Investigation of pre-service English language teachers’ readiness for teaching in multicultural environments
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Abstract
This study investigates the perceived readiness of Turkish pre-service English language teachers to instruct within multicultural classroom environments. As demographic diversity expands in educational contexts, the development of professional competencies and intercultural awareness has become increasingly essential for prospective educators. Drawing on theoretical frameworks of multicultural education and intercultural communicative competence, this study examines the self-reported readiness of third- and fourth-year English Language Teaching (ELT) candidates through a mixed-methods design incorporating questionnaires and interviews. Findings indicate that fourth-year participants reported higher personal readiness, while third-year candidates demonstrated stronger professional readiness, tentatively attributed to the recency of relevant coursework. Participants without prior teaching experience scored higher professionally, suggesting a theory-practice gap within current preparation programs. Candidates from multicultural family backgrounds exhibited higher readiness across both dimensions, with differences attaining statistical significance for overall readiness. Although participants expressed favorable inclinations toward multicultural pedagogy, interview data consistently underscored the perceived insufficiency of experiential training opportunities. These findings highlight the necessity of embedding reflective practice and culturally responsive approaches into pre-service teacher education curricula to better equip future English language educators in Türkiye for diverse classroom contexts.
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