Prospective English Language Teachers’ Perceptions of the Target Language and Culture in Relation to their Socioeconomic Status

Abstract

Prospective foreign language teachers need to have an accurate knowledge and a positive perception of the target language and target culture so that they can help their students gain further insight on culture by and large. Hence, by means of a questionnaire, prospective English language teachers’ (n= 412) perceptions of the target language and culture are sought to be answered in relation to their present knowledge of the target language and culture and their socioeconomic status. The results indicate that the participants see themselves knowledgeable in target language, but insufficient in target culture. Similarly, target culture is much less appreciated than the language. It is also shown that attitudes toward target language, knowledge of target culture, parental use of target language, family income, and father’s job have significant influence on prospective teachers’ perceptions.