ELT pedagogical reforms: EFL high-school teachers’ perceptions and responses

Abstract

Educational change, particularly English language teaching (ELT) pedagogical reforms, has received much attention from language researchers in the era of globalization and internationalization. Despite the recognition of problems in implementation, ELT pedagogical reforms have been widely introduced and adopted in schools all over the world, particularly in Vietnam. What English teachers’ overall perceptions, understanding, and practices are, and what influential factors on response to ELT pedagogical reforms are, the major foci in this study. The data were collected from 102 teachers of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) in different high-schools (grades 10, 11 and 12) in the Mekong Delta. The results from the questionnaire and interview revealed that the teachers highly perceived ELT pedagogical reforms. Moreover, the results also showed that the teachers well understood the values of ELT pedagogical reforms. However, the findings also showed that the teacher’s practices of ELT pedagogical reforms were above average and that their practices did not match with their understanding of the values of ELT pedagogical reforms. Besides that, from the findings, the EFL high-school teachers were relative strongly influenced, both the internal and external factors; the main influential factors are students’ learning outcomes after implementing ELT pedagogical reforms, teachers’ attitudes towards the adoption of these reforms, and teachers’ self-efficacy on their teaching. Moreover, the study contributed an interesting finding to the literature that teaching and learning culture is a factor that influenced teachers’ responses. Based on these findings, implications were made for enhancing teachers’ teaching practices in response to ELT pedagogical...