Adopting a Mixed Methods Approach to Assessing Foreign Language Teachers’ Teaching/Learning Conceptions and Their Language Teaching Biases

Abstract

This study adopts an Explanatory Mixed Methods Research Design to better understand whether teachers’ traditional and constructivist conceptions of teaching and learning may have any role to play in the formation or alleviation of teacher prejudice. In the quantitative phase, two instruments were administered to 124 foreign language teachers at Iranian universities and higher education institutes. The results obtained from the analysis of questionnaires pointed to the prevalence of constructivist teaching inclinations among Iranian English language teachers. Moreover, the results of relational analysis indicated significant positive correlations between traditional conceptions of teaching and learning and teachers’ bias towards perfectionism as well as their biases against the use of learners’ first language (L1) and their risk-taking behavior. Besides, negative correlations were also found between the constructivist conceptions of language teaching and learning and teachers’ bias in favor of the Western culture as well as their bias against learners’ use of the L1. In the second phase of the study, semi-structured interviews with participants were held to come up with an in-depth understanding of their conceptions of teaching and learning as well as their different second language (L2) teaching biases. Besides, to enhance the trustworthiness of the inferences made and to find out whether or not the teachers’ perceptions matched their actual classroom practices, classroom observations were also carried out. The integrated findings from the three phases of this study were discussed.