFL teacher education programs in Chile and the methodological preparation they received in these programs. Findings show that the teacher education programs that these graduates attended are generally well-evaluated, but there are still important issues that are absent or lacking depth in the methodological preparation offered. Findings are compared with previously reported data (Martin, 2016) regarding what these methods courses generally cover and are discussed in light of various contextual pressures. It is argued that teachers’ needs should be recognized in making decisions about teacher education.