Author(s): Lasekan Olusiji Adebola
Copious of works have identified several instrumental motives to learn English in emerging economies where English is adopted either as a second or foreign language. These motives have spiked the demand for numerous branches of EFL in every English language teaching industry. Drawing on English teachers’ work as a service for consumption that is responding to the new economic realities, there is an urgent need to analyse the degree of preparedness of fresh graduates from English Pedagogy programs in Chile to meet the job demands of the industry. This paper seeks to address the level of preparedness of Chilean early career teachers to teach all branches of EFL available in the industry. Market segmentation was used to identify various types of English teaching services needed in different sectors of the industry, followed by a brief discussion on Chilean English teacher education program. It is revealed that Chilean teachers of English are trained to teach majorly English for General Purposes with a focus on learners in primary and secondary schools. The analysis indicates widening of the teaching skills gap of other branches of EFL such as English for Specific Purposes in the major segments of the industry.