Pre-Service Primary Teacher’s Reading Habits and Literature Knowledge

Abstract

In Primary Education, there is a need for specific research into developing awareness of the variety of literary genres that can be used in the EFL classroom, from fantasy to non-fiction. 132 students on the Didáctica del Inglés for Primary Education participated on an online questionnaire adapted from Cremin et al. (2008) using both quantitative and qualitative questions (Shorten, 2017) for a mixed approach on this issue, that offers a more detailed insight into the matter. The first part of the questionnaire examined the reading habits of pre-service teachers and their own previous reading experiences in the EFL classroom. The second part probed into the specific knowledge of texts and authors in general for the EFL Primary classroom. The results showed that there is a very scarce tradition of reading in the EFL classroom from student’s experiences, that there is a very narrow catalogue of texts and genres that students are familiar with and lastly, that literature is primarily seen as a vehicle for vocabulary acquisition. Thus it is essential encourage future EFL teachers not only to become more knowledgeable about genres but also aware of the different reasons to use literature in the classroom.