scholarly journals A Sociocultural Perspective on English-as-a-Foreign-Language (EFL) Teachers’ Cognitions About Form-Focused Instruction

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qiang Sun ◽  
Lawrence Jun Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Research Output ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Sociocultural Factors ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Focus On Form ◽  
Efl Teachers ◽  
Beliefs About Teaching

There has been much research into teacher beliefs about teaching and learning as seen in the general teacher education literature. In the field of language teacher education, this line of research has been evolving, with the recent trend being streamlined into “teacher cognition” as a generic or umbrella term. Despite increasing amounts of research output so far, research into foreign language teachers’ cognitions about their own teaching and decision-making is still insufficient, particularly with regard to university-level English-as-a-foreign-language (EFL) teachers in China. Drawing on Vygotsky’s Sociocultural Theory, this qualitative research focused on EFL teachers’ cognitions about form-focused instruction in Chinese university settings. It intended to discover how teachers’ cognitions changed when they were expected to teach in actual classrooms and what factors contributed to these changes. Data collected from four teacher-participants through semi-structured interviews, classroom observations and follow-up stimulated recall interviews showed participants’ support for focus-on-form instruction, which means they not only paid attention to the grammatical form of the language but also to the meaning it is intended to convey. However, data also showed that the teacher-participants shifted from focus-on-form to focus-on-formS instruction in actual teaching, which suggests that they might have realized the challenges of carrying out teaching activities surrounding focus-on-form and would like to take an easier approach by only teaching the grammar of the language by focusing on formS. Such incongruences are interpreted with reference to a plethora of sociocultural factors including traditional Chinese thinking and institutional expectations. The implications of the findings for stakeholders in universities, including faculty members, students, and curriculum developers in similar contexts, are also discussed.

scholarly journals English as a foreign language—teachers’ perspectives on implementing online instruction in the Iranian EFL context

2014 ◽  
Vol 22 ◽  
Author(s):  
Reza Dashtestani
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Online Instruction ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Learning Technology ◽  
Blended Instruction ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Efl Context ◽  
Positive Attitudes ◽  
Efl Teachers ◽  
Teachers Perspectives

This study set out to explore Iranian English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers’ perceptions on the implementation of online EFL instruction. A mixed-methods design, including semi-structured interviews and questionnaires, was employed for the specific purposes of this study. A total of 242 EFL teachers participated in the questionnaire phase of the study. In addition, 46 EFL teachers participated in the interview phase of the study. The teachers worked at a number of universities, schools and language-teaching institutions in Iran. Results suggest that although the Iranian EFL teachers adopted moderately positive attitudes towards the implementation of online instruction, the majority of them preferred blended instruction to online instruction. At the same time, the study revealed that the implementation of online EFL instruction in Iran is challenging due to a number of perceived impediments and obstacles. The most considerable perceived challenges to the implementation of online EFL instruction comprise lack of online facilities and resources, lack of interaction in online instruction, cultural resistances to online instruction and teachers’ limited knowledge of online instruction. The findings of this study provided crucial insights into teachers’ perspectives on a number of measures that can be adopted to facilitate the integration of online instruction in the EFL context of Iran. The findings would provide valuable insights for educational authorities and course designers to integrate online instruction into the EFL curriculum.Keywords: online instruction; blended instruction; teachers' attitudes; challenges; English as a foreign language(Published: 14 March 2014)Citation: Research in Learning Technology 2014, 22: 20142 - http://dx.doi.org/10.3402/rlt.v22.20142

scholarly journals Teachers’ and Learners’ Beliefs About Pronunciation Instruction in Tertiary English as a Foreign Language Education

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Loc Tan Nguyen ◽  
Bui Phu Hung ◽  
Uyen Thi Thuy Duong ◽  
Tu Thanh Le
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Curriculum Design ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Language Education ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Language Curriculum ◽  
Pronunciation Instruction ◽  
Efl Teachers ◽  
Teachers And Students ◽  
Group Interviews

Recent studies have sought to describe and understand English as a second/foreign language (ESL/EFL) teachers’ pronunciation teaching practices in different contexts, but much less research has examined how teachers and learners perceive pronunciation instruction at tertiary level, especially in EFL settings. The qualitative study reported in this paper extends this line of research by investigating the beliefs of teachers and learners with regard to pronunciation instruction in tertiary EFL education in Vietnam. Data were collected from individual semi-structured interviews with six EFL teachers and focus group interviews with 24 students (four students per group) at a Vietnamese university. The study adopted a content-based approach to qualitative data analysis. The findings show that both the teachers and students considered pronunciation instruction an important component in tertiary EFL programs, which deserves explicit and systematic delivery. The findings suggest that both groups of participants believed communicative pronunciation teaching to have the potential to improve learners’ pronunciation and facilitate their general communicative purposes. The study has implications for language curriculum design and L2 pronunciation teaching and learning.

scholarly journals Unpacking the Processes of Materials Use: An Interdisciplinary Perspective of Language Teachers’ Use of Materials in China

SAGE Open ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 215824402097787
Author(s):  
Zhan Li ◽  
Yueting Xu
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Language Education ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Instructional Materials ◽  
Pedagogical Reasoning ◽  
Efl Teachers ◽  
Inservice Professional Development ◽  
Knowledge And Practice ◽  
The Relationship

In light of the growing agreement on the critical impact that materials can have on teaching and learning, classroom-based research on materials use in natural educational contexts has become increasingly urgent. This study aims to explore language teachers’ use of instructional materials in classroom settings. Drawing on the analysis of materials, interviews, and lesson observations from cases of three Chinese English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers and their six students, this study identified six interactive processes of materials use, based on which teachers’ pedagogical reasoning that enabled each process of materials use was unpacked. Through the theoretical lens of Keller and Keller’s anthropology of knowledge and Wartofsky’s categorization of artifacts, this article unraveled the relationship between teacher knowledge and practice in materials use and disentangled the multilayered roles of curriculum materials. The findings not only contribute to the conceptualization of materials use in language education but also suggest effective ways of enhancing the inservice professional development through materials use and development in natural educational contexts.

scholarly journals Challenges of First Years of Teaching in Turkey: Voices of Novice EFL Teachers

2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 117 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pinar Sali ◽  
Ilknur Kecik
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Secondary Schools ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Novice Teachers ◽  
Data Sources ◽  
Classroom Observations ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Stimulated Recall ◽  
Efl Teachers ◽  
Stimulated Recall Interviews

The present study aims to describe the challenges as perceived by novice teachers of English as a foreign language (EFL). The participants of the study were seven (7) novice EFL teachers in public primary and secondary schools in Turkey. The data sources include semi-structured interviews, diary entries, video-recorded classroom observations and stimulated recall interviews. The results, discussed in relation to pre-service and in-service teacher education, suggested that the novice EFL teachers started out their pedagogical journey amid competing and interacting challenges.

EFL Reformed Curriculum in Vietnam: An Understanding of Teachers’ Cognitions and Classroom Practices

RELC Journal ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 003368822110436
Author(s):  
Nam Giang Tran ◽  
Xuan Van Ha ◽  
Ngoc Hai Tran
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
English Language ◽  
Language Teaching ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Language Curriculum ◽  
Knowledge And Beliefs ◽  
Pedagogic Discourse ◽  
Focus On Forms

Second/foreign language (L2) education reforms have triggered increasing research investigating the effectiveness of and teachers’ cognitions and practices concerning the reformed curricula. This study extends this line of enquiry by employing a sociological perspective, an undertaking that little prior research has demonstrated in L2 teacher cognition literature, to explore teachers’ understanding, knowledge and beliefs about and their actual implementation of a reformed English language curriculum (i.e. task-supported language teaching) in Vietnam. The participants were six experienced English-as-a-foreign-language teachers at a secondary school. The data comprised in-depth semi-structured interviews, informal conversations, lesson plans and classroom observations. The findings showed that the teachers made use of their existing deep-rooted knowledge and beliefs about language teaching and learning to enact the reformed curriculum in their own ways, illustrating a focus-on-forms approach. The study drew on Bernstein's notion of pedagogic discourse to shed light on the teachers’ rationales for their own ways of practice. Pedagogical implications are discussed.

scholarly journals Understanding Malaysian ESL pre-service teachers’ beliefs about teaching and learning through metaphors

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 347-361
Author(s):  
Wan Noor Miza Wan Mohd Yunus
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
Multiple Roles ◽  
Pedagogical Beliefs ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Government Schools ◽  
Teaching Practicum ◽  
Teachers Beliefs ◽  
Beliefs About Teaching

Teaching metaphors are often used in teacher education programmes for pre-service teachers to critically reflect on their teaching. Metaphors not only give insights into teachers’ beliefs and principles about teaching and learning but may also guide classroom practices. This article sought to explore three Malaysian ESL pre-service teachers’ teaching metaphors in different situations during their teaching practicum. The study also explored what the selected metaphors revealed about the pre-service teachers’ pedagogical beliefs. Data in this study was collected qualitatively by using semi-structured interviews and reflective tasks assigned after the pre-service teachers’ teaching practicum at local government schools. Findings indicated that the pre-service teachers have multiple roles, which are represented by various metaphors they formulated in different situations. It has been suggested that metaphors can be effective in eliciting beliefs as the constructed metaphors reveal much about the roles of the pre-service teachers. The major beliefs about teaching and learning generated by the research participants include meeting students’ needs, varying teaching approaches, and facilitating students. The implications of this study are for teacher educators to utilize metaphors in teacher education programmes and to acknowledge pre-service teachers’ beliefs as this may highly impact their practices and development.

scholarly journals Pre-Service Foreign Language Teachers’ Perceptions of Research Skills: A Qualitative Study

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eda Elmas ◽  
Selami Aydin
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Learning Processes ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Research Skills ◽  
Teachers Perceptions ◽  
Research Activities ◽  
Efl Teachers

While research skills seem significant for effective and successful foreign language teaching and learning, few studies focused on how English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers perceive research skills in the EFL teaching and learning processes. Research also lacks how EFL teachers perceive research skills and to what extent they are aware of the role, teacher as researcher. Thus, this study aims to explore pre-service EFL teachers’ perceptions of research skills for a deeper understanding of how their perceptions of research skills affect or contribute to the teaching and learning processes. The sample group in the study consisted of 44 pre-service EFL teachers studying at a state university. A background questionnaire, diaries, reflections and interviews were the tools to collect qualitative data. Results showed that research activities develop pre-service EFL teachers’ content knowledge, research skills and target language proficiency, while they perceive several problems during the process. The study suggests that research skills should be a must course in pre- and in-service teacher education programs.

scholarly journals Qualities of Effective EFL Teachers in the 21st Century: A Reflection From Ecuador

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. 1526-1533
Author(s):  
Edgar E. Heredia-Arboleda ◽  
Mónica J. Torres-Cajas ◽  
Danilo R. Yépez Oviedo ◽  
Adriana C. Lara-Velarde
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
21St Century ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
English Language ◽  
Personal Communication ◽  
Public University ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Personal Traits ◽  
Efl Teachers ◽  
English Language Teachers

English Language Teachers (ELTs), to be effective in the teaching and learning process in contemporary society, need to be not only competent with qualities of instructional skills but also with qualities of personal traits. This paper aims to offer ELTs reflection around the most vital qualities of personal traits, which are required to contribute to the design of more effective EFL teaching and learning milieus. To that end, and supported by a pilot study carried out to construct a master´s degree program in Teaching Local and Foreign Languages in an Ecuadorian Public University, we gathered, in four major categories, the scattered and unclassified qualities of personal traits which are available in the related literature. In this framework, the qualities of personal traits that ELTs must possess are bound with virtues such as perpetual learning, humanism, instructional-personal communication, and cross-culturalism. In general, this article may be helpful for ELTs to visualize the qualities of personal traits, which are needed to face the English as a Foreign Language (EFL) education of the 21st century.

scholarly journals A CASE STUDY ON THE ROLE OF SOCIOCULTURAL FACTORS IN ESL PRE-SERVICE TEACHERS’ BELIEFS AND PRACTICE

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 321-345
Author(s):  
Wan Noor Miza Wan Mohd Yunus
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
Education Programme ◽  
Pedagogical Practices ◽  
Sociocultural Factors ◽  
Teachers Beliefs ◽  
Beliefs About Teaching ◽  
Schooling Experience ◽  
Beliefs And Practice

Pre-service teachers are often involved in the continuous construction and reconstruction of their identities that are shaped by various internal and external factors. This study explores sociocultural factors that influence pre-service teachers' beliefs about teaching and learning namely 1) previous schooling experience, 2) teacher education, and 3) curriculum specifications. Participants of the study were three pre-service teachers studying at a local university in Malaysia. Data were collected through face-to-face interviews conducted after their teaching practicum at local government schools. Findings from this study indicate that the three sociocultural factors have a varying degree of influence towards the pre-service teachers’ pedagogical beliefs and practice. Previous schooling experience and teacher education programme have the most influence on all the pre-service teachers' beliefs and practice while curriculum specifications have the least impact. It is also evident from this study that the formation of teachers' beliefs is complex as sociocultural factors such as ethnicity, gender, school and home are always interactional. The findings provide implications for ESL teacher educators in considering pre-service teachers' beliefs in teacher education programmes as these may significantly impact their pedagogical practices.

scholarly journals Exploring the consequences of teachers’ self-efficacy: a case of teachers of English as a foreign language

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Goudarz Alibakhshi ◽  
Fariborz Nikdel ◽  
Akram Labbafi
Keyword(s):  
Job Satisfaction ◽  
Qualitative Research ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Self Efficacy ◽  
Teaching Practices ◽  
Research Method ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Qualitative Research Method ◽  
Burn Out ◽  
Efl Teachers

AbstractTeacher self-efficacy has been abundantly studied. However, it seems that the consequences of teachers’ self-efficacy have not been appropriately explored yet. The research objective was to investigate the consequences of teachers’ teaching self-efficacy. The researchers used a qualitative research method. They collected the data through semi-structured interviews with 20 EFL teachers who were selected through purposive sampling. The interviews were content analyzed thematically. Findings showed that self-efficacy has different consequences: pedagogical, learner-related, and psychological. Each consequence has several sub-categories. It is concluded that high self-efficacy affects teachers’ teaching practices, learners’ motivation, and achievement. It also affects teachers’ burn-out status, psychological being, as well as their job satisfaction. The findings can be theoretically and pedagogically important to EFL teachers, teacher-trainers, and administrators of educational settings.

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