Researching Occupational Choice of Student Teachers of English as a Foreign Language at German Universities

Senem Özkul 
(Erfurt University, Germany)

Abstract: The present study investigates occupational choice of student teachers of English as a foreign language (EFL) at German universities. The main aim was finding out what motives influenced their decision for choosing teaching English as a career and whether they are certain about their decision. Moreover, the relationship between motives and gender was explored. The research data was collected via a questionnaire containing open-ended and closed questions which was completed by 1,709 prospective English teachers from 19 universities. The data analysis was carried out by means of SPSS statistical package program. The findings of the study showed that both female and male students were preliminarily motivated by intrinsic motives. While female respondents were generally encouraged by their enthusiasm for working with children and teenagers, the male subjects mostly named their obligation to society to accomplish a worthwhile social task. The results of the study demonstrated that a majority of the participants were certain about their career decision. Since it is difficult to reverse a career decision for teaching, a timely self-reflection concerning student teachers’ occupational choice to avoid disappointments in the later stages of their teacher training and a burnout in their future career is emphasized.

Key words: career motivations, English language teaching, student teachers, occupational choice