Abstract
Learning about language teacher cognition (LTC) is useful for understanding how language teachers act in the classroom. Employing an ecological framework, this study aimed to explore the factors influencing language teachers’ LTCs at different levels. To this end, qualitative data using semi-structured interviews and observation were collected from 62 (30 males and 32 females) Iranian EFL teachers. The results indicated that, at microsystem level, factors such as teaching equipment and facilities, teachers’ mood and feelings, their job satisfaction, and language proficiency influenced LTC. At mesosystem level, LTC was influenced by teachers’ prior learning experience, the collaboration and collegiality among teachers working in the language institute, teachers’ self-efficacy, and critical incidents that happened when teaching or learning. Additionally, the results indicated that exosystem level factors including teacher appraisal criteria, the teaching program and curriculum, and teacher immunity affected LTC. Moreover, LTC was subject to the influence of the government’s attitudes about ELT and religious beliefs about self and interaction, and friendliness with students at macrosystem level. More importantly, it was found that the factors influencing LTC were interrelated and interconnected and in several cases, LTC was a product of joint effect of several factors at various ecosystem levels. Finally, findings in this study suggest that language teaching programs provide recent educational technology in the classroom, foster collaboration and collegiality among teachers, and clarify teacher appraisal criteria for teachers in order to help create positive language teaching beliefs.
Highlights
Teachers play an integral role in language teaching and learning
Studying language teachers’ cognitions (LTC) is important in that it identifies a diverse range of knowledge and beliefs that language teachers have about various aspects of language teaching (Burns, Freeman, & Edwards, 2015) and elaborates on the ways in which teachers’ cognitions relate to their classroom practices (Borg, 2015; Kubanyiova & Feryok, 2015)
While several studies have been done on the conceptualization of teacher cognitions and how curriculum or learner factors influence LTC (Borg, 2015; Feryok & Oranje, 2015; Kubanyiova & Feryok, 2015; Moodie, 2015), little research has been conducted on the potential effect that factors in the environment might have on LTC in the Iranian context
Summary
Researching language teachers’ cognitions (LTC) and the way they form and are being formed by the constant changes to language teaching profession has gained importance for teacher education (Borg, 2015; Freeman, 2016). Studying LTC is important in that it identifies a diverse range of knowledge and beliefs that language teachers have about various aspects of language teaching (Burns, Freeman, & Edwards, 2015) and elaborates on the ways in which teachers’ cognitions relate to their classroom practices (Borg, 2015; Kubanyiova & Feryok, 2015). This study argues that environment includes factors that have the potential to influence the formation of teachers’ cognition about language teaching. It enables the researcher to consider all factors that might influence the organism and account for all that could go unnoticed (Kramsch, 2008)
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