Exploring tensions between teachers’ grammar teaching beliefs and practices

Abstract

This study examines tensions in the grammar teaching beliefs and practices of three practising teachers of English working in Turkey. The teachers were observed and interviewed over a period of 18 months; the observations provided insights into how they taught grammar, while the interviews explored the beliefs underpinning the teachers' classroom practices. Drawing on the distinction between core and peripheral beliefs, the analysis indicated that, while at one level teachers' practices in teaching grammar were at odds with specific beliefs about language learning, at another level, these same practices were consistent with a more generic set of beliefs about learning. The latter, it is hypothesized, constituted the teachers' core beliefs and it was these, rather than the more peripheral beliefs about language learning, that were most influential in shaping teachers' instructional decisions. It is argued that attention to the relative influence of core and peripheral beliefs on teachers' practices allows for more complex understandings of tensions in teachers' work. Claims are also made here for the benefits of grounding the study of tensions between stated beliefs and classroom behaviours in the qualitative analyses of teachers' actual classroom practices. Some implications of this study for language teacher education are also discussed.

Creencias sobre los roles del profesor y del estudiante que poseen futuros docentes de inglés en dos universidades chilenas

“…Esta visión se basaría en el rol del estudiante enmarcado en una propuesta de enseñanza tradicionalista, en la cual se aprendería el idioma a través de la repetición y segmentación del mismo (Phipps y Borg, 2009). La función de receptor de información que se le atribuiría al estudiante, en el contexto chileno, se debería a que las prácticas pedagógicas de los docentes no serían de carácter funcional, ni implicarían el uso directo de la lengua extranjera por parte de los aprendices (Díaz, Alarcón y Ortiz, 2012).…”

The Relationship between Iranian ELT Instructors’ Beliefs about Language Teaching and Their Practices in Real Classrooms

“…They argued that some barriers such as educational policy, financial issue, lack of enough materials, unmotivated learners, mismatched beliefs between teachers and students prevent effective teaching. Philips and Borg (2009) argued that contextual factors such as a prescribed curriculum, time constraints, and high-stakes examinations, mediate the extent to which teachers cannot act in accordance with their beliefs. Concordance with claims of Philips and Borg (2009), Iranian instructors in the interviews argued that contextual factors such as educational policy and prescribed curriculums circumscribe instructors to select their preferred teaching approaches, methodologies, designs, or even their evaluations in the classrooms.…”

“…These beliefs might impede the development of teachers capable of making substantive changes in classroom practices. Philips and Borg (2009) argued that contextual factors such as a prescribed curriculum, time constraints, and high-stakes examinations, mediate the extent to which teachers can act in accordance with their beliefs.…”

To be or not to be : um estudo sobre crenças de aprendizes e ações de professores de inglês como LE quanto ao ensino de gramática

“…Por fim, entendo a proposta desta pesquisa como válida, visto que, no campo da LA, em âmbitos nacional e internacional, observa-se crescente interesse em pesquisas sobre crenças (BARCELOS, 2004;BARNARD;BURNS, 2012;KALAJA, 1995;MUKAI;CONCEIÇÃO, 2012;VIEIRA-ABRAHÃO, 2006;WENDEN, 1986), algumas das quais diretamente relacionadas a crenças quanto ao ensino de gramática (BORG, 1999;CARAZZAI;GIL, 2005;FARELL;LIM, 2005;HOS;KEKEK, 2014;PHIPPS;BORG, 2009). …”

“…Ademais, este trabalho justifica-se pela relevância da busca por se compreenderem as relações entre crenças e ações dos aprendizes e professores de línguas. Para tanto, a pesquisa embasou-se em estudos anteriores sobre crenças de aprendizes e de professores (BARCELOS, 2004;BORG, 1999;CARAZZAI;GIL, 2005;FARELL;LIM, 2005;HOS;KEKEK, 2014;KALAJA, 1995;MUKAI;CONCEIÇÃO, 2012;PHIPPS;BORG, 2009), dentre os quais alguns tratam especificamente de crenças sobre gramática, bem como em pesquisas relativas ao ensino de gramática de modo geral (ANTUNES, 2007;CELCE-MURCIA, 2002;ELLIS, 2006, LARSEN-FREEMAN, 2003. Fundamentada por tal referencial teórico, a presente pesquisa caracterizou-se como qualitativa (NUNAN, 1992), na modalidade estudo de caso interpretativo (MERRIAM, 1998) e foi realizada de acordo com as diretrizes da abordagem contextual de pesquisa sobre crenças (BARCELOS, 2001).…”