1.1 Research Background and Motivation
As English has become a major international language, the government of Taiwan has actively engaged English as an essential part of the school curriculum. Starting in 2001, English has become a required subject for fifth and sixth graders in elementary schools in Taiwan. In 2005, the Ministry of Education changed the English Teaching Policy and required elementary school students to learn English starting from the third grade. Recently, many elementary school English teachers in Taiwan are facing the problem of multilevel language classrooms where students’ levels of English proficiency vary widely. Lin (2003) stated that 76% of the elementary school teachers in Taiwan perceived that there was a wide English proficiency gap among students, and this gap has made English teaching difficult and ineffective. Moreover, according to Chiang’s study in 2005, more than 88% of elementary English teachers in her study pointed out that students’ English proficiency differences was a problem in English teaching.
In addition, the researcher encountered the same problem of students’ various levels of English proficiency in class when she taught English in an elementary school during her junior year of university. She discovered that some of the students with lower English proficiency level were not willing to pay attention to her in class because they could not comprehend the class materials she provided. However, some of the students with higher English proficiency level usually listened to the researcher more attentively. This teaching experience convinced the researcher that disparity in English proficiency level was an immense problem in English class, or elementary English education.
Under this situation, two important questions emerge: how do elementary
English teachers assist a class of students with multilevel English proficiency in learning English? That is, what kinds of assistances can English teachers provide in class to help students’ English learning?
It is logical to turn to existing literatures regarding English teachers’ use of strategies in classrooms; however, first, some terminologies need to be defined for the purpose of understanding those literatures.
1.2 Terminologies
Before the researcher go to the related theories and studies about the present study, several terms are defined to help readers’ comprehension of this study.
Zone of Proximal Development
ZPD refers to “the distance between the actual development level as determined by independent problem-solving and the level of potential development as determined by problem-solving under adult guidance or in collaboration with more capable peers” ( Vygotsky, 1978, p. 86).
Scaffolding
Scaffolding is a process which an expert (i.e., teachers, more advanced students) assists novices (i.e., students who need help) to achieve a goal or solve a problem which novices could not achieve or solve alone (Wood, Bruner, & Rose, 1976).
For example, when students did not know how to complete a task, teachers can assist them by providing a demonstration.
Cognitive Engagement
In this study, cognitive engagement refers to the fact that students are making mental effort in learning tasks (Chapman, 2003). This definition responds to Vygotsky’s higher order thinking (Vygotsky, 1978) which includes “attention,
voluntary memory, rational thought, planning, problem solving, and meaning-making activity” (cited in Lantolf & Thorne, 2006, p. 198).
1.3 Needs for the Study
In recent years, language education has witnessed the importance of socio-cultural theory (Vygotsky, 1978). This theory holds that the higher order functions of the mind can be developed through interactions with other human beings. Vygotsky (1978) claimed that learning takes place at one’s Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) in which children are assisted by more knowledgeable persons (e.g., teachers or peers) and gradually develop the ability to do certain tasks without help or assistance. That is, teachers’ assistances or scaffoldings are necessary and important for students’ learning before they are able to solve problems alone/independently (Wood et al., 1976).
Scaffolding in general education has been examined and discussed for a long time. Some studies have been carried out to investigate how teachers assist students in reading lessons (Calfee & Patrick, 1995; Ogle, 1986) and computer-mediated lessons (Cavalier & Klein, 1998; Ge & Land, 2003; Gordin & Pea, 1995; Greene & Land, 2000; Klein & Pridemore, 1994; Land, 2000; Lin et al., 1999; Lin & Lehman, 1999;
Oliver & Hannafin, 2000; Ping & Swe, 2004; Roehler & Cantlon, 1997; Scardamalia et al., 1984). However, rather than second language teaching, these studies focused on general education
In addition to general education, many studies have investigated teachers’ use of different strategies to scaffold students’ second language learning. A number of studies have found that the strategy of asking questions has been adopted in ESL contexts to assist students’ learning (Cazden, 1988; Chaudron, 1988; Hatch, 1992;
Long, 1981; Mehan, 1979; Tharp & Gallimore, 1988; Wells, 1996). In addition, many studies explored that the strategy of giving implicit negative feedback is helpful to L2
acquisition because it helps students to notice their incorrect use of the target language (e.g., Doughty, 1994; Doughty and Varela, 1998; Han, 2001; Loewen, 2002;
Lyster, 1998; Lyster and Ranta, 1997; Robert, 1995; Seedhouse, 1997; Williams, 2001). The types of scaffolding strategies in ESL context (e.g., asking questions and giving feedback) have been investigated in many studies. However, few studies examined how and why these strategies are used by teachers, especially in an EFL context in which class hours are sometimes the only time that assistances can be provided for students to learn English.
Recent studies also investigated the importance of teacher’s beliefs or intentions on their teaching practices and found that there is a link between teachers’ beliefs or intentions and their teaching practices (Almarza, 1996; Ertmer, et al., 1999; Johnson, 1992; Lin, 2001; Smith 1996; Wang, 2000). However, a few studies had different results (Mastrini-McAteer, 1997; Tucker, 2001). Oskoz and Liskin- Gasparro (2001) did a case study to investigate teachers’ beliefs and discourse of corrective feedback in a university-level Spanish class and found that teachers’ beliefs might not exactly reflect their teaching practices. Previous studies had different findings about the relationship between teachers’ beliefs and their teaching practices. In addition, how teachers’ beliefs corresponded to their teaching practices had not been discussed.
Therefore, the present study aims at investigating the role of teachers’ beliefs in their teaching practices.
The findings of previous studies concerned much more about teachers’ strategies for assisting students’ second language learning in ESL context, in which assistances for students’ English learning can be obtained either inside or outside of schools, than EFL context, in which students are provided with assistances sometimes only in schools. Therefore, teachers’ strategies for assisting students’ second language learning in EFL context, in which students only can obtain assistances for their second
language learning in schools, need to be investigated. In addition, many studies mainly focused on investigating the types of teachers’ strategies (e.g., asking questions, giving feedback) rather than teachers’ ways of using these strategies.
Therefore, how teachers use strategies for assisting students’ second language learning needs to be investigated. Moreover, some studies found that there is a link between teachers’ beliefs or intentions and their teaching practices. However, how teachers’ beliefs corresponded to their teaching practices had not been discussed.
Therefore, the present study aims at investigating the role of teachers’ beliefs in their teaching practices.
1.4 Purpose of the Study
The present study intended to fill the gaps in literature by investigating elementary English teachers’ scaffolding strategies for enhancing EFL students’ cognitive engagement, examining the process of using those scaffolding strategies, and discuss the relationship between teachers’ beliefs and strategies use. Elementary school EFL teachers’ behaviors, actions, and thoughts of scaffolding strategies for students’
cognitive engagement in English class will be discussed in detail. Therefore, this study addressed the following questions:
1. What scaffolding strategies do elementary English teachers use to enhance EFL students’ cognitive engagement?
2. How do elementary English teachers use these scaffolding strategies for enhancing EFL students’ cognitive engagement?
3. Why do elementary English teachers use these scaffolding strategies for enhancing EFL students’ cognitive engagement?
1.5 Significance of the Study
The findings of this study might be useful for several pedagogical aspects. First, the present study can provide examples for other elementary English teachers who are interested in knowing what types of strategies can be used for assisting students’
cognitive engagement and how to employ them. Second, other elementary English teachers can use the present study as a reflective tool to examine their scaffolding strategies for enhancing students’ cognitive engagement in class.
1.6 Overview of the Study
The present study consists of five chapters. Chapter one covers the research background and motivation, terminologies, needs for the study, purpose of the study, and significance of the study. Chapter two reviews relevant theories, including social-cultural theory, Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD), and scaffolding. In addition, it introduces empirical studies which are related to the study. Chapter three specifies the methodology used for this study, including description of the participants, data collection, data analysis, and trustworthiness of the study. Chapter four reports the results and discussions of the study. Finally, chapter five concludes the entire study with a summary of the major findings and reports limitations of the study, pedagogical implications, suggestions for further study, and a brief conclusion of the study.