Teacher Beliefs and Teaching Practice

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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  riesserst  repctalcees  rwa mtaearil  citelns  prtarnes  idivnadiul erplorxes  droeticamc erlorxeps 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 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.