Preservice Physical Education teachers´ attitudes towards teaching in Foreign Languages. Expectations and training needs

Abstract

Spanish education authorities are promoting multilingualism through bilingual and multilingual programmes, with an increasing focus on teaching Physical Education (PE) through the use of Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) in schools. Although there have been several studies exploring the effects of this interaction, most focus on the perceptions of practising teachers or on the evaluation of bilingual programmes, leaving a gap in relation to initial teacher training. The aim of this quantitative study is to understand prospective PE teachers' perceptions of their training needs and their readiness to teach PE through a FL. For this purpose, a cross-sectional, descriptive and correlational design was used involving 160 students in their third and fourth year of the degree course in Primary Education with a specialisation in PE at the University of A Coruña. Data were collected through a quantitative questionnaire. The results of the study indicate that students do not feel competent in the use of a FL and consider that they do not receive sufficient training to use it as a vehicle for instruction in PE. Despite this lack of competence, students do not demand further training in CLIL due to their low perceived proficiency in a FL.