Teachers’ Oral Proficiency in the Target Language: Research on Its Role in Language Teaching and Learning

Abstract

In the past decade, the foreign language (FL) profession has established standards for beginning language teachers that are used by accrediting agencies and state licensing agencies to make decisions regarding teacher preparation program recognition and teacher certification. Among these expectations is the requirement that beginning teachers demonstrate a minimum level of Advanced‐Low on the ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines for Speaking. Consequently, the role that teachers’ oral proficiency in the target language (TL) plays in classroom instruction has become a critical issue in the field of FL education. This review presents current research related to teachers’ TL proficiency and its impact on classroom practices, teacher effectiveness, and student learning. The article raises questions that merit investigation in future research as it strives to clarify the role that teacher TL proficiency plays in classroom instruction and learning of the TL.

Oral Proficiency Standards and Foreign Language Teacher Candidates: Current Findings and Future Research Directions

“…The setting of a proficiency level by language was based on research conducted by the Foreign Service Institute (FSI) in the 1980s regarding the length of time necessary to reach specific levels of oral proficiency in a target language and considered how similar the TL is to the learner's native language (Liskin‐Gasparro, ). For example, “…learners will typically need considerably more instructional time to reach the Advanced level of proficiency in Arabic than in Spanish when the learners' native language is English” (Liskin‐Gasparro, , as cited in Chambless, , p. S144). The U.S. government developed a system for grouping languages into four categories: Group I includes languages such as French, Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish; Group II includes German, Greek, and Hindi; Group III includes Hebrew, Polish, Russian, Serbo‐Croatian, Thai, and Vietnamese; and Group IV includes Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, and Korean (Liskin‐Gasparro, ).…”

Teaching Challenges in Indonesia: Motivating Students and Teachers’ Classroom Language

“…Furthermore, Chambless (2012) contends that teachers' oral proficiency in the target language is a critical issue that impacts on classroom practices, teacher effectiveness and student learning.…”

Teachers’ writing proficiency and assessment ability: the missing link in teachers’ written corrective feedback practice in an Iranian EFL context

“…This issue is of primary importance in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) context, especially in an Asian context, where the non-native speakers' (NNS) L2 proficiency is questioned (Nakata 2010;Tsang 2017). There seems to be a possible causal relationship between teacher's language proficiency and the quality of teaching and learning which takes place in L2 classrooms (Chambless 2012). Traditionally, it is assumed that higher level of teacher language proficiency results in a better quality of teaching (Richards 2017).…”