Proficiency Level in English Teachers of the Seventh-day Adventist Secondary Schools in the Northern Mexican Union Conference

Resumen

English is recognized as a globalized language all over the world. Also, as the need to speak English increases, teaching English as a foreign language and testing of English become more vital in Mexico as well as worldwide. English empowers people who have learned it, giving them more academic and professional opportunities, providing them with various skills needed for the labor market. Therefore, students need to learn English for a brighter future with more chances to have better jobs and possibilities. English teachers have an essential task in the students’ learning, carrying out the activities, and they are an immediate source to learn the language; the students acquire their second language input through exposure or their zone of proximal development. Teachers with a high-level target language proficiency could handle several aspects of language teaching, exposing learners to a broader spectrum of language structures and vocabulary. Because of the importance of English in daily life, this study aimed to provide a real diagnosis of secondary school teacher´s proficiency level. This current study is mainly a descriptive quantitative explorative and transversal type. The instrument was
applied via an online questionnaire or survey, testing the four language skills: listening, speaking, reading, and writing. The sample consisted of 24 Secondary English teachers from 9 states. The data obtained from the LimeSurvey showed that the 24 English teachers have strength in the Listening and Speaking skills, but a deficiency in the Reading skill. Overall, most of the teachers got the right level in English proficiency (B1-C1), which respond to the Government´s Teacher Profile requirements.