Exploring teachers' beliefs

     1. What beliefs or assumptions about language learning and language teaching have you held throughout your English language development and your teaching career?

English Learning

It is an ongoing process in which knowledge is socially co-constructed.

“I think that knowledge has to be co-constructed based on what we perceived from the reality” (Teaching metaphor)

“I always tend to be a knowledge generator instead of a knowledge transmitter” (Teaching metaphor)

“People construct knowledge from what they experience. Nevertheless, what teaching provides is reinforcement and a bunch of opportunities to learn from the existing knowledge and to build up new one” (Conceptualizing teaching questions)

In the English learning process, more contact with the second language is needed to provide learners a conscious linguistic construction.

“The language exposure in a foreign language instruction only takes place in the classroom or at home and it may be quite limited or restricted” (My beliefs)

“She was always concerned about teaching her students how to communicate and providing them different contexts to practice communicative functions” (Autobiography)

“In the first activity, I provided them enough input and then I asked them to use the language by asking questions” (journal 2)

In the English learning process, the sources, the opportunities, the materials, the methodological strategies, and the context are effective components to support the learners’ needs.

“It is a multifaceted process in which the interrelation of the different components allows humans master a language” (My beliefs)

“I chose interactive activities to promote cooperative learning. Games are always a good strategy to trigger learning. It is important to check understanding as many times as possible” (Journal 3)

“The game was a good strategy because they could start practicing the verbs by recognizing them and the final activity was a good choice because the main purpose of the activity was communication” (Journal 2)

Crucial factors like motivation, willingness, environment, interaction, engagement among others, play a significant role in the whole process.

“Learners seemed to be delighted and enthusiastic with the activities” (Journal 3)

“They were engaged in the activity and the participation was dynamic” (Journal 4)

“The participation was dynamic. Learners were mostly active, engaged and interested in the activity” (journal 1)

“Keeping children engaged and motivated during the learning process is not an easy job; it demands innovative activities that let students be involved in significant experiences” (conceptualizing teaching questions)

“My curiosity and my willingness to learn English leads me to start reading those books and novels. I still remember the first time I read an English book. It was a short story called Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. I found it captivating and engaging” (Autobiography)

English Teaching

Teaching is the act of maximizing the students’ performance in their learning process.

“Teaching a foreign language is not my main role of performance as a teacher but educating learners for raising awareness of the current issues of society as well as makes them think critically about them” (Teaching metaphor)

“Education is part of the social transformation and emancipation” (Teaching metaphor)

 “I met a teacher who was more aware about the necessity of communicating in English” (Autobiography)

Teachers are always learning from different sources (learners’ viewpoint, colleagues’ viewpoint, academy information and from their practice).

“I will mainly emphasize on the word experience with reference to the process I have gone through to become the teacher I am. Those practices have directly shaped my conceptions, my perceptions, my thoughts and my ideologies about the educational performance played by teachers. Each job has contributed to my professional development” (Autobiography)

“I am immersed in an ongoing process of discovering myself as a professional and reshaping my methodology based on my experiences in teaching” (Autobiography)

The main concern of teaching is supervising and guiding learners’ learning process by creating settings in which learners can play their own role at their own rate.

“She was always concerned about teaching her students how to communicate and providing them different contexts to practice communicative functions” (Autobiography)

 “I was permanently monitoring their learning process” (Journal 2)

In the process of teaching, the role of the teacher has been minimized to give more leadership to students.

“Different conceptions have come up to define the teaching profession. Harmer, J., (2007) stated that some teachers talk of themselves as orchestral conductors because they lead directly the pace and the tone of the conversations. Some others see themselves as actors because they have to be part of a continuous role-play and others feel like gardeners because they are planting the seeds that they will watch grow” (My beliefs)

“Students had to use the language in a conversation with their partners. It was about asking and answering questions, using the cards made by them” (journal 1)

Teaching is a life-long learning

“The act of teaching is an ongoing process in which I have experimented professional growth and personal satisfaction” (conceptualizing teaching questions)

“Everyday practice of teaching has brought me challenges. As a teacher I do reflective teaching to analyze the continuous progress and the context in which I teach. I question my performance in the classroom and the goals I set as guidance to do my work” (conceptualizing teaching questions)

2. What sources have you derived those beliefs or assumptions from?

I have derived those beliefs or assumptions from my experience mainly as a language learner and a language teacher. As Richards & Lockhart (2004) states, “all teachers were once students, and their beliefs about teaching are often a reflection of how they themselves were taught” (p. 30). I have been involved in experiences as an observer of the learning and teaching practices which have been a powerful source for my professional development as a language teacher. However the prevailing source I have had as a teacher is from practice, contrasting theory and constructing my understanding about what work well for language teaching. 

3. How would you challenge some of those beliefs?

The best way of challenging my beliefs is through research and reflection. Research is the basis for studying the nature of learning and teaching practices. By researching, I could question the validity of my beliefs in order to provide students a better learning experience.

Reflection in another effective way of exploring the beliefs I hold about language learning and language teaching. As Murray, A (2010) says “I see reflective practice as a fundamental part of continuing professional development; it provides me with opportunities to analyze and ask questions about my objectives as well as to examine how I plan and what I teach” (p. 3). 

References

RICHARDS, J. & LOCKHART, C. (2004). Reflective Teaching in Second Language Classroom. New York: Cambridge University Press.

MURRAY, A. (2010). Empowering Teachers through Professional Development. English Teaching Forum, 1, pp. 1-11.