2.2. Conceptual Framework
2.2.6. Language Teachers’ Belief & Innovation
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educational institution they represented. Finally, the professional coursework factor was a reference to the training programs provided as necessary to improve teachers’ teaching abilities and skills.
Substantiating the importance of considering these factors when exploring teachers’
cognition, Haukås, Mercer and Svalberg (2021) maintained that it is important to realize that the teaching process in not isolated from the outer world as it is linked to teachers’ cultural, political, social factors and teachers’ practices. Therefore, for the purpose of this study, the construct “teachers’ belief” is defined as having the same meaning as the term “teachers’
cognition” by Borg (2019) to understand what is meant by this construct from the researcher’s viewpoint and also to provide more clarification to the second research question.
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To explain this in view of the related literature, a myriad of research explored the relationship between language teachers’ belief and all above critical areas of research and they all demonstrated and confirmed the close linkage between them (e.g., Ahmad, Farid & Hussain 2021; Borg 2015; Gokce & Kecik 2021; Haukås, Mercer & Svalberg 2021; Pitikornpuangpetch
& Suwanarak 2021; Pookcharoen 2016; Rahman, Singh & Pandian 2018; Sun, Wei & Young 2020). All these studies concluded that students are directly influenced by language teachers’
beliefs towards a certain instructional practice, with a significant impact on their achievement.
Another significant aspect drawn from these studies was that language teachers’ teaching practices, performance, behavior, professional development, language instruction, instructional choice and planning are also affected by their beliefs. Those researchers explained this by saying that, teachers are always considered a highly recognized decision makers in the educational process who are, at all times, able to make immediate decisions in favor of the language teaching and learning process, and these decisions are hugely contingent on their experience, feelings, thoughts and beliefs acquired and developed in the classroom over time.
For example, if a teacher experiences a new language teaching strategy other than the one he/she is used to adopt in the classroom, and he/she notices its greater influence on students’ language learning, then he/she will, more likely, be going to apply it in the classroom as being the easiest and the best way to achieve the set goals and objectives, and this is the real innovation in the classroom.
Recognizing its significance in making the process of language teaching more innovative, researchers in the field of teachers’ cognition started to dig deep by exploring the factors affecting teachers’ cognition and practices to understand the relationship between them and to know the impact of such factors on teachers’ teaching practices in the classroom, aiming
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at reaching the most favorable elements that can be used to promote effective teaching practices in the classroom. For example, Ahmad, Farid and Hussain (2021) explored the relationship between the attitudes of decision makers of the educational process including teachers, students and administrators and different contextual factors in an English as a foreign language (EFL) setting in Saudi Arabia. By looking into both students’ and administrators’ perceptions, the researchers of this study aimed to get better understanding of the contextual factors influencing teachers’ cognition. This study found a strong connection between teachers’ cognition and some contextual factors; such as teachers’ efficacy, educational policies, students’ attitude towards English as a second language and societal support system. It also reported some challenges faced by teachers in L2 classrooms which if carefully addressed, they will lead to better instructional choices and then more effective L2 teaching and learning. These challenges included the restrictions imposed by administrations and/ or institutional policies on teachers’
teaching practices, improper assessment systems, large-sized classes, insufficient teaching time, students’ negative beliefs towards English as a second language, students’ lack of motivation, ill-planned educational policies and lack of societal support.
The study by Gao and Zhou (2021) was also significant as it aimed to explore the relationship between teachers’ beliefs towards the medium of instruction and their teaching practices in the Chinese context. The results from this study showed a conflict between teachers’
beliefs and the way L2 should be functioned or taught in the classroom. To explain this, despite recognizing its importance in creating a foreign language environment for students to improve their language skills, the participating teachers were at odds towards the use of foreign languages as tools to receive input and enhance teacher-student interaction. To explain more, some teachers preferred using foreign languages as a medium for instruction to facilitate
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language learning and practice while others preferred using the native language particularly with advanced subjects or with students of low proficiency levels.
In the same vein, Pitikornpuangpetch and Suwanarak (2021) studied the relationship between EFL teachers’ beliefs towards the use of CLT and their current teaching practices in the Tai EFL context using classroom observations, semi-structured interviews and fieldnotes as research instruments to glean the research data. The results from this study showed a tension in this relationship as the teachers voiced their inclination towards the use of CLT in L2 classes to help improve students’ language communicative competence; however, their teaching practices were highly dependent on the teacher-centered approach in which the participating teachers were fully involved in the learning process. To further explain the results, all teachers attempted to employ CLT to improve students’ speaking abilities but in their actual practices they used a mixed-teaching approach consisting of a little of CLT principles and much of the grammar- translation method (GTM) principles. The reasons for their reluctance to the application of all CLT principles varied to encompass insufficient class time, large-sized classes, improper assessment systems, inadequate teaching materials, teachers’ familiarity with GTM, educational policy restrictions and teachers’ prior experience with GTM when leaning the second language in their childhood among others.
Similar to this, the study by Gokce and Kecik (2021) reported on some problems against the application of CLT to enhance students’ speaking abilities. These problems included students’ low proficiency and knowledge level, students’ lack of motivation, students’ fear of making mistakes, students’ reluctance, students’ anxiety, students’ stress, inadequate instructional material, limited availability of time, insufficient speaking activities, inadequate assessment system, large-sized classes and lack of academic and administrative support. For the
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researchers, if these problems are solved, the teaching process will be more effective with more desirable outcomes on teachers’ development and learners’ learning.
From all above, language teachers’ belief is found to have a great impact on teachers’
performance, behavior, professional development, instructional choice and planning. This ensures teachers’ innovation in the classroom provided that the factors influencing their cognition and practices are carefully considered. These factors are identified to include teachers’
personal, professional, historical, cultural and social factors. The result will be, as argued by the above literature, more innovation in the classroom leading to more effective language teaching practices and then better language learning, and this the pinnacle of innovation in the field of L2 teaching and learning.
Finally, as a way to enhance teachers’ professional development and innovation, East (2019), Sun, Wei and Young (2020) and Zheng and Borg (2014) call for teachers’ training on how to do reflective analysis of their own teaching which may include transcribing, commenting on and identifying the factors influencing their own work. For them, providing specialized training will enable teachers to keep up with the latest trends of language teaching. Explaining what kind of training should be provided, Mitchell, Myles and Marsden (2019) ask for teachers’
training on different approaches to language teaching to broaden the range of their instructional choices, allowing them to selectively choose or successfully develop the teaching practices that best suit their students leading to effective language learning.