In-service EFL Teachers Research Articles

EXPLORING KAZAKH EFL TEACHERS’ PROFESSIONAL IDENTITY: A QUANTITATIVE STUDY

This study's extensive quantitative research design to investigate the professional identities of in-service EFL teachers in Kazakhstan and Turkistan makes it stand out. A comprehensive survey, unparalleled in scope and exhaustiveness, was distributed to 470 English instructors in 45 state schools, offering an extensive synopsis of how these educators see their professional identities. The survey findings provide insights into several professional identity factors, including the propensity to teach, act as role models, and establish productive learning settings. The results show that participants' professional identities were generally average, with major exceptions for knowledge-sharing and role modeling. Simultaneously, less emphasis was placed on recognizing students' original language culture and establishing a favorable classroom atmosphere. The study also looks at how different professional identities are within qualification categories, and it finds statistically significant variances that highlight how teachers' self-perception and professional growth are influenced by their educational background. These findings have implications for teacher education and professional development initiatives and a deeper knowledge of the elements influencing EFL instructors' professional identities in Kazakhstan.

Conceptualizing reflection-for-action: Empowering teachers as agents of collaborative and collective transformation

This longitudinal case study offers an empirically grounded conceptualization of teachers' reflection-for-action (RFA), that is, proactive or anticipatory reflection which occurs before action. Data were collected from five in-service EFL teachers in Türkiye via teachers' online discussions, critical event narratives, interviews, and researchers’ journals. Findings indicated that RFA is an individual, collaborative and a collective practice, influenced by teacher beliefs and autonomy. RFA appears to be facilitated through a triadic cycle of stimulus, evaluation, and action, allowing teachers to identify their strengths and weaknesses and develop strategies to challenge prescribed institutional practices with more creative, innovative, and out-of-the-box teaching methods.

Learners Engagement in Online Teacher Professional Development: Scale Development and Validation

Research has shown that effective online teacher professional development (OTPD) requires teachers to learn and engage professionally to become high-quality teachers. Understanding teachers' engagement as learners in OTPD is crucial as such engagement indicates active learning, interaction, and collaboration with other teachers. Nevertheless, there has not been any instrument measuring how teachers behave (behavioral), feel (emotional), think (cognitive), and socialize (social). Therefore, the goal of the present study was to create a context-specific survey instrument to measure the engagement of EFL teachers in OTPD. This study, using the research and development (R&D) method, involved 385 Indonesian in-service EFL teachers in nine universities conducting OTPD in Indonesia. The statistical results of explanatory (EFA) and confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) confirmed the four-dimensional construct in the OTPD Learner Engagement Instrument, mainly behavioral, emotional, cognitive, and social dimensions of engagement. The study's policy and practical implications addressing the policymakers, institutions, and future research were also presented.

From research reading and doing to research use: Tracking trajectories of becoming research-informed second language teachers

Despite the crucial role of teachers in connecting research to classroom practices, very little is known about the processes of research-informed practice through their reading, doing, and use of research. Also largely unknown is how the potential interconnections among these activities could influence teachers’ evaluations of research relevance and sustainability of their research-informed practice. This study, therefore, explores trajectories of teachers in adopting research-informed practice. Relying on an ecological theoretical lens through a narrative case study approach, we collected data from three in-service EFL teachers using in-depth individual interviews, multiple follow-ups, teacher-generated research logs, and researcher-made analytic memos. Data analysis revealed specific starting conditions (e.g., subject-matter explorations) for development of rudimentary familiarity, turning moments (e.g., developmental thresholds) giving rise to more sophisticated reception, and bottlenecks (e.g., disciplinary identity) for sustained involvement in research-informed-practice for teachers. Furthermore, on top of cyclical links among reading, doing, and use of research, we found perceived signature patterns of reading (i.e., empirical papers), doing (i.e., action research), or use (i.e., successful classroom application) for each teacher, as evidence for threshold crossing. Implications for theory and research, professional development, and policymaking, including key prerequisites that must be provisioned to prepare teachers for research-informed practice, are discussed.

So you are considering becoming a qualitative researcher

Doing research within the qualitative paradigm can be a challenging task sometimes. However, when well designed and implemented, research itself and being engaged in research related activities offers a myriad of opportunities for personal and professional growth. Considering these aspects, through this reflective article I provide some thoughts on initial aspects I consider pre-service and in-service EFL teachers should bear in mind if intending to enter the qualitative research field. In doing so, firstly I provide a general overview of what qualitative research is while also making an analysis of what it implies. Second, I reflect upon some elements which should be considered at the moment of beginning a formal research endeavor. Finally, the final remarks derived from the practical considerations given to pre-service and in-service EFL teachers willing to work with qualitative inquiry are presented. Key words: English teachers, qualitative research, thoughts for English teachers intending to enter the field

Practices, beliefs, and challenges of teacher research in Nepal

Abstract This article analyses the practices, beliefs, and challenges of in-service Nepali EFL teachers who are required to carry out action research and submit a written report for their performance appraisal. We have analysed action research reports (n = 88) and interviews (n = 6) with public-school EFL teachers. The findings show that speaking, classroom participation, and writing are the three major problem areas teachers have pointed out in their action research reports. In theory, teachers have positive beliefs about the importance of action research for better teaching and professional development. They have claimed that action research has helped them address classroom problems. However, the analysis of the reports indicates that teachers lack data/evidence to support their claims about research problems and the effectiveness of the actions they have introduced in the classroom. The findings of the study show that teachers need mentoring support to carry out and write up action research reports.

Scrunitizing Social Presence of In-Service EFL Teachers’ Instruction in The Enactment Of Blended Learning

Technology utilization learning is gaining popularity especially when online learning is conducted during and after the worldwide pandemic. Many studies have examined blended learning as an effort to integrate online learning and face-to-face learning which has an impact on increasing student engagement, improving learning outcomes, and providing a more flexible and personalized educational experience. However, the results of previous research also reported that the application of online learning has minimal interaction, thus leading to less meaningful learning. To respond to these problems, this study aims to investigate perceptions about the application of social presence in English teaching in the implementation of blended learning. The results of this study show that quantitatively English teachers have applied 3 important aspects of social presence, of which 59.82% agreed with teaching activities based on affective categories. Followed by the second position, which strongly agrees with 39.50% and disagrees with the application as much as 0.69%. In the Open Communication category, as many as 62.37% of English teachers also agreed with the implementation of this activity, 34.72% strongly agreed, and as many as 3% expressed disapproval. Meanwhile, on the concept of group cohesion, as many as 64.63% agreed, and 35.37% strongly agreed with this concept.

Examining the Wellbeing of In-Service EFL Teachers in a Spanish Context

This paper aims to extend our understanding of the factors underlying teacher wellbeing and the stress-coping mechanisms that professionals from the field use in their daily lives. The study focuses on the point of view of EFL teachers working in Andalusia, the southern region of Spain. Through semi-structured interviews and using Bronfenbrenner’s ecological theory for the content analysis of data, the project identifies the primary sources of distress and growth that participants link to their profession. Key among them are emotional competence, the school environment, legislation, and boundaries. The study also pinpoints the main stress-coping strategies participants were already implementing in their lives to fight against feelings of burnout. Especially relevant is the practice of hobbies, professional training, and establishing boundaries.

In-service EFL teachers’ self-perceived receptive skills

Professional English language teachers are expected to master subject knowledge that includes not only their knowledge of English language but also their proficiency in using the language. They can self-assess their proficiency and use their assessment result as the basis for their professional growth since it can inform which areas that still need improvement. Despite the importance of teachers’ self-assessment, there has not been much research on this, especially one that investigates the teachers’ perceived receptive skills. This study, therefore, aims to explore the in-service teachers’ perception of their proficiency level, particularly of their receptive skills. This research uses a descriptive quantitative approach utilizing a survey containing 48 questions of self-perceived reading and listening skills which was distributed to in-service teachers in lower and higher secondary schools in Indonesia. This snowball survey received responses from 449 in-service teachers from various islands in Indonesia such as Java, Bali, Sumatera, Sulawesi, Kalimantan, and Papua. The results show that, in general, the participants considered themselves to be able to comprehend various text types concerning personal and daily issues in both written and spoken modes. However, when it came to comprehending longer texts with more complex linguistic choices and structures in both modes, an increase in the number of participants who struggled was evident. These findings indicate that while most of the in-service teachers were confident in their receptive skills. However, while only limited numbers of in-service teachers’ facing difficulties in comprehend longer and more specialized texts containing complex linguistic resources, support is still needed. Based on these findings, this study discusses several important implications for teacher educators and English teachers in Indonesia and offers recommendations for future research in EFL contexts.

PRACTICES AND PERCEPTIONS OF L1 AND TRANSLATION USE: THEMATIC ANALYSIS OF A FOCUS GROUP INTERVIEW W ITH KAZAKHSTANI SECONDARY SCHOOL EFL TEACHERS

From the latter half of the 20th century to the present day, monolingual or English-only teaching has been conventionally considered the optimal approach in English Language Teaching (ELT) literature and research. Nevertheless, there is a growing acknowledgement that mainstream ELT theory may of-fer a less precise portrayal of classroom dynamics than the actual observed reality. Consequently, this paper aims to explore teachers’ practices and perceptions regarding the use of learners’ first language (L1) and translation in EFL classrooms. A focus group interview (FGI) was conducted with in-service secondary school EFL teachers from Kazakhstan who were selected through non-probability sampling to achieve this goal. Thematic analysis was applied to scrutinize the interview data. The results revealed three primary themes: teaching English through L1, learners’ English level and L1 use, and drawbacks of monolingual teaching. Each theme and sub-theme is substantiated by quotations from the interview and discussed in connection with ELT theory and relevant studies.

A Meta-Synthesis Study: An Investigation of Studies on EFL Teachers’ Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) Competencies in Turkey

Technological advances have brought profound transformations into the education system. This transformation has also made it essential to use technological tools for educational aims in the 21st century. The goal of this study is to analyze a collection of studies on prospective and in-service EFL educators’ technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) competencies in Turkey regarding the purpose, method, participants, data collection tools, and findings of certain studies. The study includes meta-synthesis research to present the research tendencies on TPACK competencies of pre-service and in-service EFL teachers in Turkey. In the research, a total of 22 studies were included 11 articles and 11 theses which were published between the years 2017-2022. In light of the obtained results, it can be concluded that the research trend of the remarkable number of reviewed studies is related to the determination or measuring of TPACK perceptions and to examining the effect of demographic traits such as gender, age, and educational background on EFL teachers’ TPACK levels. In the last part of the research, practical implications and suggestions for further research were offered in detail.

Teaching English Conditionals Through Data-Driven Learning (DDL): Perspectives of In-Service EFL Teachers

Research has demonstrated that L2 English learners’ acquisition of grammar can be facilitated by Data-Driven Learning (DDL), which clearly promotes inductive learning and learner-centeredness (e.g. Boontam & Phoochaoroensil, 2018). This present study focuses on the impacts of DDL on Thai secondary and tertiary educators’ introduction of English conditionals. The participants were taught using corpus-based DDL materials representing authentic use of conditionals for six weeks. It was shown in the interview results that DDL is useful and enhances learners’ self-discovery of L2 grammar rules regarding conditionals. Not only does DDL enable learners to notice the three classic if-conditional types but also it allows them to explore alternative, i.e. mixed, types of conditionals, which are often overlooked by textbooks. Some concerns about the use of DDL in a broader context of ELT deal with school budgets and students’ need of technical help.

Understanding K-12 In-service EFL Teachers’ Online Assessment Practices and Assessor Identity: A Chinese Study

After the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, distance teaching brought on unforeseen challenges around the world, including classroom-based assessment practice. However, little attention has been paid to teachers’ assessment practice and their identity as assessor in the new teaching situation. This study examines Chinese K-12 in-service EFL teachers’ assessment practice and their identity as assessor in the pandemic. Three rounds of semi-structured interviews were used to probe six in-service teachers. The findings revealed that three major online assessment practices were implemented in response to the challenges: (1) remaining unaltered in online assessment practice; (2) being proactive in formative assessment; (3) provision of online feedback. Results also showed that there were three types of assessment identity that could be identified, namely, positive negotiator, flexible facilitator and struggling follower. The findings indicated assessment practice and assessment identity reciprocally influenced each other in a new assessment context. Different identities might lead to different assessment practice with varied and mixed emotions attached to it. Moreover, varying identities interacted with each other on medicating their online assessment practice.

Comparison of epistemological beliefs, teaching-learning conceptions, and self-efficacy of pre-service and in-service EFL teachers

Comparison of epistemological beliefs, teaching-learning conceptions, and self-efficacy of pre-service and in-service EFL teachers

In-servıce EFL teachers’ well-beıng durıng onlıne teacher professıonal development program ın Indonesıa: An ecologıcal perspectıve.

This paper intends to scrutinize the personal and systemic factors affecting the well-being of in-service EFL teachers participating in a three-month online teacher professional education (OTPE) program in Indonesia. Moreover, it seeks to explore the resources that the teachers draw on to maintain their well-being. Six EFL teachers attending the OTPE program participated in this study. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with six focal participants. The data were qualitatively analyzed to find the emerging themes. The findings revealed that personal and systemic factors influenced the participants' well-being in the OTPE program. The personal factors included motivation, marital status, and spirituality, while the systemic factors encompassed the national policy on EFL teacher certification, teacher education institution, home school, and family. Moreover, the participants drew on personal resources, i.e., motivation and spirituality, and social resources, i.e., family members, colleagues, students, instructors, and fellow participants, to maintain their well-being during the OTPE program. Hence, the interplay between personal and systemic factors was quintessential to the EFL teachers' well-being in the program.

Important but challenging: Chinese in-service EFL teachers' research attitudes in a graduate program.

In recent decades, the practice of involving teachers in research in degree programs is becoming popular. Yet, little is known about the impact of research experiences on teachers' behavior: whether research experiences change their teaching practices and lead to further research efforts in future careers, especially in the unique social, cultural, and educational culture of China. Thus, this study examines Chinese IETs' (in-service EFL teachers') research attitudes in a graduate program with a reasoned action approach. We used an embedded mixed methods research design to investigate a cohort of 197 IETs who completed the Research Attitudes in Vocational Education Questionnaire (RAVE-Q). The quantitative data validates the survey and shows that, in general, the IETs hold positive attitudes toward research. Next, semi-structured interviews investigating IETs and their advisors' perceptions of teacher research were conducted. The qualitative data shows a variety of research experiences among the IETs. Specifically, this study highlighted some interviewed IETs who had the desire to be reflective about their teaching and to apply research in their practices, nevertheless, the educational contexts made such efforts impossible. Thus, this study questioned the previous assumptions that positive research attitudes lead to corresponding research behaviors. This study offers implications for EFL graduate programs seeking to improve IETs' research attitudes both within and outside China.

Training Needs of In-Service EFL Teachers in Language Testing and Assessment

Training Needs of In-Service EFL Teachers in Language Testing and Assessment

Virtual exchanges as authentic scenarios for integrating a plurilingual perspective into EFL teaching and learning

ABSTRACT The article presents research findings on the professional growth of three in-service EFL teachers from Germany who took part in a teacher education programme centred on technology-mediated plurilingual education. The study investigated how the programme influenced the development of the teachers’ pedagogical and digital skills in creating and executing plurilingual-inspired virtual exchanges. The programme took place over the course of an academic year (2021–2022) and was divided into three phases, including a four-week virtual exchange with other participants, self-study through an online course, and pedagogical assistance for executing virtual exchanges in teachers’ schools. The research employed a case study approach, and data were collected through classroom observations and field notes, recordings of teacher reflective activities, as well as focus group and individual interviews with teachers. The findings indicate that the professional development programme prompted teachers to reconsider their language ideologies and question policies and approaches that emphasised monolingualism in their particular settings. These included practices like separating languages in bilingual programmes, prioritising the native-speaker model as the ultimate goal of second language acquisition, and school policies that ignored the educational requirements of students from diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds.

Developing In-Service EFL Teachers’ Immunity Through Post-induction Mentoring

Developing In-Service EFL Teachers’ Immunity Through Post-induction Mentoring

Professional Development Altogether: Pre-Service and In-Service EFL Teacher Collaboration in Doing Classroom Action Research

Classroom action research is one of the way pre-service and in-service teachers performed professional development in classroom research to gain better quality of teaching- with different portion and ways. This research deliberates the outcome of a case study involving an Indonesian in-service teacher in a collaborative action research with one pre-service teachers from a college of Education, STKIP PGRI Bangkalan, during an internship period. They worked on the classroom problems found during internship term and attempted to find the way to overcome them through technology integration in the instruction. Five open-ended questions were given to the in-service teacher and the pre-service teacher. With qualitative data analysis, the research found some significant results: 1) The in-service teacher felt more helped in utilizing technology, especially in the use and making of podcast for teaching listening. The teacher’s years of experience in handing teaching learning process in the class compiled the pre-service teacher’ competence as a novice teacher. (2) On the other side, the in-service teacher, felt more helped in getting fresh idea of teaching EFL, especially with the technology utilization. Challenges from both perspectives were also found in terms of workload, internship duration, feedbacks, digital literacy, pedagogical belief, and publication. Overall, professional development has been achieved by the two kinds teacher, and one of the means of doing that is through collaborative action research.