Bad clue, terrible English? Novice needs to be this! (8)
I believe the answer is:
educable
'novice needs to be this' is the definition.
(a novice or trainee is undergoing education)
'bad clue terrible english?' is the wordplay.
'terrible' indicates an anagram.
'english?' becomes 'e' (abbreviation).
'bad'+'clue'='badclue'
'badclue' is an anagram of 'educabl'.
'educabl'+'e'='EDUCABLE'
(Other definitions for educable that I've seen before include "Able to be trained" , "as good students should be" , "Capable of being taught" , "can take in information" .)