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Linguistics Knowledge Importance in Teacher Education: EFL Pre-service

Teachers' Insights

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Al-Athar ‫| األثــــــــر‬ ISSN 1112-3672 (Special issue) 2021 | 20

Linguistics Knowledge Importance in

Teacher Education:
EFL Pre-service Teachers’ Insights

Radia Bouguebs
ENS “Assia Djebbar”, Constantine (Algeria)
Nadia Idri
Abderahmane Mira University, Bejaia (Algeria), LESMS research Lab

Abstract: Teacher education refers to any training undertaken by teachers to prepare them to meet the
requirements of the profession and face EFL teaching/learning challenges. The importance of linguistic
theory in teacher education was highlighted by Halliday (1981) when saying that teachers are requested to
develop their knowledge in linguistic theory in case they want to comprehend how the teaching/learning
process takes place and explain what is going on when it does not. Linguistics theory, then, offers solutions
to language related problems, mainly those concerned with how English as a Foreign Language is taught in
the classroom and how students learn it. The Ecole Normale Supérieure of Constantine (ENS-C) provides
future-to-be teachers a four to five years theoretical training crowned by a practical training before their
graduation. The aim of the practical training is to enable teacher-trainees put into practice the sum of the
acquired pedagogical theory and test the utility of the theoretical training. The main objective of this
research is to investigate pre-service teachers’ awareness and insights about the importance of linguistic
knowledge during their practical training and in their career as EFL teachers. To reach the study objective, a
descriptive analytic based research design was carried on fifty EFL pre-service teachers, BAC+4 or BAC+5
EFL university students. The participants responded to an online questionnaire addressing the research main
issues. Results revealed an elevated awareness certifying the importance of linguistics theory knowledge in
teacher education. To create a safe teaching/learning environment that improves rather than hinders
students’ learning, the respondents expressed a strong need for in-service language training programs in the
future.
Keywords: EFL teaching challenges, Knowledge, Linguistics theory, Pre-service EFL teachers, Teacher
education

Introduction
Teaching is an occupation that requires specialized education, knowledge, and training.
This profession not only ought to have the qualities but also strive to maintain them (Filipatali,
2013). Teaching English as a foreign language has always been a challenging task for neophyte
teachers. Because their language knowledge and skills represent the key features of successful
foreign language teaching (Mayahi & Mayahi, 2014), EFL teachers should be well prepared or
empowered before or during executing teacher profession. Meaning that being faced to a new
environment for which they were prepared necessitates from the pre-service teachers the
integration of their different skills and talents.
Pre-service teacher education represents the education and training that is offered to
student teachers before undertaking any teaching. The current EFL teacher education programs
encompass the integration of field knowledge (linguistic competence), teacher education
(pedagogic competence), general knowledge and teaching practices (Karakas, 2012; Fandiño,
2013). English Language Teacher Education programs usually include modules or content related
to the following branches of linguistics: grammar, syntax, morphology, phonetics, phonology,
psycholinguistics, sociolinguistics, language acquisition, pragmatics, discourse analysis, stylistics,
21 |Linguistics Knowledge Importance in Teacher Education: EFL Pre-service Teachers’ Insights

semantics, applied linguistics, and cognitive linguistics, among others (Banegas, 2020). Despite
such efforts of the teacher-training program, there have been continuous indications of pre-
service teachers experiencing difficulties bridging the gap between theory and practice (Yin,
2019).
The Teachers’ Training School, commonly known as Ecole Normale Superieure of
Constantine, is an academic institution in which students receive the necessary training to be
future teachers in primary, middle or secondary school. Middle school or High school teachers’
of English profile is developed via a theoretical training for four-to-five years. Whereas Middle
school teachers- to-be students complete their theoretical training in 4 years; high school teachers-
to-be students do it in 5 years. This theoretical training is immediately followed by a practical
training which is organized during the last year before students’ graduation. During the former,
EFL students are instructed the teaching skills necessary for their future career including
introduction to linguistics course, phonetics and phonology course, morphology and syntax,
sociolinguistics, and psycholinguistics. When it comes to the practical training, pre-graduate
students (pre-service teachers) put into practice the acquired theoretical knowledge into practice.
For about sixteen weeks and through three main phases (observation phase, alternate phase and
full time phase), teacher-trainees would meet and check the requirements of the skills and
knowledge already developed during their theoretical training at the ENSC in a more
pedagogical way.
This paper presents a reflection on a study in which we tried to investigate pre-service
teachers’ awareness and insights about the importance of linguistic knowledge during their
practical training and in their career as EFL teachers. This research aims to find out if EFL teacher-
trainees are aware of the linguistics theoretical training main objectives, to inquire whether or not
they are aware of the role of linguistics theory knowledge during their practical training, and to
certify whether or not they perceive the utility of keeping up-to- date their linguistics knowledge
via teacher education future programs.

I. Literature Review

A. Teacher Education
English language teachers are educated at the education faculties of the universities. There
they are exposed to an intensive training to enable them exercise their profession in the future.
Which are the components of this training? Crandall (2000) states that “Content knowledge and
pedagogical content knowledge remain important underpinnings of language teacher education”
(p.38). According to Shulman’s (1987, p. 8), three different categories of content knowledge are
needed to be developed in teacher education: content or subject-matter knowledge, the
pedagogical content knowledge, and general pedagogical knowledge. These interrelated
categories of knowledge that frame teacher education contribute to achieving an effective
teaching. Within the same line of thoughts, Fandiño (2013) puts Shulman’s categories into the
context of English language teacher education. This scholar describes these categories of English
Language Teacher Education as follows:

 Content knowledge refers to knowledge of subject matter connected to issues such as

syntax, phonology, semantics, pragmatics, and literary and cultural aspects.
Al-Athar ‫| األثــــــــر‬ ISSN 1112-3672 (Special issue) 2021 | 22

 Pedagogic knowledge consists of knowledge of teaching practices; e.g., classroom

management, lesson planning, etc.
 Pedagogic content knowledge deals with specialized knowledge of the teaching of an L2
(grammar, speaking, etc.),
 Support knowledge includes knowledge of different disciplines that inform language
teachers’ approaches to the teaching and learning of an L2; e.g., linguistics,
sociolinguistics, psycholinguistics, etc. (Fandiño, 2013, p. 86)

The aforementioned skills represent the basic rocks in teacher education. Meaning that
becoming a teacher of English necessitates essential prerequisites, including language proficiency,
concepts and theories related to language and language teaching, and basic language teaching
skills (Semium, 2014, p.14). Teacher education programs should include subjects which develop
teachers’ different knowledge.
B. The Importance of Linguistics Theory in Teacher Education
As postulated so far, the content knowledge in teacher education represents back bone of
in an effective teaching. The latter is better highlighted in Diller’s (1977) quotation
The Professional teacher of English as a Second Language needs Pedagogical training to be a
teacher, and academic training in English language and linguistics to be a professional in this
field. But of the two, there is certain Priority for English language and linguistics. (cited in
Richards & Hino, 1984, p.134)

It can be deduced that priority is given to language proficiency and linguistics theory as
the main components in a teacher education. The importance of linguistic theory in teacher
education was highlighted by Halliday (1981) when saying that teachers are requested to develop
their knowledge in linguistic theory in case they want to comprehend how the teaching/learning
process takes place and explain what is going on when it does not. The requested here is why
teachers should care about their knowledge of linguistics theory. In this context, De Klerk (1992)
hypothesized that “Linguistics trains one in awareness of the largely unconscious knowledge we
have about language, and of the patterns that are observable in particular languages” (p.83).
Meng (2009) goes further postulating that “The continuing developments in linguistic theory
and in language teaching theory as well as the constant changes in the language itself demand the
permanent study of language” (p. 86). To fulfill his role adequately, language teachers have to
keep their knowledge of linguistics theory up-to date because “teachers do need to understand
explicitly how language works, but pupils do not,” clarifies Hudson (2008, p.54).
To build this knowledge in EFL student teachers, Correa (2014, p. 168) recommended
what she calls “An Ideal Introductory Course in Linguistics”. According to her, this course is
characterized by the following:
 should present not only a basic introduction to the main areas of linguistic inquiry
(such as phonetics/phonology, morphology, syntax and semantics),
 but also to those areas that are intrinsically related to the former: sociolinguistics,
pragmatics and discourse, first/second/multiple language acquisition,
psycholinguistics, etc.
23 |Linguistics Knowledge Importance in Teacher Education: EFL Pre-service Teachers’ Insights

It is then, undeniable that EFL teachers should be empowered with linguistic contents to
solve classroom language learning problems when faced with them, as reported by Krashen
(2008) when revealing the fact that EFL teachers have told him that they have to review rules
before coming to class.
II. Methodology
A. Study Objectives and Research Questions

The purpose of this study is to investigate the importance of linguistics theory in teacher
education. To gain insights from the terrain, the researcher explored via a real context how far
pre-service teachers at the ENSC are aware and conscious of the importance of the linguistics
knowledge not only during their practical training but in their career as EFL teachers as well. This
may help in identifying pre-service teachers’ needs for training programs that target keeping up
to date EFL teachers’ Linguistics repertoire. To reach the study objectives, we departed from the
following research questions:

1. What is EFL teacher- trainees’ attitude towards the linguistics contents presented during
their theoretical training at the ENSC?
2. Are EFL teacher- trainees aware of the objectives of the acquired linguistics contents for a
future teacher?
3. How do EFL teacher- trainees perceive the role of the linguistics theory knowledge during
their practical training?
4. How do EFL teacher- trainees perceive the utility of linguistics theory knowledge is in
teacher education?

In the current investigation, Linguistic theory is identified as is that branch of linguistics

that is most concerned with developing models of linguistic knowledge including phonetics,
phonology, morphology, syntax and semantics. Teacher education, however, refers to the
policies and procedures designed to equip prospective teachers with the needed knowledge,
attitude, behaviours and skills to fulfill their tasks effectively, not only in the classrooms, but also
in the schools and the wider community. Students’ attitude in the current study refers to the
students’ beliefs towards the effectiveness of the linguistics knowledge in teacher-education.
B. Population, Research Design and Data Collection/Analysis Procedure

To explore the above questions, the researcher adopted a descriptive analytic research
design that was carried on fifty (50) EFL pre-service teachers (BAC+4 or BAC+5) at the ENSC. A
quantitative data analysis procedure was followed to analyze the online questionnaire data so
that valid answers might be provided.
Data collection started when the online questionnaire was posted to fifty (50) pre-
graduate EFL university students majoring in English at the department of English in the ENS of
Constantine- Algeria. The rationale behind selecting this sampling was that all participants who
responded to this questionnaire are pre-service teachers who just started their practical training
either at the high school for BAC+5(5B5) students or at the middle school for BAC+4 (4B4)
students during the academic year 2020/2021. The online questionnaire was posted via the
Al-Athar ‫| األثــــــــر‬ ISSN 1112-3672 (Special issue) 2021 | 24

following google link: https://forms.gle/poAw6vuevdU6aSa66 and the online responses were

also saved via the same link.
To ensure collecting valid data, the questionnaire was carried out immediately after the
training got over; so that the researcher could test the raised assumptions from fertile setting (the
Practical Training Experience). The questionnaire that started with an introduction explaining to
the participants the purpose of the questionnaire included fifteen (14) items that vary between
Likert scale items and open ended question items. In the Likert scale questions, informants were
invited to express their degree of agreement or disagreement to a proposition; in the open-ended
question each respondent had the freedom to answer in his or her own way rather than in terms
of the researcher’s predefined answer categories (Sapsford & Jupp, 2006).
III. Results and Discussion
From the total number of informants (N=50) who responded to the questionnaire, 31 of
them were 4B4 students (middle school teacher-trainees), and the remaining others (19) were
5B5 students (high school teacher-trainees). As far as the informants’ exposure to the linguistics
contents at the ENSC, the majority of teacher-trainees (92%) are exposed to the linguistics
contents be it phonetics, linguistics, phonology, etc for four years. Few of them (8%) assert being
exposed to contents for three years.

When asked whether they like or dislike the linguistics contents covered during their
theoretical training (Q2), a large portion of the respondents (76%) expressed their likeliness
towards it. The remaining portion (24%), however, expressed a negative feeling (see figure 1).

Figure 2: Pre-service Teachers Attitudes towards the Linguistics Contents

Pre-service teachers holding a positive attitude support their stand via some arguments.
“Linguistics contents have a crucial role in my studies. In fact, they represent the basics of the
language we are studying and later going to teach ” asserted one of the respondents. “It really
helps me in understanding all the notions and concepts related to language use and usage”
added another one. “The content is interesting since we have been introduced to different
theories and perspectives provided by pioneers in the field.” For this teacher-trainee, 3rd year
linguistics syllabus was the most appreciated “In sociolinguistics we were introduced to the
25 |Linguistics Knowledge Importance in Teacher Education: EFL Pre-service Teachers’ Insights

different varieties of language and we could clearly realize the link between language and
society”.

To solidify their position, those manifesting a negative attitude towards the linguistics
contents relied on some arguments mainly those related to the nature of linguistics topics and the
way they are presented and taught. One of the informants said: “ I think that it’s dry content
that only provides theoretical information without practice ”; someone else added that “the
content is not elaborated in an interesting way ”. One of the informants certified that he
started appreciating linguistics theory before his gradation. He said “ linguistics contents started
to become understandable in my fourth year. Previously it was the subject that I never
understood its importance ”.

These findings were backed when asking the respondents to express what they think
about linguistics course practicality. Their responses to the 3 rd query: “Do you think that the
content of the linguistics courses is…” are summarized in the table below.

Table 1.
Students’ attitude towards the Linguistics Course Practicality
Options Participants Percentage
Practicle 22 44%
Easy to learn 21 42%
Difficult 7 14%
Dry 19 38%
Impractical 12 24%

Q4.“The Linguistic Training at the ENS Focusses on Developing Students' Knowledge of”

To dig deep, we questioned the respondents whether or not they are aware of the
linguistics training main focus during the four years theoretical training at the ENSC. From
figure 2, we can see the linguistics knowledge developed at the ENSC is variant and complete.
Al-Athar ‫| األثــــــــر‬ ISSN 1112-3672 (Special issue) 2021 | 26

Figure 2: Linguistics Training main Objectives

According to the questioned pre-service teachers, the linguistics training they are exposed
to before graduation focusses on developing their knowledge in English pragmatics (64%),
sociolinguistics (62%), English discourse analysis (64%), English semantic system (48%), English
syntactic system (40%), psycholinguistics (38%), English grammar (30%), and English phonetic
system (26%).

Q5.“ This acquired linguistics knowledge empowers me as a future teacher to”

This query aimed to question teacher-trainees whether or not they are aware of the
benefits a future to be teacher might gain from the acquired Linguistics Knowledge, the
respondents responses are summarized in the table below.

Table 2.
The Acquired Linguistics Knowledge Empowers ENS Future Teacher to
Options Participants Percentage
Gain knowledge about language teaching/ learning theoretical aspects 33 66%
Know the theoretical basis of teaching language skills 19 38%
Know the practical basis of teaching language skills 13 26%
Know theoretical underpinnings about correcting language learners’ errors 13 26%
Be knowledgeable about the history of language teaching methodology 14 28%
Others 12 6%

It is noticeable from Table 2 that a high percentage of the respondents (66%) regard that
linguistics knowledge enables them to be knowledgeable about the theoretical aspects of
language teaching/ learning. For 19 pre-service teachers (38%), this knowledge makes them
aware about the theoretical basis of teaching language skills. For other teacher trainees, it rather
27 |Linguistics Knowledge Importance in Teacher Education: EFL Pre-service Teachers’ Insights

makes them knowledgeable about the practical basis of teaching language skills (26%), know of
the theoretical underpinnings about correcting language learners’ errors (26%), knowledgeable
about the history of language teaching methodology (28%). Twelve of the respondents consider
other benefits.
In order to know more about the participants’ interest tendency during their theoretical
training, question 6 was posited. Q6. “During my theoretical training at the ENSC I was more
interested in…”. Respondents’ responses are displayed in Figure 3.

Figure 4. Students' Interest during the Theoretical Training

Apparently from Figure 4, we notice that the majority of the teacher students (68%) are
more interested in developing both their skills in the theory of pedagogy and their skills in the
theory of contents. “During my training, I was interested in both because they have a mutual
dependence. Without developing my skills in the theory of content, it would be difficult for
me to learn how to teach this foreign language ” argues one of the respondents. Yet, nearly the
same percentages are more interested in developing their skills in the theory of pedagogy (18%)
or their skills in the theory of contents (16%). The respondents added comments backing their
interest in developing their skills either in pedagogy or in the theory of content. To defend his
interest towards pedagogy, one of them says “During my training at the ENS, I was interested in
how to teach a foreign language. Because as an English future teacher I have to know the
basis, the methods of language teaching and how can I make my Learners motivated ”.
Another one added “ In order to be successful in our career as teachers we need to build our
knowledge about pedagogical theories ”. One of those interested in the theory of content
speculates “I was more interested in developing my skills in the theory of contents because it
guides me to know the basics in teaching the foreign language”
Q 7 aims to diagnose how far teacher-trainees benefit from their knowledge of linguistic
theory during the practical training. The respondents’ responses re summarized in the table
below.
Al-Athar ‫| األثــــــــر‬ ISSN 1112-3672 (Special issue) 2021 | 28

Table 3.
Linguistics Theory Knowledge Importance during the Practical Training
Options Participants Percentage
Detect my pupils' language errors 32 64%
Explain learners’ errors 23 46%
Try to remedy the classroom language problems 27 54%
Know how English should be taught in the classroom 24 48%
Comprehend how the teaching/learning process takes place 28 56%
Others 0 0%
We notice from the data displayed above (table 3) that the teacher trainees rely on their
linguistics theory knowledge during the practical training. It helps them to detect their pupils’
language errors (64%), it could even supply them with explanation to these errors (46%). More
than the half of them (54%) agrees that their knowledge in linguistics theory enables them to
find solution to classroom language problems. For other respondents (48%), this knowledge
facilitates for them how English should be taught. Additionally, it aids them to comprehend how
teaching/learning takes place when they start acting as teachers.
All these benefits stimulate the teacher trainees at the ENSC to care about developing this
knowledge. To understand more the issue, we asked the respondents in query 8 to explain why
they want to expand their knowledge in linguistics theory why this latter is important in teacher
education. The table below highlights the respondents’ responses.

86% 88%
90%
78% 80% 80%
85%
80%
75% Percentage
70%
Phonetics helps Phonology helps Morphology Syntax helps Semantics Percentage
him/her to know him/her to know education helps him/her to teach education helps
about the about phonemes, him/her to teach the rules for him/her to
articulation and intonation, stress, vocabulary structuring well- enlarge his
the physical accent and formed phrases, knowledge about
aspects of speech features of clauses, and the meaning of
sounds connected speech sentences. words and
sentences

Figure 4. The Importance of Linguistics Theory in Teacher Education

As displayed in figure 4, the questioned teacher trainees manifest a raised awareness

towards the role of the linguistics knowledge components in teacher education. Almost the same
degree of importance was attributed to the effect of teacher’s knowledge in phonetics (78%),
phonology (80%), morphology (80%), syntax (86%), and in semantics (88%) on his
teaching performances.
When asked how is it possible for future teacher to ensure high quality of teaching and be
effective in the classroom (Q9 & Q10), the teacher-trainees manifest their readiness to use all
29 |Linguistics Knowledge Importance in Teacher Education: EFL Pre-service Teachers’ Insights

means that ensure more progress to their knowledge in linguistics theory so that keeping it up-
to-date.

Figure 5. Pre-service Teachers’ Future Intention

The above figure provides clear evidence about the students’ future intention to improve
their linguistics theory knowledge so that to ensure high quality teaching. An important portion
of the participants displayed their readiness to take part in dissemination conferences and
workshops (66%), to participate in school based activities (70%). Others prefer relaying on
personal teacher development programs. More importantly, the majority of the teacher-trainees
(86%) manifest their agreements towards the need for a life-long learning so that they can keep
themselves always updated (see figure 6).

Even if I receive a quality initial teacher education

before starting my practical training, I need life-
long learning
0%
12%

Agree
Disagree
86% Neither Agree nor Disgree

Figure 6. Pre-service Teachers’ Future Intention

Discussion

EFL teacher-trainees’ exhibit a raised awareness towards the importance of linguistics theory in
teacher education as a future to be teachers and displayed a positive attitude towards the
linguistics’ contents presented during their theoretical training at the ENSC. “We've developed
skills of the theory of language in the first two years, and for the last two years we've been
Al-Athar ‫| األثــــــــر‬ ISSN 1112-3672 (Special issue) 2021 | 30

focusing more on developing pedagogical skills” explains one of them. “My training at the
ENSC provides me with a solid background knowledge in both the theory of practice and the
theory of content to empower me as future EFL teacher linguistically as well as practically .”
This kind of assertions manifests the elevated awareness of the targeted pre-service teachers.
Notwithstanding, they claim the lack of creativity in the linguistics courses presented
during their theoretical training. This finding echoes what was previously asserted by Hennissen
and his associates (2017). “Theory is part of teacher education, but is not embedded in teaching
practice” (Hennissen et al., 2017, p. 314). The questioned pre-service teachers added comments
backing their claims. “The idea of creativity is absent in the course of linguistics, and teaching it in
the amphi does not work at all. The way it is taught harms the content ” claimed a pre-service
teacher. Additionally, they are completely aware that the linguistics training they are exposed to
before graduation focusses on developing their knowledge of the English linguistics systems. It
was confirmed that Linguistics knowledge is a prerequisite to promoting language development
in today’s classrooms. “Linguistic is a huge science from which we can embarrass various skills,
and for me this module taught me to understand the nature of language, how to acquire it
and how to deliver it in an appropriate progress ” postulate a pre-service teacher.
These findings are validated by multiple studies (Correa, 2014; Yin, 2019). In her study,
Correa (2014) wanted to examine the purpose of linguistics courses for language majors whose
main objective is to teach the language. Findings revealed the importance of linguistics theory in
teacher education. Furthermore, the researcher provides a set of recommendations on how to
make students’ EFL future teachers benefit from a linguistics course. In another investigation, Yin
(2019) explores the perceptions of pre-service teachers towards the teacher-training course that
was experienced in the university. Results revealed that the university course prepared them the
fundamental skills to prepare for lessons and reflect on their teaching practice. However, the
course failed to prepare them adequately to cope with the realities of the classroom context, as
the university course only provided them with an idealistic view of the classroom.
Throughout this investigation, the teacher students admit the importance of linguistics
knowledge in their profile as future teachers; however, they requested the need for more
professional teacher educators who know how to develop the language skills in a future teacher.
This finding echoes what was already sated by Fanselow and Light (1977) when saying that
“Many who prepare teachers have not studied the field of teacher preparation nor done any
research in it; they have studied and do research in other fields. However, they still seem to feel
competent to prepare teachers” (as cited in Richards & Hino, 1984, p. 122).
Results revealed that EFL teacher-trainees find in their linguistics theory knowledge refuge
during their practical training, mainly how to solve some classroom problems in a relation with
learners’ learning. “Since you are standing in front of a student you should know what skills to
use to manage your teaching process, especially in the first times .And of course you cannot go
to the battle field with no arms, so the linguistic competence is also highly required to deliver
your lectures appropriately ” argues one of the respondents. Within the same line of thought,
another one affirms that “During my practical training, I've noticed that learners make the same
mistakes I did in my first stages of learning a foreign language whether in writing or in
speaking, and from this experience I knew what I should emphasize while presenting the
31 |Linguistics Knowledge Importance in Teacher Education: EFL Pre-service Teachers’ Insights

lesson”. This confirms what was concluded in previous researches ( Krashen, 2008; Hudson,
2008; Meng, 2009; Bilgin, 2017). Bilgin (2017, p. 66) argued that “a teacher who is able to
understand how a language works will be able to understand what himself / herself and his/her
students struggle with while dealing with the language”. EFL teachers do need to understand
explicitly how language works, but pupils do not (Hudson, 2008). Linguistics can help language
teachers to think critically and constructively about language which makes possible the design of
the most feasible and practical language teaching pedagogy (Meng, 2009, 86).
It has also been certified that EFL teacher trainees expressed their sincere willingness to
keep up-to-date their linguistics theory knowledge. Throughout this inquiry, they raise a call for
in- service teacher education programs in the future. One of them states: “Learning the language
itself is more important than how to teach because this comes by time and through
experience. Your duty, as future teacher, is to give learners correct knowledge and guide them
in the correct path”. This confirms what was previously stated in the literature review that
“the constant changes in the language itself demand the permanent study of language” (Meng,
2009, p. 86).
IV. Students’ Recommendations
• linguistics theory should be applied in the classroom via giving more tasks or activities to
facilitate the understanding of each course
• The need for qualified teachers in the subject matter who know how to run a course
effectively is all what a teacher student needs during his training. The latter is the most
important factor. Raising the students' awareness and motivation about linguistics comes
after.
• The idea of creativity is absent in the course of linguistics, and teaching it in the amphi-
theater does not work at all.
• New methods and techniques should be used when teaching linguistics theory subjects. It
should be studied in real life situations like going out in the street and observing how
people manipulate the language.
• The content of linguistics knowledge developed in the ENSC is very informative,
appropriate and suitable for future teachers. However, linguistics syllabi should give
more focus to sociolinguistic and psycholinguistics because they help pre-service
teachers a lot in teaching English as a foreign language.

Conclusion
As stated at the beginning, the aim of this paper is to inquire about EFL pre-service
teachers’ awareness of the importance of linguistics knowledge in teacher education and what it
entails. It was not expected that the respondents to have a clear image on the raised issue and
how much they care about their profile as future teachers. The data suggest that pre-service
teachers hold very clear and on point opinions on the objectives of the theoretical training they
received at the ENS of Constantine and how their knowledge in linguistics theory serves them
during their practical training. Based on this realization, better to end our talk by repeating
 Al-Athar ‫| األثــــــــر‬ ISSN 1112-3672 (Special issue) 2021 | 32

Correa’ words (2014). For this scholar, future teachers need to know how language works as a
system so they can make informed choices in our teaching.

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