EXPLORATION OF THE BELIEFS OF NOVICE LANGUAGE TEACHERS AT THE FIRST YEAR OF THEIR TEACHING ENDEAVORS

Year 2007, Issue: 17, 1 - 14, 01.02.2007

Yavuz Akbulut

Abstract

This study explores the primary concerns of novice English Language Teaching ELT teachers, examines if novice teachers deviate from the training they got at their BA level, and seeks for possible explanations of the discrepancy between novice teachers’ background and their application in meeting the demands of a real classroom. Through Likert-scale questionnaires prepared after adapting Johnson’s 1992 belief inventory, quantitative data were collected from 13 ELT teachers. Results of the one-way multivariate analyses of variance MANOVA revealed that function-based statements determined by Johnson 1992 were preferred significantly more than skill-based statements. Qualitative data were collected through semi-structured interviews to get meaningful insights about the concerns of novice teachers. Results of the qualitative data confirmed the findings of the previous studies, revealed a gap between teachers’ beliefs and practices, and suggested that primary concerns of novice teachers are establishing a classroom conduct in terms of an appropriate degree of discipline, covering the required material on time and preparing for the examinations rather students’ well-being and involving them in meaningful learning activities. Possible reasons for this situation are identified

Keywords

Belief inventory, teacher education, belief-application discrepancy, novice

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