ESL Teacher-Trainees’ Reading and Writing Competence: An Empirical Study

National Colleges of Education (NCoE), being the pioneering teacher-trainers in Sri Lanka are responsible for producing prospective ESL practitioners through meaningful pre-service training. The aim of this study is to examine to which extent the ESL teacher-trainees achieve the expected reading and writing skills at the end of their pre-service training. To this end, a purposive sample of eighty prospective teachers of English in four NCoEs were tested on reading and writing skills through a standardized test, Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), in order to identify their reading and writing levels. The findings indicate that 47.5% of the total sample obtained less than 40 marks for the TOEFL writing while 41.3% of participants’ TOEFL reading results were also significantly very low. Notably, there was a positive correlation between the external final examination marks for reading and writing conducted at the NCoEs and the TOEFL test results where the correlation-coefficient value was 0.65 in reading and 0.62 in writing. This validates that the teacher trainees in the NCoEs have not achieved the required reading and writing competence in English. Thus, their capability for strengthening the English language teaching and learning in the primary and secondary education system in Sri Lanka is a question. However, the findings ensured that by standardizing the English curriculum at the NCoEs, learner outcomes can effectively be enhanced, and thereby the NCoEs may produce qualified English teachers with accepted professional standards. The study has implications for all the stake holders involved in designing and delivery of English teacher education programmes at the NCoEs.