In-service EFL teachers’ self-perceived receptive skills

Abstract

Professional English language teachers are expected to master subject knowledge that includes not only their knowledge of English language but also their proficiency in using the language. They can self-assess their proficiency and use their assessment result as the basis for their professional growth since it can inform which areas that still need improvement. Despite the importance of teachers’ self-assessment, there has not been much research on this, especially one that investigates the teachers’ perceived receptive skills.  This study, therefore, aims to explore the in-service teachers’ perception of their proficiency level, particularly of their receptive skills. This research uses a descriptive quantitative approach utilizing a survey containing 48 questions of self-perceived reading and listening skills which was distributed to in-service teachers in lower and higher secondary schools in Indonesia. This snowball survey received responses from 449 in-service teachers from various islands in Indonesia such as Java, Bali, Sumatera, Sulawesi, Kalimantan, and Papua. The results show that, in general, the participants considered themselves to be able to comprehend various text types concerning personal and daily issues in both written and spoken modes. However, when it came to comprehending longer texts with more complex linguistic choices and structures in both modes, an increase in the number of participants who struggled was evident. These findings indicate that while most of the in-service teachers were confident in their receptive skills. However, while only limited numbers of in-service teachers’ facing difficulties in comprehend longer and more specialized texts containing complex linguistic resources, support is still needed. Based on these findings, this study discusses several important implications for teacher educators and English teachers in Indonesia and offers recommendations for future research in EFL contexts.