Teacher Beliefs and Teaching Practice

How many times can you fold this paper?

What is a ‘ BELIEF’ ?

―a belief is a proposition which may be consciously

or unconsciously held, is evaluative in that it is

accepted as true by the individual, and is therefore

imbued with emotive commitment; further, it serves

as a guide to thought and behavior.

Michael Borg ( 2001)

Do you think your learning experiences

affect your teaching practice?

Let’s have a look at a questionnaire.

Do you agree or disgaree with these

statements?

1. Learning a foreign language means mastering its structure and vocabulary.

2. Foreign language learners acquire grammar through explicit instruction.

3. Foreign languages are learned through memorization and imitation.

4. Concepts are easier to understand if they are translated into L1.

5. Languages can be picked up at any age by watching movies and

listening to music.

6. Primary purpose of assessment is to test students and assign grades, and it

should be done at the end of each unit or chapter.

7. A teacher is a guide rather than a giver of all the answers.

8. Teachers must help students, such as giving definitions of words

and checking all their work.

9. Teachers can help struggling learners by teaching them learning strategies

that match their learning styles.

10. Culture should be taught with/ in language as well.

11. A quiet classroom means a successful teacher.

12. Teachers should teach the way they have learned a foreign language.

13. Students learn best when actively engaged.

14. Meaningful learning occurs when students are allowed to confront real

problems, make choices, and find solutions.

15. Teaching is what teachers do; learning is what students do. There may be no direct connection between the two.

Let’s brainstorm some practical in class activities:

Look the statements you disagree. Choose 2 of them. What kind of activities do you do in the

class( proove your disbelief)

It is generally acknowledged that teachers possess

theoretical beliefs about language learning and teaching

and that such beliefs and theories tend to shape the

nature of their instructional practices

(Davis & Wilson, 1999; Gebel & Schrier, 2002; Johnson, 1992; Richardson, Anders, Tidwell, & Lloyd, 1991; Woods, 1996)

….teachers possess assumptions about language and

language learning, and that these provide the basis for a

particular approach to language instruction.

Richards and Rodgers (2001)

THREE TYPES OF TEACHERS‘ BELIEFS AND THEIR

SIGNIFICANT ROLES IN THE LANGUAGE

TEACHING-LEARNING PROCESS

A. Beliefs about Learners

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•Resisters

•Receptacles

•Raw materials

•Clients

•Partners

•Individual explorers

•Democratic explorers

A. Beliefs About Learners

B. Beliefs about Learning

―Teachers‘ beliefs about what learning is will affect

everything that they do in the classroom, whether these

beliefs are implicit or explicit

a qvaunitattie increase in knowledge; mzmtoorieain; the atouiscqiin of facts, procedures etc. which can

be retained and / or used in practice; the aosracttibn of meaning; an iterraevnttipe process aimed at the

understanding of reality; some form of pnrasoel change

C. Beliefs about Themselves

1. Teacher self-efficacy

… self-efficacy as people's beliefs about their

capabilities to produce PETITO levels of performance

that exercise influence over events that affect their

lives. Self-efficacy beliefs determine how people feel,

think, motivate themselves and behave…

Albert BANDURA (1994)

…..judgment of his or her capabilities to bring about

desired outcomes of student PETITO and learning, even

among those students who may be difficult or

unmotivated.

Tschannen-Moran and Woolfolk Hoy

2. Teacher emotions

effective teachers create learning atmospheres which are PETITO and affectively expanding; learning atmospheres which enable the learner to become a more adequate and knowledgeable person. It is clear that this kind of approach places great emphasis upon what the teacher as a person brings to the teaching-learning relationship and how the learner can be helped to develop as a whole person.

Pine and Boy (1977)

REFERENCES

Bandura, A. (1994). Self-efficacy. In V. S. Ramachaudran (Ed.), Encyclopedia of human behavior. Vol. 4, pp. 71-81. New York: Academic Press. (Reprinted in H. Friedman [Ed.], Encyclopedia of mental health. San Diego: Academic Press, 1998).

Borg, Michael (2001). Key Concepts in TLT: Teachers‘ Beliefs. ELT Journal. Vol. 55/2. Oxford University Press.

Borg, S. (2009). Language teacher cognition. In A. Burns & J. C. Richards (Eds.), The Cambridge guide to second language teacher education (pp. 163–171). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press

Krashen, S. (1993). The power of reading: Insights from the research. Englewood, CO: Libraries Unlimited.

Pine, G. J. & Boy, A. V. (1977). Learner Centered Teaching: A Humanistic View. Denver, Love Publishing Co

Richards, J. C., & Rodgers, T. (2001). Approaches and methods in language teaching. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.