Communicating in the multilingual school: Training in a foreign language for future teachers

Abstract

Introduction: The need for communication in a foreign language today is manifested in educational policies that promote multilingual teaching. This study was carried out to research the foreign language training of future teachers. Methodology: A questionnaire was designed with sociodemographic questions and questions related to learning a language, and Cambridge-level tests were applied. The study sample is made up of 427 students of the Degree in Primary Education at the University of Malaga during the 2018/2019 academic year. Data analysis was performed with the SPSS statistical package (v. 22). Results: It has been found that 48.01% of the informants, study languages outside the university, 86.48% have not taken any course or stay abroad, 99.06% have accredited some level of English and the second foreign language for most is French. Regarding the relationship of these variables with the score obtained in the oral and written comprehension tests, in all cases they are significant. Discussion: There is a divergence between the level achieved in the tests and the level accredited and required as a minimum requirement by public administrations. Conclusions: These findings are of great relevance to know the linguistic formation of a group that plays an essential role in bilingual education and to establish future lines of action to promote the improvement of foreign language competence.