Teacher competencies in supporting reading in English as a foreign language

Abstract

Based on a small-scale survey and discussion with teacher-learners in a postgraduate teacher education program in Poland, this paper aims to investigate their understanding of ‘learning to read in L2 English’ and the current state of their competencies in teaching reading. Descriptors taken from the European Portfolio for Student Teachers of Languages, EPOSTL, are used are used as criteria to analyze the qualitative data. It is found that while there appears to be awareness and indication of application of some competencies, the participants seem confused as to how to support younger elementary L2 learners in developing basic reading skills and may lack understanding of theories to underpin their practice.