The academic language proficiency of primary school teacher education students at a South African university

M.Ed. (Childhood Education)Abstract: As a teacher educator I have observed that many students struggle to read academic texts for understanding, and to write academic texts appropriate at a university-level. I initiated the current study to determine with what academic language proficiencies teacher education students enter university, also to determine if their academic language proficencies improve after three years of study at a university and to what extent it changes. To this end, I utilised a core academic language skills (CALS) test designed and standardised by Uccelli, Dobbs and Scott (2013) to test students’ core academic language proficiencies (according to this specific instrument). Many authors on the topic of academic language and academic language proficiency argue for the importance of teaching academic language to learners intentionally and explicitly. In order for teachers to do this, they have to know what academic language is and the appropriate pedagogies for teaching it (Scarcella, 2003; Schleppegrell, 2012; Snow, 2010). In this study, I argue that student teachers do not have the appropriate academic language proficiencies in order to effectively teach it when they enter classrooms. I further argue that student teachers have to be taught academic language across the curriculum in order for them to take this up in their own teaching once they graduate. I also posit that they may have underdeveloped strategic- and word recognition reading skills, which could be due to many educational as well as social factors, and which could be one source of their underdeveloped academic writing competence In this study, the unit of analysis is the academic language proficiency of teacher education students, according to a specific metric. The unit of sampling is 695 teacher education students, comprising students in their first-, second-, and third year of study on two campuses that implement a University-accredited teacher education qualification. Students’ scores on the CALS test were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistical analyses, first to capture their performance, second to determine..