Dominant elements of English as a foreign language teachers and the current practices of teaching English in secondary schools in Makassar
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Date
2016-09
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Universiti Teknologi Malaysia
Abstract
Issues related to the teaching of English as a foreign language (EFL) in Indonesia stem from EFL teachers who are not highly qualified, lack knowledge, and rarely receive English language training. Due to these problems, they lack knowledge of teaching which will consequently affect their beliefs and self-efficacy. This study investigated EFL teachers’ knowledge of teaching English, beliefs about language learning, self-efficacy and their relationships in the planning and implementation of the practices of teaching English at secondary schools in Makassar. This study used explanatory sequential design in which qualitative data explains or builds upon initial quantitative results. The quantitative data were collected through survey questionnaires from a sample of 133 EFL teachers. Using purposive sampling for interviews, six EFL teachers who scored the highest and lowest scores based on their responses in the questionnaires were selected. Descriptive analysis and inferential statistics were used to analyze the quantitative data, while the qualitative data were analyzed using thematic analysis. The findings showed that the most dominant elements in EFL teachers’ knowledge of teaching English are teaching skills and subject matter knowledge whereas for teachers’ beliefs about language learning, are motivation and the nature of learning English. The most dominant element in self-efficacy is efficacy for student engagement. Regression analysis showed that elements of teaching skills, subject matter knowledge, motivation and nature of learning English, and efficacy for student engagement significantly influenced EFL teachers’ planning and implementation of their practices of teaching English. Besides, ANOVA analysis showed that there is no significant influence of the tested variable with reference to the years of EFL teachers’ teaching experiences towards their knowledge of teaching English, beliefs about language learning and self-efficacy. Qualitative findings showed that there are several factors which influenced EFL teachers’ practices of teaching English, such as selection of teaching method, learning materials and activities, specific English skills, classroom management, and evaluation. The study revealed that formal learning experience and goals of teaching English influenced the practices of teaching English. Likewise, both internal and external factors such as teaching experience, mastery of learning materials, English educational background, and use of media influenced teachers’ confidence in teaching English. Based on these findings, this study proposed a model framework of EFL teaching practices based on teachers’ knowledge of teaching English, beliefs about language learning and self efficacy
Description
Thesis (PhD. (Curriculum and Instruction))
Keywords
English language - Study and teaching - Foreign speakers, English language - Study and teaching (Secondary)