INVESTIGATING THE ASSOCIATIONS BETWEEN ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHERS` REFLECTIVENESS AND TEACHING EXPERIENCE

Abstract

Interest in language teacher reflection has grown massively after the emergence of post-method era. This study aims to explore the potential associations between teacher reflectiveness and experience among EFL teachers. To this end, a standard English Language Teaching Reflection Inventory (ELTRI) was employed to measure the reflectiveness of 179 English language teachers. The results revealed that there is a negative correlation between teaching experience of teachers and their reflectiveness that is aligned with the tacit claims of Cognitive Consistency Theories, specifically Congruity Theory. It is suggested that as teachers grow more experienced, they tend to become more stabilized in their instructional praxis. The findings of this study bear important implications for those who are in the realm of teaching in general and language teaching in particular.

Keywords

• Teacher reflectiveness
• Language teaching
• Teacher experience

Kaynakça

1. Masui, C., & De Corte, E. (2005). Learning to reflect and to attribute constructively as basic components of self-regulated learning. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 75, 351–372. McGann, M., De Jaegher, H. & Di Paolo, E. (2013). Enaction and psychology. Review of General Psychology, 17 (2), 203–209. McMahon, S. I. (1997). Using documents written and oral dialogues to understand and challenge pre-service teachers’ reflections. Teaching and Teacher Education, 13 (2), 199-213.
2. Moon, J. A. (2006) Learning Journals. A handbook for reflective practice and professional development , London: Routledge. Pajares, M. F. (1992). Teachers' beliefs and educational research: Cleaning up a messy construct. Review of Educational Research, 62 (3), 307-332. Parkinson, P.T. (2009). Field-based pre-service teacher research: facilitating reflective professional practice. Teaching and Teacher Education, 25(6), 798-804. Richardson, V. (1989). The evolution of reflective teaching and teacher education. In R. Clift, W. R. Houston, &M. Pugach (Eds.), Encouraging reflective practice: An examination of issues and exemplars. New York: Teachers College Press. Saylag, R. (2012). Self-reflection on the teaching practice of English as a second language: becoming the critically reflective teacher, Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 46, 3847 – 3851