Characteristics and Transformation of Native English Speaker Teachers’ Beliefs: A Study of U.S. English Teachers in China
Characteristics and Transformation of Native English Speaker Teachers’ Beliefs: A Study of U.S. English Teachers in China
Keywords: American EFL teachers, teachers’ beliefs, belief change, Chinese EFL context
Siping Liu and Jian Wang
University of Nevada, U.S.A
Bio Data
Siping Liu is currently working on his doctoral dissertation. Before his doctoral program, he was an associate professor of English at Wuhan University, China. His research focuses on teacher knowledge and belief, applied linguistics, TESL/TEFL and ESL reading, analysis of large database such as PIRLS and NAEP.
Dr. Jian Wang is a full professor of teacher education. His research on teacher learning, mentoring, and teaching practice appeared in Educational Researcher, Review of Educational Research, Teachers College Record, Teaching and Teacher Education, Elementary School Journal and Journal of Teacher Education of which he is currently a co-editor.
Native English speaker (NES) teachers presumably play a unique role in developing English-as-a-foreign-language (EFL) learners oral competence. Teachers beliefs about what and how to teach and how students learn are assumed to strongly influence their teaching practices and students learning outcomes. Thus, it is worth exploring whether and to what extent NES teachers can develop their beliefs in the EFL context. Drawing on pre- and post-survey and observation data, this study explores the beliefs of 15 American NES teachers teaching oral English at a university in China. It reveals that while many of the beliefs of what and how to teach remained unchanged, their beliefs of how students learn have changed due to their immersion in the Chinese classroom. It also confirms the claim that NES teachers perceive themselves as judges of accepted English competence and pedagogy.
Category: Main Editions, Volume 14 Issue 1
