Case 2: Flora
R. 2.1. How are the Teachers’ Beliefs as FL Learners, Teacher Training, and
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This study revealed that English teachers outside the formal educational system hold beliefs as FL learners derived from their prior learning experiences, and their objectives of learning play an important role in the formation of their beliefs as FL learners.
R. 2.1. How are the Teachers’ Beliefs as FL Learners, Teacher Training, and Teaching Experience Related to the Formation of Their Beliefs as English Teachers?
As aforementioned, both Esther and Flora hold beliefs as English teachers relevant to their beliefs as FL learners, teacher training, and teaching experience. To address this research questions, their beliefs as English teachers are discussed according to these relevant facets.
Beliefs as English Teachers Derived From Beliefs as FL Learners Some of the two teachers’ beliefs as English teachers were directly connected to their beliefs as FL learners as mentioned in previous chapter (see Appendix 5 and Appendix 8). On one hand, drawing upon their experience of success and failure, the two teachers deeply believed that their students should learn in the same way they used to learn successfully in hopes that the students would emulate their success without falling into the same old traps. On the other hand, the teachers would either positively motivate students to learn or demonstrate empathy for the students who faced the same difficulties they had encountered before. The findings are in accordance with the results of a number of studies that language teachers’ learner beliefs are of their pedagogical
concern (e.g. Bailey et al., 1996; Borg, 1999; Johnson, 1994), and language teachers intend to integrate the pleasant part rather than the negative part of their own learning experience into their teaching practice (Numrich (1996).
However, the belief that the two teachers held about the purpose of FL learning—to communicate—was not connected to their beliefs as English
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teachers. Although they emphasized much on communicative competence when talking about their own FL learning, no substantial evidence was found in their utterances to support the idea that the objectives of their students’ English learning were to communicate. Although Esther’s belief that “English learning should be connected to students’ real lives” seems to be relevant to
communicative purpose, she mentioned that it was for students’ long-term retention of the language. In addition, neither can Flora’s belief that “Textbook memorization benefits FL learning” be connected to her beliefs as an English teacher.
The study discovered that only a part of the beliefs as FL learners of English teachers are related to their beliefs as teachers in the informal teaching environment.
Beliefs as English Teachers Derived from Teacher Training The two teachers’ beliefs as English teachers are relevant to their teacher training (see Appendix 6 and Appendix 9). Esther had the notion that students of different ages vary in their preferences in learning, and Flora learned a concept that there was no need to take students’ errors too seriously. Both are directly related to one of their beliefs as English teachers. The result is congruent with those of the studies discussed above (Chu & Yeh, 2003; Freeman, 1993; Urmston, 2003).
Nonetheless, although both of the two teachers claimed that they had attended many training programs in informal educational institutes, each of them mentioned only one belief related to their teacher training. Even though they do have beliefs related to their teacher training, the connections are not as strong as those from other studies. In Freeman’s research (1993), four teachers’ beliefs and teaching practice were all influenced by the professional education. Urmston (2003) also found that the teachers’ beliefs were strongly influenced by the teacher training course. In
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comparison to these studies, the influence of teacher training on Esther and Flora is much less obvious.
However, the finding is not in contradiction to Borg’s (2003) assertion in his review article that teacher training do influence teacher beliefs, but the extents of the influence vary, depending on individual situations. Other researchers also pointed out that the strengths of impact that teacher training made on teachers’ beliefs would be different on grounds of the range of the programs (e.g. intensive short-term certificate courses or master’s programs) (Borg, 2006, Ö zmen, 2012) and the intensity of trainee teachers’ prior beliefs (Almarza, 1996; Borg, 2006; Ö zmen, 2012). Furthermore, the extent of the influence which Esther’s and Flora’s beliefs as FL learners exerted on their beliefs as teachers was much greater than their teacher training. This also exemplified what was found in Almarza’s (1996) research that, although teacher education considerably had teachers modify their teaching behaviors, it was unable to change their beliefs as learners emerged prior to the courses.
The present study discovered that the influence of informal teacher training programs on English teacher’s belief is limited, not as strong as the influence of their prior FL learning experiences.
Beliefs as English Teachers Derived from Teaching Experience The two well-experienced English teachers in this study both modified their teaching by trial and error, and the important modifications arouse their beliefs as English teachers (see Appendix 6 and Appendix 9). Esther believed that English teachers should pay attention to students’ individual differences not only because she had experience of teaching students with competent performance and
inadequate performance, but she once frustrated students by giving them tests which were unsuitable to their level. Her teacher’s belief that “Teachers should
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pay attention to students’ individual differences” was derived from her teaching experience. As to Flora, having overcome difficulty teaching students of different ages and explored ways to teach students in different areas, she believed that students vary in their preferences for and purposes of English learning. She held a belief that “Students vary in their preferences for and purposes of English
learning.” This study thus revealed that both of the two English teachers outside the formal educational system modified their teaching on grounds of their teaching experience. This finding is in accordance with those of other studies on in-service language teachers (e.g., Breen, 1991; Crookes & Arakaki, 1999).
Nevertheless, the two teachers’ beliefs derived from their teaching experience only focus on students’ conditions such as paying attention to their individual differences. Beliefs in cognitive aspect such as how to teach effectively by
adopting different pedagogical approaches were not found. The finding is different from those of the studies which emphasized the change of teacher’s beliefs in cognitive aspect (Liao, 2007; Nunan1992; Tsui, 2003) but is in accordance with the findings of some other studies that discovered teachers’ attention on students’
conditions (Bailey et al., 1996; Breen, 1991; Sanchez & Borg, 2014).
This study discovered that, although teachers from informal educational institutes may not have similar teaching experience as formal teachers, they also hold beliefs derived from their teaching experience, especially about students’
conditions.
R. 2.2 Why are Some of Their Beliefs as FL Learners not Realized in Their