This study focused on Turkish EFL teachers' perceptions regarding their English language skills and their perceptions of pre-service education. The study also investigated whether there was any relationship between two sets of perecptions; perceptions concerning current English language skills and perceptions regarding pre-service education.
Population for the study included 311 Turkish EFL teachers who were employed in public secondary schools -lower and upper- in Ankara. Population was selected by using systematic sampling procedures. The data for the research were collected through questionnaires, interviews, and document analysis.
Interview informants included twenty-five Turkish EFL teachers. In order to elicit data from a variety of ELT departments in Turkiye, the informants were selected in a way that they represented eleven different ELT departments in Turkiye. The interviews were of structured type and were conducted in Turkish. Document analysis was conducted on the curricula of thirteen ELT departments. To analyze tha data collected through the questionnaires, descriptive statistics procedures , one-way ANOVA, and canonical correlation were used. In order to analyze the interview data, cross-case analysis technique was used.
Listening and writing skills received the lowest ratings from the Turkish EFL teachers. Teachers claimed that their pre-service education emphasized grammar and translation teaching and ignored some courses which were vital to the profession. Teachers stated that their college professors used grammar-translation method as major instructional strategy. Interview findings indicated that the Turkish EFL teachers were not satisfied with their speaking skills. However, they were satisfied with their grammar knowledge and their positive attitudes towards students. Based on the findings, the researcher proposed a five-year program model.