PEDAGOGICAL AND METHODOLOGICAL TRAINING NEEDS, MASTERY OF THE SPECIALITY OF ENGLISH TEACHERS IN EL SALVADOR

Abstract

This research study was conducted with the purpose of creating a diagnosis of pedagogical,
methodological, content knowledge, and professional development needs of teachers of English
in public urban elementary and high schools in El Salvador. The participants of study were selected based on a pre-determined profile created by the researchers and personnel from the Ministry
of Education. The participants, in this study, consisted of in service elementary and high school
teachers in public schools nationwide. A consent letter was written to ensure school principals
and teachers about their participation in the research study, also participants had the choice to
accept or reject their participation at any point along the investigation. The letter of consent
helped keep the confidentiality of participants’ information and of the data gathered. The data
gathering instrument was a semi-structured interview that helped determine specific teachers’
needs based on the information provided. The main findings regarding teachers’ professional
development were: public school teachers need further understanding of the use of technology
in the English teaching and learning process; in service teachers need to update their teaching
methodologies; teachers need to create and use educational resources based on the methodology
being used; teachers need to strengthen their proficiency mainly in speaking and grammar