PERCEPTION TOWARDS THE CEFR-BASED ENGLISH PROFICIENCY TEST: A CASE OF THE STUDENT-TEACHER IN THE TEACHER FOR LOCAL DEVELOPMENT PROJECT AT ONE UNIVERSITY IN THAILAND

บทคัดย่อ

Every year, thousands of Thai student teachers, regardless of their majors, take the high-stakes English proficiency test to fulfill the requirements of the Teacher for Local Development Project. They need to obtain the minimum scores on the CEFR-based English proficiency tests to be appointed as in-service teachers. Given that it affects future careers, the CEFR-based English proficiency test becomes one of the most high-stakes tests for student teachers in Thailand. The aim of the present study was to determine the perception that student teachers in the Teacher for Local Development Project had regarding CEFR-based English proficiency tests. Employing an exploratory design, the questionnaire was used to collect data from an intact group of seventeen non-English major student teachers from one public university in Thailand. According to the result, the requirement of the CEFR-based English proficiency test had both positive and negative feedback among the participants. Their perceived levels of awareness and familiarity with the CEFR-based English proficiency test were at high and moderate levels, respectively. They also encountered challenges due to inadequate information about the test they were about to take in their final year of teacher education. A glimpse of the contradiction between the intention of the policy and the washback of the test was also surfaced. In light of the finding, the final section of this study discusses helpful recommendations for promoting a positive perception among student teachers, as well as future research directions.