The complexity of language teachers' beliefs and practice: one EFL teacher's theories

Abstract

The importance of teachers' beliefs in understanding the effectiveness of language teaching and learning is well documented. This research investigates the exact relationship between a set of beliefs and classroom practice through an example of one experienced secondary school EFL teacher in the People's Republic of China, using classroom interactions, in-depth, semi-structured teacher interviews and video-based reflection. Situated in theories of action the article draws mainly on the principles of Conversation Analysis (CA) to offer a new perspective on researching the relationship between teachers' beliefs and practice. The results suggest there is no strict one-to-one correspondence but that the relationship between teachers' beliefs and practice is complex, highlighting the influence of both macro- and micro-contexts. Further, the article provides evidence of how individual teachers make sense of their beliefs and practice and identifies how theories are drawn upon when the teachers make interactive decisions. This article advances thinking on teachers' beliefs and practice by highlighting the need to situate the issue in social acts and to investigate them in a more interactive manner through fine-grained analysis.

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