Recent research has focused much attention on teacher beliefs because beliefs are considered to greatly influence teaching practice. Teachers’ belief systems need critical inquiry so that teachers can reflect on their practices more closely. Teacher training institutions can take necessary steps to improve teacher practice. This study compared beliefs held by 192 non-native in-service and pre-service teachers in Istanbul, Turkey. Data about the teachers’ beliefs were collected by means of a questionnaire and observations. The results indicated that both groups strongly supported communicative language teaching methodology, emphasizing the need for addressing children’s educational and emotional needs. The agreement rates, however, differed significantly in some respects.
The Turkish educational reform in 1997 required that foreign languages (English, German or French), begin at grade 4 instead of 6. Compulsory primary education became eight years. The number of learners nearly doubled as a result of the reform. The Turkish Ministry of National Education had to deal with an acute shortage of foreign language teachers. A deficit met by appointing teachers from other subject areas after a brief in-service education. The newly appointed teachers lacked even minimum linguistic skills and knowledge of language teaching methods and techniques, causing major debates as to the efficiency of their teaching (Çetintaş, 2010). The problem of teacher shortages was compounded by a lack of materials and overcrowded classrooms (Doğançay-Aktuna, 1998).
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