The influence of academic articles on an ESL teacher's stated beliefs

Abstract

The current study investigated the relationship between one English as a second language (ESL) teacher's encounters with three academic articles on the topic of oral corrective feedback (CF) and the impact that they had on his stated beliefs regarding CF. The teacher had 14 years of English teaching experience and an MA TESOL degree. Two semi-structured interviews were conducted, one before and one after reading the articles. Results suggest that the teacher's stated beliefs about CF prior to reading influenced how he responded to the articles, in that he focused most on the findings and claims that coincided with his stated beliefs prior to reading. Namely, he agreed with statements and evidence that supported his belief in the effectiveness of CF, and he discounted negative claims about the use of CF. Reading the articles did not seem to facilitate a change in his beliefs regarding CF; nevertheless, the articles succeeded in raising his awareness of CF and caused him to reflect on a classroom practice that he had not considered for some time. The present study proposes the possibility of using academic articles for professional development even for experienced teachers.