Enriching the Communication Skills of Pre-Service English Teachers through a Training Design

The study aimed to determine the level of competency along the five communication skills namely reading, writing, listening, speaking and viewing of the pre-service English teachers as a basis for the formulation of a training design. The study utilized descriptive correlational research design and subjected 25 fourth year student teachers enrolled in Bachelor of Secondary Education (BSE/BSED) Major in English in Don Mariano Marcos Memorial State University (DMMMSU) South La Union Campus (SLUC), in Union Christian College (UCC) and in Saint Louis College (SLC). Data were treated using averages, means, and Pearson Product Moment Correlation. Basing on the results of the documentary analyses and a teacher-made test, the researcher found that: their level of performance in their major subjects is above average; their communication competency level along the five communication skills is moderately competent; and there is no significant relationship between their levels of performance in their English major subjects and communication competency. The following conclusions were drawn: the pre-service English teachers lack enrichment and reinforcement activities in communication to boost their level of performance; they do not choose intelligently and do not focus on meaningful learning experiences such as critical reading, effective writing, evaluative listening, effective speaking and critical viewing that involve the application of their communication skills; they do not continuously participate to different learning avenues concentrated on their five macro skills and do not continuously assess their communication competency level; and a training design for pre-service English teachers needs to be formulated in order to boost their communication skills in the five macro areas namely reading, writing, listening, speaking and viewing