The Current Ideologies in ELT Programme in CAS- Rustaq and Its Implications

"Phillipson (1996) considers NNESTs to be potentially the ideal ESL teachers because they have gone through the process of acquiring English as an additional language." Even though the above quotation indicates that nonnative English second language teachers are in better stand than native teachers, Omani community is complaining of the inadequate level of new graduates Omani teachers. Al-Mutawa and Kailani (1989) mention that if the teachers lack the "practical command of the target language", they will not be able to teach communicatively (cited in Al-Issa, 2001, p. 7). This paper aims to study the causes of the inadequate level of English student teachers in Omani context. It discusses various ideologies on which the educational system in CAS-Rustaq is based. These ideologies make a fixed framework implemented in training students as teachers, but which in itself looks problematic. One of the main ideologies is methodology knowledge that outweighs language knowledge. The study focuses on both student teachers' and inspectors' perceptions on ELT programme delivered in CAS- Rustaq in order to provide competent NNLT for the Omani schools. "Interrelated questionnaire and interview" were employed in ordered to gather the data needed to answer the two main questions of the study (Dornyei, 2007, p. 24). These questions are 1) What are the ideologies of ELT programme delivered in CAS- Rustaq? 2) What are the student teachers' and inspectors' perceptions on ELT programme delivered in CAS- Rustaq? The initial findings of this study reveal a gap between what the student teachers should be equipped with and what they are provided with in ELT programme. The study recommends reviewing ELT programme to meet the needs of competent non-native English teacher.