EFL Student Teachers’ Beliefs about Language Teaching Approaches and Instructional Practices

Abstract

The crucial role of beliefs in shaping language teachers’ performance has been well-documented. By contrast, research focusing on EFL student teachers’ beliefs about language teaching approaches is still sparse, especially their manifestation in instructional practices. This study aimed to investigate the beliefs of English student teachers in Ukraine regarding language teaching approaches and document any similarities and differences with their actual performance. The data were collected through a researcher-designed questionnaire, reflective journals, and lesson observations, which allowed for a comparison between the student teachers' stated beliefs and their observed practices. The findings revealed that the participants identified with recent methodological thinking, endorsing the principles of communicative language teaching. The questionnaire data indicated a statistically significant difference in the beliefs of student teachers, suggesting a preference for contemporary language teaching approaches over traditional, with a medium effect size. Nevertheless, while the respondents expressed a preference for meaning-focused over form-focused instruction, they experienced difficulties in interpreting how these are implemented in practice. Specifically, they professed advocacy for classroom procedures and techniques associated with both contemporary and traditional language teaching and used them non-discriminately during lesson observation. In this respect, their beliefs and teaching practices align. Additionally, the participants demonstrated conversance with and reported implementing a repertoire of contemporary approaches and methods. However, the observation of their instructional practices did not consistently demonstrate strict adherence to communicative language teaching, as features of traditional teaching methods were visible. Therefore, the results suggest a partial alignment between the student teachers’ beliefs and their actual performance. Overall, by opening a window into student teachers’ mental lives, these findings highlight the likely trajectory of their professional development and the support required by them to bridge the gap between their beliefs and classroom practices.