An Interpretive Study into Elementary School English Teachers’ Beliefs and Practices in Turkey

Abstract

This exploratory study seeks for understanding the relationship between Turkish elementary school English teachers’ espoused beliefs about the effective ways of teaching English and their self-reported practices. 6 teachers, who were working at different state schools in a town located in the Northwestern part of Turkey, were interviewed. Interpretation of the data revealed inconsistency between teachers’ beliefs and practices. Although there was a strong consensus that English should be taught communicatively, all participants reported that their teaching practices mainly focus on vocabulary and grammar. A number of factors hindering this consistency were mentioned such as exam-based educational policy, time constraints and overloaded syllabus. In the light of these, this study recommends changing the focus of current English testing system to using the language communicatively and implementing an adaptable curriculum where language learning objectives will be shifted from preparing students for the examinations to improving their competences in productive skills

Keywords

• Teachers’ beliefs and practices
• English as a foreign language
• English language teaching in Turkey

Kaynakça

1. Bai, H., & Ertmer, P. (2004). Teacher educators’ beliefs and technology uses in relation to pre-service teachers’ beliefs and technology attitudes. (ERIC No.485020).
2. Bandura, A. (1986). Social foundations of thought and action: A social cognitive theory. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
3. Basturkmen, H. (2012). Review of research into the correspondence between language teachers’ stated beliefs and practices. System, 40, 282-295.
4. Borg, M. (2001). Teachers’ beliefs. ELT Journal, 55(2), 186-188.
5. Borg, S. (2006). Teacher cognition and language education. London: Continuum.
6. Borg, S. (2011). Teachers’ beliefs and practices regarding learner autonomy. ELT Journal, 66(3), 283- 292.
7. Brown, A., & Dawling, P. (1998). Doing research/reading research. London: Falmer Press.
8. Calderhead, J. (1996). Teachers: Beliefs and knowledge. In D. C. Berliner & R. C. Calfee (Eds.), Handbook of Educational Psychology (pp. 709-725). New York: Macmillan.

9. Caner. M., Subasi, G., & Kara, S. (2010). Teachers’ beliefs on foreign language teaching practices in early phases of primary education: A case study. Turkish Online Journal of Qualitative Inquiry, 1(1), 62-76.
10. Clark, C. M., & Peterson, P. L. (1986). Teachers’ thought processes. In Wittrock, M. C. (Ed.) Handbook of Research on Teaching (pp. 255-296). New York: Macmillan.
11. Cohen, L., Manion, L., & Morrison, K. (2007). Research methods in education. (6th ed.) London: Routledge.
12. Duffy, G., & Anderson, L. (1984). Teachers’ theoretical orientations and the real classroom. Reading Psychology, 5, 97-104.
13. Fishbein, M., & Ajzen, I., (1975). Belief, attitude, intention and behaviour: An introduction to theory and research. Philippines: Addison-Wesley Publishing Company.
14. Gahin, G. H. (2001). An investigation into EFL teachers’ beliefs and practices in Egypt: An exploratory study. Unpublised PhD thesis. University of Exeter, UK.
15. Gardner, R.C., & MacIntrye, P. D. (1991). An instrumental motivation in language study: Who says it isn’t effective? SSLA, 13, 57-72.
16. Gow, L., & Kember, D. (1993). Conceptions of teaching and their relationship to student learning. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 63, 20-33.
17. Grix, J. (2004). The foundations of research. London: Palgrave Macmillan.
18. Grossman, G. M., Onkol, P. E., & Sands, M. (2007) Curriculum reform in Turkish education: Attitudes of teacher educations towards change in an EU candidate nation. International Journal of Educational Development, 27, 138-150.
19. Hatipoğlu Kavanoz, S. (2006). An exploratory study of English language teachers’ beliefs, assumptions, and knowledge about learner-centeredness. TOJET, 5(2).
20. Hoffman, J. V., & Kugle, C. L. (1982). A study of theoretical orientation to reading and its relationship to teacher verbal feedback during reading instruction. Journal of Classroom Interaction, 18, 2-7.
21. Horwitz, E. K. (1987). Surveying student beliefs about language learning. In A. L. Wenden & J. Rubin (Eds.) Learner Strategies in Language Learning (pp. 119-128). London: Prentice Hall.
22. Johnson, K. E. (1992). The relationship between teachers’ beliefs and practices during literacy instruction for non-native speakers of English. Journal of Reading Behavior, 24(1).
23. Kalaja, P. (1995). Student beliefs (or metacognitive knowledge) about SLA reconsidered. International Journal of Applied Linguistics, 5(2),191-204.
24. Karavas, E. (1993). English language teachers in the Greek secondary school: A study of their classroom practices and their attitudes towards methodological and material innovation. Unpublished PhD thesis. University of Warwick, UK.
25. Lambert, W. E. (1974). Culture and language as factors in learning and education. In F. E. Aboud & R.D. Meade (Eds.), Cultural factors in language and education. Proceedings of the Fifth Western Washington Symposium on Learning (pp. 91-122). Bellingham, Western Washington State College.
26. Maiklad, C. (2001). The beliefs and practices of Thai English language teachers. Unpublished PhD thesis. University of Exeter, UK.
27. Mori, R. (2002). Teachers’ beliefs and corrective feedback. JALT Journal, 24(1), 52-73.
28. Nespor, J. (1987). The role of beliefs in the practice of teaching. Journal of Curriculum Studies, 19, 317-328.
29. Pajares, F. (1992). Teachers beliefs and educational research: Cleaning up a messy construct. Review of Educational Research, 62(3),307-332.
30. Richards, J. C., & Rodgers, T. S. (1986). Approaches and methods in language teaching: A description and analysis. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
31. Richards, J. C. (1998). Beyond Training. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
32. Richardson, V. (2003). Pre-Service teachers’ beliefs. In. Raths, J. & A. C. Mcaninch (Eds), Teacher beliefs and classroom performance: The impact of teacher education. The USA: Information Age Publishing.
33. Rokeach, M. (1968). Beliefs, attitudes and values: A theory of organization and change. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
34. Seban, D. (2008). Öğretmenlerin yazılı öğretimi hakkındaki inanç ve uygulamalarına durum çalışmaları üzerinden bir bakış. Elementary Education Online, 7(2),512-521.
35. Talim Terbiye Kurulu, (2006). English Language Curriculum for Primary Education. Ankara, MEB.
36. Uzuntiryaki, E., Boz, Y., Kirbulut, D., & Bektas, O. (2010). Do pre-service Chemistry teachers reflect their beliefs about constructivism in their teaching practices. Research in Science Education, 40, 403-424.
37. Wedell, M. (2009). Planning educational change: Putting people and their contexts first. London: Continuum.
38. Williams, M., & Burden, R. L. (1997). Psychology for Language Teachers: A Social Constructivist Approach. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
39. Woods, D. (1991). Teachers’ interpretations of second language teaching curricula. RELC Journal, 22, 1-19.
40. Yim, L. W. (1993). Relating teachers’ perceptions of the place of grammar to their teaching practices. Unpublished Master’s thesis, National University of Singapore.
41. Young, T. J., & Sachdev, I. (2011). Intercultural communicative competence: exploring English language teachers’ beliefs and practices. Language Awareness, 20(2): 81-98.