complexity of teacher cognition (2013)

7252019 Complexity of Teacher Cognition (2013)

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullcomplexity-of-teacher-cognition-2013 118

The complexity of language teachersrsquo beliefs and practice one EFL

teacherrsquos theories

Li Li

Graduate School of Education University of Exeter Exeter UK

The importance of teachersrsquo beliefs in understanding the effectiveness of languageteaching and learning is well documented This research investigates the exact relationship between a set of beliefs and classroom practice through an example of one experienced secondary school EFL teacher in the Peoplersquos Republic of China

using classroom interactions in-depth semi-structured teacher interviews and video- based re1047298ection Situated in theories of action the article draws mainly on the principles of Conversation Analysis (CA) to offer a new perspective on researchingthe relationship between teachersrsquo beliefs and practice The results suggest there is nostrict one-to-one correspondence but that the relationship between teachersrsquo beliefsand practice is complex highlighting the in1047298uence of both macro- and micro-contexts Further the article provides evidence of how individual teachers make senseof their beliefs and practice and identi1047297es how theories are drawn upon when theteachers make interactive decisions This article advances thinking on teachersrsquo

beliefs and practice by highlighting the need to situate the issue in social acts and toinvestigate them in a more interactive manner through 1047297ne-grained analysis

Introduction

Over the past decade much attention has been devoted to teachersrsquo beliefs and in particu-

lar the relationship between beliefs and classroom practices In both general education and

language teaching research there is a widely held view that beliefs play a central role in

teachersrsquo decisions judgments and behaviour In particular they heavily in1047298uence pedago-

gical decision-making (Borg 2003 2006 Farrell and Kun 2008 Golombek 1998 Johnson

1994 Ng and Farrell 2003 Pajares 1992) the acceptance and uptake of new approaches

techniques and activities (Donaghue 2003 Li 2008) choice of subjects and classroomactivities and evaluation in the classroom (Borg 2001) It is claimed that beliefs lsquoaffect

everything that [teachers] do in the classroomrsquo and teachers practise in accordance with

their beliefs (Williams and Burden 1997 56 ndash 57) Beliefs are seen to be the strongest

factors through which we can predict teaching behaviour (Pajares 1992) However a

great deal of empirical evidence has also established that there exists inconsistency

between teachersrsquo beliefs and their practices (eg Basturkmen Loewen and Ellis 2004

Farrell and Kun 2008 Feryok 2008 Lee 2009 Nishino 2008 Ora1047297 and Borg 2009

Phipps and Borg 2009)

copy 2013 A i ti f L L i

Email LiLiexeteracuk

The Language Learning Journal 2013

Vol 41 No 2 175 ndash 191 httpdxdoiorg101080095717362013790132



In a review of the literature there are three observations to be made First at a theoreti-

cal level much of this work has been conducted from a cognitive perspective viewing

beliefs as 1047297xed assumptions representing teachersrsquo mental lives (eg Golombek 1998

Ng and Farrell 2003 Nishino 2008 Pajares 1992) In this tradition research tends to

focus on the realm of reality inside teachersrsquo heads However it might not be appropriate

to view beliefs from a single theoretical stance because a cognitive-based perspective

ignores the contexts and interactive nature of teachersrsquo daily work in classrooms Although

research has to some degree acknowledged the in1047298uence of context on teachersrsquo beliefs and

practice it tends to operate at a macro-level focusing on issues such as curriculum testing

educational policy and school cultures (eg Sato and Kleinsasser 2004) While such studies

are clearly of value they may not always provide adequate insights into what happens at the

micro-level when teachers are engaged in speci1047297c practices This study adopts a micro-per-

spective of context in a bid to provide detailed insights into teachersrsquo moment-by-moment

decision-making while teaching The metaphor of teacher-as-decision-maker (Nunan 1992)

re1047298ects how teachers conceptualise their work and the kind of decision-making underpin-

ning teaching (Tsang 2004) Teachers make many interactive decisions lsquoin the moment-by-moment progression of a lesson and in the context of competing pressures such as time the

attention span of the learners curricular demands exam pressures and so onrsquo (Walsh 2006

48 see also Tsui 2005) Such interactive decision-making constitutes a major part of tea-

chersrsquo classroom behaviour especially when unexpected classroom events emerge

Walsh (2006) suggests that teachers vary in their ability to create learning opportunities

and make good interactive decisions Making good interactive decisions then is an impor-

tant consideration of teachersrsquo classroom practice

Second methodologically research so far has mainly involved elicitation of teachers rsquo

perceptions using for instance questionnaires and interviews in order to compare with

their classroom activities generally The precise connections between teachersrsquo beliefsand speci1047297c practices are rarely examined in any detailed manner (but see Li 2012 Li

and Walsh 2011 Speer 2008) That is the moment-by-moment decisions which in1047298uence

interaction learning and teaching practices have often not been considered Such decisions

are studied here through the lens of classroom interaction and then compared with stated

beliefs In this study a set of beliefs and practices that relate to each other are examined

in order to establish exact relationships between them

Third although empirical research into the relationship between teachersrsquo beliefs and prac-

tice has 1047298ourished since the 1990s most existing studies have been almost wholly conducted

in ESL (English as a second language) contexts and there is still a lack of parallel research with

NNEST (non-native English speaker teachers) in non-anglophone settings with one or twoexceptions such as Breen et al (2001) Phipps and Borg (2009) Li and Walsh (2011)

Research in EFL (English as a foreign language) contexts will make a signi1047297cant contribution

to understanding language teachers and pedagogy in international contexts

In view of this gap there is a need to study teachersrsquo beliefs and practices in detail in

order to explore the complexity of their relationship A major motivation for the present

study is to offer a 1047297ne-grained moment-by-moment analysis of the relationship between tea-

chersrsquo beliefs and practice drawing on theories of action

Beliefs practices and theories of action

Beliefs and practice are a complex combination of past experience present situation and

future plans (Clandinin and Connelly 2000) Woods (2003 207) suggests the relationship

176 L Li



knowledge and action and the relationship between teacher beliefs and practices is very

complex and still in question Research suggests that belief in1047298uences practices (Golombek

1998 Johnson 1994 Ng and Farrell 2003 Pajares 1992) However research also suggests

there exist inconsistencies mismatch or discrepancies between beliefs and practice Poss-

ible explanations for these inconsistencies have been put forward including relative

length of teaching experience (Gatbonton 2008 Tsui 2003) school and classroom con-

ditions (Gorsuch 2000) and school culture and its norms and recognised values (Sato

and Kleinsasser 2004) In other educational settings Wilson and Cooney (2002 13)

suggest that inconsistencies might lie in the lsquo practical or logistical circumstancesrsquo of teach-

ing that prevent teachers from acting in accordance with their beliefs These inconsistencies

also indicate that beliefs cannot be considered as 1047297xed or stable ndash they develop as a result of

interaction with many elements However Speer (2005) has suggested that these inconsis-

tencies might be simply the consequences of a lack of lsquoshared understandingrsquo between the

researcher and the teacher participant and has stressed the importance of incorporating

opportunities to assess and generate such shared understanding Furthermore although it

might be plausible that teachers articulate certain beliefs yet behave in a manner whichis inconsistent with those beliefs it is possible that these inconsistencies are linked to theor-

etical and methodological considerations underpinning the research

As discussed earlier the predominant cognitive approach to research on teachersrsquo

beliefs (eg Golombek 1998 Lee 2009 Ng and Farrell 2003 Nishino 2008 Pajares

1992) does not suf 1047297ciently take into account the fact that teachersrsquo beliefs interact with

the context in which they teach and their decisions are made in the moment-by-moment pro-

gression of a lesson (Walsh 2006) Consequently this cognitive view has been challenged

by other perspectives For example instead of viewing beliefs as static traits of a person that

remain constant across situations from an interactionist perspective beliefs are viewed as

entities that may be transformed by or even emerge as a result of the teacher rsquos interactionswith students (Skott 2001) In this view beliefs thus are the products of social interaction

rather than the realm of reality maintained by teachers

This article adopts an interactionist perspective viewing beliefs as a complex interac-

tive system which can be studied through the teacher rsquos interaction with the context at

both macro- and micro-levels Teachers can hold beliefs about many aspects such as lear-

ners curriculum teaching and learning professional development and self and so on but

they are intertwined with each other and multi-faceted (Breen et al 2001 Calderhead 1996

Li 2008) An interactionist perspective places emphasis on examining beliefs as they relate

to the evidence of participating teachersrsquo classroom practices However it does not address

the methodological issue of achieving shared understanding of the relationship between beliefs and practice as it takes little or no account of the teacher participant rsquos interpretation

of their classroom practice In the absence of an overarching theory providing insights into

the consistency of relationships between beliefs and practice (Speer 2005) this study draws

on theories of action (Argyris and Schoumln 1974) which provide a theoretical basis for under-

standing the relationship between beliefs and practice

Theories of action through which human beings link their thoughts with their actions

indicate that humans as agents respond to their environment and plan their further actions

in relation to what they learn from the present real-life situation As agents we lsquolearn a reper-

toire of concepts schemas and strategies and they learn programmes for drawing from their

repertoire to design representations and action for unique situationsrsquo (Argyris et al 1985 81)

There are two types of theory espoused theories concerned with what people give allegiance

to and communicate to others and theories-in-use which govern what people do Thus




When examining the relationship between espoused theories and theories-in-use

Argyris (1980) makes the case that these two theories may or may not match just like

beliefs and practice and the individual may or may not be aware of any mismatch If

these two theories are compatible in any particular instance this leads to a better under-

standing of an actor rsquos intentions actions and consequences However when a gap is

noticed between these two theories seeking a connection creates a dynamic for re1047298ection

and dialogue Such re1047298ection and dialogue is particularly necessary and useful when study-

ing the relationship between espoused theories and theories-in-use and more importantly

such dialogue and re1047298ection should be brought into the research process of teacher cogni-

tion in order to gain insights from the teacher

The study

This study forms part of a larger project examining teachers rsquo pedagogical beliefs and prac-

tices involving 18 teachers from China In order to explore more speci1047297cally the detailed

relationship between a teacher rsquos beliefs and practice this paper reports on a single case

study focusing on Yuan (a pseudonym) Yuan had 26 yearsrsquo teaching experience in one

of the best state secondary schools in Beijingsup1 and was recognised as one of the top

expert teacherssup2 in the city Yuan holds a Diploma in Teaching English as a Foreign

Language and a Bachelor rsquos Degree in English Language Teaching Like many expert tea-

chers Yuan has worked in different types of school and has witnessed the transformation of

pedagogy from traditional translation methods to communicative-based approaches He has

been supported by continuous professional development activities such as an overseas

training course and visits In terms of language teaching experience pedagogical training

professional achievement and professional development Yuan was fairly typical of the

expert teachers studied in the larger projectYuan was observed over one unit which includes four 45-minute lessons of 180 minutes

in total His class had 43 students a common class size in Beijing The students were aged 16

to 17 and were in their 1047297fth year of formal instruction in English as a foreign language they

were set to take the National College Entrance Test (NCET) the following year Their level

was between intermediate and upper intermediate Yuan had been teaching them for almost

two years The unit observed was on the topic of lsquohow English people celebrate Christmasrsquo

The classroom interaction data presented here were from the 1047297rst lesson of the unit

Data collection and analysisThis research had three foci beliefs classroom practices and participantsrsquo insights into the

relationship between beliefs and practice As shown in Table 1 a variety of data elicitation

and collection methods were used

Table 1 Research methods and data

Research focus Data elicitation and collection

Beliefs Semi-structured interviewsClassroom practice Video-recording and transcription of classroom

interactionParticipantsrsquo insights into the relationship

between beliefs and practiceStimulated comment procedure based on video clips

to gain participant insights

178 L Li



To explore Yuanrsquos beliefs a semi-structured interview was employed The interview

guidelines were developed from the teacher cognition literature (eg Calderhead 1996)

focusing on an understanding of teaching learning learners subject knowledge self and

professional development which allowed Yuan to talk about both his overarching beliefs

and how he claimed he realised his beliefs for particular lessons Two interviews were

carried out with the 1047297rst one focusing on the macro-context of Yuanrsquos professional life

and dealing with issues such as English in China textbook curriculum test and his

classes the second one focused on his own English learning experience and career

history as a teacher and the development of his pedagogical beliefs

The 1047297rst interview provided an overview of the context and allowed the participating

teacher to gain an understanding of the study The second interview focused explicitly

on an exploration of beliefs The two-pronged interview approach it was felt both

creates a more supportive environment in which trust can be established and allows the

interviewee to gain a better understanding of the research focus The interviews were

audio-recorded and transcribed the accuracy of the transcripts was con1047297rmed by Yuan

The interviews were then analysed adopting the 3C approach (Lichtman 2009) codingcategorising and concept-emerging The development of coding categories involved

reviewing the transcripts identifying relevant features and coding units by meaning

Data were then categorised by clustering units representing a teacher rsquos collection of

beliefs (see Speer 2008) ie a small set of related beliefs that in combination describe a

teacher rsquos perspective on a particular topic In particular a collection may contain the

teacher rsquos account of one or more areas of beliefs The advantage of this unit of analysis

is that it makes it possible to describe a teacher rsquos perspective in a manner that re1047298ects

the interconnected distributed nature of beliefs The coding categorising and emerging

concepts were cross-checked by a colleague to ensure reliability and consensus was

achieved by discussing differences Analyses and interpretations of interview data were ren-dered in a recursive re1047298exive and triangulated manner incorporating insights and under-

standings from the researcher the colleague and the participant (Denzin and Lincoln 1994)

To examine Yuanrsquos classroom practices a unit of lessons (180 minutes) was video-

recorded and transcribed Detailed transcriptions of verbal and non-verbal behaviours

were made subject to 1047297ne-grained analysis using a conversation analysis (CA) informed

methodology (see Appendix for transcription conventions) The rationale for using CA

principles is to uncover the lsquoorganisation of talk rsquo as organised by the participants them-

selves rather than to approach the data from an extraneous viewpoint That is the focus

is placed on how the participants display for one another their understanding of the situation

they are in In such talk-in-interaction speakers display in their sequentially lsquo

next rsquo

turns anunderstanding of what the lsquo prior rsquo turn was about and how they are positioned and oriented

to it (Hutchby and Woof 1047297tt 2008) Data therefore were not approached with a predeter-

mined set of features but rather treated in an open manner as Seedhouse (2004) argues

CA provides an emic analysis of social action in classrooms from an ethnomethodological

perspective allowing lsquodata to speak for themselvesrsquo

In order to achieve shared understanding of the relationship between the teacher rsquos

beliefs and practice video-based re1047298ection was used based on video-recordings of the tea-

cher rsquos classes Yuan viewed selected stretches of interaction and was asked to comment on

what was happening The focus was placed on lsquore1047298ections upon descriptions explanations

and justi1047297cations given in the course of a talk rsquo (Gellert 2001 35) and the teacher rsquos interpret-

ation and understanding of what was happening Speer (2005) argues that the bene1047297t of

using video-clip playback as a methodological technique in researching teacher cognition




lsquocoarse-grain-sized characterisations of beliefs and general descriptions of teaching prac-

tices appear unlikely to do justice to the complex contextually dependent acts of teachingrsquo

Studies in teacher cognition also exemplify the advantages of such a technique for under-

standing teachersrsquo beliefs in relation to their behaviours (eg Morton 2012)

In order to explore the connection between Yuanrsquos espoused theories and his practice one

aspect of his theories represented by a collection of beliefs about lsquoenhancing communicative

abilitiesrsquo across belief categories (see Table 2) is used to illustrate the relationship between

espoused theories and theories-in-use In the analysis Yuanrsquos espoused theories are presented

1047297rst through interview data which covers almost every aspect of his espoused beliefs about

teaching and learning across belief categories (that are normally analysed for example as

lsquoteachingrsquo lsquolearningrsquo lsquostudentsrsquo lsquocurriculumrsquo etc) to fully capture the complexity of the tea-

cher rsquos views preserving the integrity of the individual beliefs when possible while acknowl-edging the related and interconnected nature of beliefs

Next classroom episodes were selected to be examined against Yuanrsquos espoused

theories and in such a way different relationships between Yuanrsquos espoused theories and

theories-in-use unfolded through classroom discourse The next step was to gain Yuanrsquos

interpretations of his teaching sequences which were used to gain insights into the

process of decision-making and to achieve a shared understanding about the relationship

between what he believes and his classroom practice This process is also used as data

triangulation to fully capture the complexity of a teacher rsquos theories

Findings

Espoused theories

Communicative ability lies at the heart of Yuanrsquos theories as he claims that lsquocommunicative

ability is of the utmost importance for a language learner and teaching and learning is all

about enhancing communicative skillsrsquo (Interview 1 Extract 1) He further explained the

methods and materials he adopted in teaching to achieve this goal

I use a communicative approach in my teachinghellip I use authentic materials and tasks (eg per-sonal experience) to coach students to communicate in the target languagehellipto lsquotalk rsquo in contextThe focus is on the learning process (Interview 2 Extract 1)

This highlights his explicit view of the function of language as a tool to communicate Yuan

Table 2 A collection of Yuanrsquos beliefs about lsquoenhancing communicative abilitiesrsquo

Teaching Learning Subject Students Teacher

Teaching shouldfocus on

enhancing communicative

skills by usingauthenticmaterials using

personalexperience andhelping studentsto be independent

Learning is tomaking sense

how languageworks through

participationcollaborationand interaction

English is atool to

communicateCulture is animportant part of languagelearning

Students should be contributing

to the classactively andshould be oneof theknowledgesourcesPeer feedback is important

The teacher is not the only source

of knowledgeshould playdifferent rolesin teachingThe teacher should

facilitateclassroomdiscussion

180 L Li



processrsquo and lsquo personal experiencersquo to illustrate his communicative pedagogy He further

elaborates on how contexts shape his beliefs

Most of my students now learn English for their future needs for example to go abroad tostudy or travel and without communication skills they canrsquot do anything as English is the

world language now (Interview 1 Extract 2)

I didnrsquot know how to order food when I visited abroad for the 1047297rst time and it made me realisewhat rsquos the real purpose of learning a language (Interview 2 Extract 2)

Yuanrsquos theories about learning English seem closely in1047298uenced by his understanding of

what language is of student needs the current status of English and his personal experi-

ence Like many teachers of his age Yuan learnt English in a very traditional way when

lsquomemorisation and translation are the most effective ways to learn but today language is

a tool to communicate rather than a subject because it opens a door to another culture

and it rsquos a bridge to enter another communityrsquo (Interview 1 Extract 3) Yuan constantly

referred to these as the main reasons for his current thinking and practice in teaching

Yuan also illustrates what he expected his learners to do in class to enhance their com-

municative abilities learners should actively participate and engage in interaction

It rsquos important for students to get involved in different forms for example pair work groupwork and individual work I like to give students opportunities to speak because they canhave very good points sometimes It rsquos not about saying a correct sentence it rsquos more about the topic and speaking opportunities (Interview 2 Extract 3)

This extract highlights learner involvement and contributions to learning Different forms

were mentioned here to exemplify student participation such as pair work and groupwork Yuan also suggested that the value and the focus in such participation should be

placed on topic or content rather than language forms Learning thus is viewed through

participation and involvement and lsquostudents should contribute to the class activelyrsquo

Yuan placed a heavy emphasis on lsquoopening studentsrsquo mouthsrsquo (Interview 2 Extract 4)

Equally contrary to the traditional view of the teacher as a knowledge provider and instruc-

tor Yuan believed teachers should play different roles

The only but most challenging thing is that I have to play different roles rather than being aknowledge provider or instructor I need to be a guide a facilitator an organiser or a partici-

pant an observer a critical friend (Interview 2 Extract 5)

However the different roles Yuan had to cope with might impose pressures and challenges

in teaching These challenges also exist in other areas in his work

I do feel challenged every minute every second You know many students do know more thanme in many aspects And I am learning to switch from lsquoPPP (three stage teaching Presentation-Practice-Production)rsquo to lsquoCLT (Communicative Language Teaching)rsquo and on top of that our textbooks have changed so much in recent years (Interview 2 Extract 6)

Convergence between espoused theories and theories-in-use

At the beginning of the class Yuan organised a group discussion in an attempt to 1047297

nd out about studentsrsquo existing knowledge about the way English people celebrate Christmas This

section presents extracts from the classroom interaction data




Extract 1 a delicious food

(Y = Yuan S = Student)

1 Y ((clapping his hands))()Ok2 (50)3 can some group give me some information about how er ()4 English people spend their Christmas () and er () what er 5 is your discussion if possible6 (21)7 NAME what about you8 S (100)9 En ()they all er ()have a very ()10 Y Sorry I canrsquot hear you ()louder please ()they all have a11 very what=12 S =a delicious food=13 Y =oh delicious dinner right yes yes I am sure14 (23)15 on Christmas Eve or er on Christmas Day=

16 S =Christmas Eve=17 Y =on Christmas Eve possible ()what else thank you

Throughout this extract it is apparent that Yuan is attempting to get one student to contrib-

ute to his question about lsquohow English people spend Christmasrsquo In lines 3 ndash 5 for example

Yuan asked an open question which gave students space to contribute any relevant infor-

mation The teacher rsquos questions here can be interpreted as a genuine request or lsquo pre-

announcement rsquo (Terasaki 2005) Note the extremely long pauses at lines 6 and 8 which

were intended to allow students space to formulate a response and possibly rehearse it

before speaking publicly Space for a student contribution is also observed in line 14when Yuan expected the student to provide more information about Christmas dinner

which the student did with the help of Yuanrsquos follow-up question (line 15) Yuan seemed

to have helped the student to offer greater precision in her response (line 16)

However this extract also suggests that Yuan is restricting the student rsquos contribution by

interrupting (line 10 and 13) when the student is in the middle of her turn-at-talk The value

of the learner rsquos contribution is also evident from a conversation analytical perspective when

we look through the analysis of a CA construct the adjacency pair at the way Yuanrsquos ques-

tions were positioning the learners At line 3 the 1047297rst pair part invites some information

about English Christmas as the expected second part positioning the student as informant

Yet before an appropriate second part was delivered Yuan produced another 1047297

rst pair partwhich positions the responders rather differently this time as a reporter of the group topics

which is less open (lines 4 ndash 5) After a rather long silence Yuan nominates a speaker who

responds with a second pair part to Yuanrsquos second 1047297rst pair part ndash she mentions lsquofoodrsquo (line

12) as the topic the group had discussed After another long (23 s) pause at line 14 Yuan

again changes the positioning of the respondents in a new 1047297rst pair part this time projecting

as conditionally relevant a second pair part containing information of lsquowhenrsquo to have this

lsquodelicious foodrsquo this time as a respondent to Yuanrsquos question (line 15) At this level

one might argue that Yuan initiates the exchanges controls the 1047298oor interrupts and domi-

nates the dialogue He is directing the 1047298ow of the conversation with the consequence of eli-

citing minimal student contributions This extract seems to show that Yuanrsquos classroom

practices may contradict his espoused theories However in order to understand the

relationship between Yuanrsquos beliefs and his interactions in class it is important to gain

182 L Li



Yuanrsquo s insights into the convergence

In the video-based re1047298ection Yuan pointed out that in this sequence his intention was

just to give students an opportunity to speak English For Yuan while the quantity of

student contributions is important effective strategies that could promote communica-

tive opportunities are more vital So in his opinion enhancing communicative compe-tence means lsquostudents are all given opportunities to say somethingrsquo (Re1047298ection Extract

1) Yuanrsquos re1047298ection upon this interactional exchange highlights two factors in1047298uencing

his decision-making The 1047297rst is the student rsquos character and level of experience His

experience and knowledge about this particular student told him that the student was

trying to avoid making mistakes by providing a minimal contribution Yuan was not

very satis1047297ed with the student rsquos brief contributions so his strategy was to elicit more

talk by lsquoasking further questions and push her if necessaryrsquo (Re1047298ection Extract 2)

Yuan also pointed out that it is important to create rehearsal time by adding pauses

deliberately

Students usually feel embarrassed to speak publicly and the reason that I interrupted studentswas to slow down the pace to ease the student It rsquos more conversation-like rather than a Q andA The point is me being in the middle of the conversation can encourage the student to stay inthis conversation (Re1047298ection 3)

The second factor is Yuanrsquos pedagogical goal Because the activity was to lsquoopen studentsrsquo

mouths and let them contribute to the content rsquo (Re1047298ection Extract 4) Yuan chose to

involve as many students as possible albeit brie1047298y He felt here that this learning

process and being able to speak in public were more important than producing the 1047297nal

product Again because of his pedagogical goal Yuan referred to his indirect feedback

strategy He considered embedded error correction (note how in line 13 he reformulatedthe student rsquos contribution to lsquodinner rsquo) lsquoa useful approach to establish an equal relationship

and reduce anxiety in classroom to create a relaxing learning environment rsquo (Re1047298ection

Extract 5) Yuanrsquos re1047298ection upon this short interaction would suggest that his classroom

practice converges with his espoused theories

Divergence between espoused theories and theories-in-use

There seems however to be a con1047298ict between Yuanrsquos belief in promoting communication

skills and fostering knowledge in practice and engaging students in dialogues and restrict-

ing student contributions It seems that the more lsquotraditionalrsquo transmission pedagogy over-

rides beliefs about involving students in making contributions This is seen clearly as the

lesson progresses with a student contributing information about Charles Dickens and his

novel A Christmas Carol

Extract 2 the great writer Charles Dickens

1 S the great writer er=2 Y =the great writer ()oh ()who3 S ((2 unintelligible))4 Y Hhhh () this kind of thing happens()Charles Dickens5 right Charles Dickens ()yes ()what are you going to say6 S the Christmas ()

7 Y the Christmas Carol right () well I understand for some8 new words you donrsquot know how to pronounce () you need to9 pay attention to pronunciation using dictionary to see how




11 example 那叫什么 Chinese((what rsquos that called))

12 S ((2 unintelligible))13 Y xie ji shenghellip are you sure xie xie xie Chinese I mean

((mistletoe))

14 Chinese pronunciation15 S Xie16 Y are you sure xie ji sheng 是吗 () 还是还是念别的((looking

((right))((or it rsquos pronouncedas something else))

17 at one student rsquos book))有人说念 xie 反正 Chinese ()right((some people pronounce it))

((anyway))17 a kind of plant thanks you ()18 NAME mentioned some information very important even the19 great writer Charles Dickens and he loves Christmas so20 much right Ok

21 (12)22 and er by the way do you happen to know any other besides23 Christmas carols any other written by this great writer24 (12)25 yes for example著作

((works))26 Y (60)27 who can you remember who can think of any book written by28 this great writer you have to know something right29 Charles Dickens so famous a writer30 (23)31 oh what is Chinese Dickens Dickens

The sequence shows how the teacher rsquos utterances in conversation set up a sequential trajec-tory in which the student 1047297nds less and less opportunity to discuss the topic the novel A

Christmas Carol without explicitly asking It is in this interactional or micro-context

that the conversational move of topic shifts becomes analysable as a means for avoiding

the topic the student brought up In line 1 a student offers the topic lsquogreat writer rsquo as a

try-marked example relating to Christmas In his response rather than acknowledging

the learner rsquos contribution Yuan interrupts the student by asking a question This sequence

has the characteristics of authoritative discourse note the extended teacher turn (lines 7 ndash 11)

and how the student(s) is positioned as a listener Even when Yuan asks questions in this

sequence there is no real expectation of an answer (line 2) and indeed he answers his

own questions sometimes (eg line 4) It is interesting that Yuan dictates which micro-context they are in by swiftly changing the topic from the great writer Charles Dickens

and A Christmas Carol to the pronunciation problems students have and moving away

from the topic initiated by the student (line 9) Then he gave an example of a word that

he did not know how to pronounce in Chinese and emphasised the importance of checking

pronunciation using a dictionary It seemed that Yuan was avoiding further discussion of A

Christmas Carol and doing the exact opposite of what he claimed in his stated beliefs

This authoritative sequence carries on and Yuan moves back to the topic initiated by the

student A Christmas Carol and Charles Dickens At lines 19 ndash 20 Yuan appears to invite an

opinion but before the appropriate turn is delivered Yuan closes the exchange and is ready

to move on (line 20) After a silence (line 21) Yuan changes the positioning of the respon-

dents in a new 1047297rst pair part this time projecting as conditionally relevant a second pair part

containing an example of works by Charles Dickens (line 22 ndash 23) After another longish

184 L Li



(line 25) extended wait-time (line 26 28) referential questions (line 27 ndash 29) assertive

encouragement (line 28) giving clues (line 29) and eventually seeking a translation

(line 31) This extract shows how Yuan moved away from interactive talk in which

studentsrsquo involvement and communication skills were encouraged to a more teacher-led

discourse where he clearly assumed the roles of knowledge provider and instructor

Yuanrsquo s insights into the divergence

In the discussion about the video-clip Yuan acknowledged the tension between what he

planned and what actually he did and described this lsquomoving awayrsquo from task as an inter-

active decision he had to make in that situation He also shed light on his reasons for

lsquomoving awayrsquo from the task

First of all it is important for students to have correct pronunciation particularly for those stu-dents who will have to take the oral test for college entrance exam And if I can categorise myeducational goals then improving their linguistic knowledge (eg pronunciation) is a short

term goal while enhancing communicative abilities would be counted as a long-term goalShort-term goal always gets priorityhellip (Re1047298ection Extract 6)

Second there is no need to go on and on to discuss details of Christmas Carol and mistletoe[another topic that was brought up by a student that Yuan chose to neglect for further discus-sion] because partially I couldnrsquot comment on this student rsquos contribution as I donrsquot know muchabout this myself [embarrassed laughter] and partially I need to provide some useful knowledgeto students to make them feel theyrsquove learnt something from me (Re1047298ection Extract 7)

For Yuan this decision was made on the basis of the priority of a short-term educational

goal (eg the importance of pronunciation for the college entrance examination) lack of

cultural knowledge and self-perceived responsibility for students to learn something

useful In his re1047298ection Yuan referred to giving priority to the short-term educationalgoal (improving studentsrsquo linguistic knowledge because of the test) and moving to the

language area that he felt was more important for students At the same time his own

lack of cultural knowledge also made Yuan switch to the topic that he felt he had more

control over It is striking that Yuan seemed to adhere to the more traditional view of learn-

ing as lsquohavingrsquo which contradicts his reference in the interview to learning as lsquodoingrsquo He

clearly assigned himself a knowledge transmitter role in this instance One possible expla-

nation is that he reverted intuitively to a deeper default set of traditional constructs about

teaching a move of which he seemed to be unaware Moving away from the topic and

switching back to the traditional role seems to be what teachers do when they are lsquochal-

lengedrsquo

or lsquo

in troublersquo

as may have been the case here (Wright 2005)

Discussion

This study offers three insights into the relationship between espoused theories and classroom

practices Firstwe cannot simply say whether a teacher rsquos espoused theories are in alignment or

in contrast with his or her classroom practice evidence of both is to be found in what a teacher

says and does even relating to one aspect of his beliefs in just one lesson There is no strict one-

to-one relationship between espoused theories and classroom practice A teacher might hold

one particularly strong belief but in the classroom might adopt different and sometimes contra-

dictory practices (see Table 3) From a teacher rsquos perspective this can be expressed as lsquoI believe

in A but in class sometimes I do A and sometimes I do B rsquoHowever this study suggests that

teachersrsquo espoused theories and classroom practice bear lsquosymbiotic relationshipsrsquo (Foss and

Kleinsasser 1996 441) Espoused theories manifest themselves in teachersrsquo practice and inter-




Second teachersrsquo theories are conceptualised in a given environment and contextua-

lised by this environment Yuanrsquos espoused theories are developed and shaped by studentsrsquo

future needs his personal experience the status of English and his understanding of the

function of language These macro-contexts might guide overarching pedagogy and

instructional activities but the moment-to-moment variables shaped what Yuan did in this

particular lesson The relationship between teachersrsquo espoused theories and classroom prac-

tices is one outcome of interactions with the students In other words this study suggests

that the classroom micro-contexts in1047298uence the theories-in-use in the decision-making

Thus in understanding the relationship between espoused theories and theories-in-use

we see the importance of understanding the complexities of both macro- and micro-

contexts

Classroom conditions can in1047298uence teachersrsquo decision-making and interaction (eg

Gorsuch 2000) what this study reveals is just how complex that decision-making

process actually is For example the con1047298ict that Yuan exhibited between fostering commu-

nicative skills and enhancing linguistic knowledge highlights a complexity that many EFL

teachers experience In this study Yuan shifted topics for a combination of reasons gaps in

his own cultural knowledge the priority of educational goals his self-perceived teacher image and resistance to challenges For individual teachers knowledge (cultural knowledge

in this article) is at least as important as communicative pedagogical awareness Potentially

teachers who do not have relevant cultural knowledge are less likely to encourage a conver-

sation around cultural issues in the classroom despite the beliefs they may hold In this

sense teachersrsquo practices are certainly restricted by their knowledge despite what beliefs

they hold Cultural (subject) knowledge is a big issue for many EFL teachers and should

be considered in investigating the relationship between teachersrsquo beliefs and practices

Yuan seemed to be struggling between two contradictory beliefs about his roles and

what constitutes learning and communicative abilities It is clear that when he faced chal-

lenges he reverted to a more traditional view of being a teacher In classrooms such beha-viours highlight the boundaries of what teachers are prepared to do and not prepared to do

with regard to developing an open ended exchange with students (see Wright 2005) It

Table 3 Comparison between Yuanrsquos espoused theories and observed practice in enhancingcommunicative abilities

Espoused theories Observed practice Alignment Explanations

Teaching is about enhancing

communicative abilitieslearning through interactionlanguage is a tool for communication studentsshould participate in thedialogue and the teacher should facilitate the dialogue

Students are pushed to

contribute and suchspace for contributions iscreated

Yes Student character

Pedagogical goal

Students are directed tocontribute in different ways by the teacher

No Lack of content andcultural knowledgeResponsibility tomake sure learninghappensResistance tochallenges fromstudents

Choosing between along-term goal andshort-term goal

186 L Li



would seem that teachersrsquo theories-in-use are all about thinking on onersquos feet Given time to

think and when free from the immediate pressure of classroom action teachers can remem-

ber what they learned in training or make use of their own prior experience In the class-

room however such insights and knowledge are often jettisoned (unconsciously) for

more archetypal IRF (Initiation-Response-Feedback Sinclair and Coulthard 1975) dis-

course in the heat of the moment when threats to status are perceived or the lesson is

lsquogoing wrongrsquo In this case although Yuan argued that teachers should facilitate student

contributions he intuitively took on the traditional role of the teacher who possesses a

wealth of knowledge a view which coincides with Cortazzi and Jinrsquos (2006) de1047297nition

of a stereotypically lsquogoodrsquo Chinese teacher In practice teachersrsquo interpretations of self-

image and emotions play an important role in shaping what they do A full understanding

of teacher decision-making requires further investigation of self-perceived professional

images

Yuanrsquos case also suggests that teachers have different sets of educational goals

embedded in their pedagogy and these might in1047298uence their decision-making in class-

rooms In Yuanrsquos case the immediate goal of helping students to achieve good pronuncia-tion outweighed the importance of creating communication opportunities but this does not

mean the immediate goal is necessarily considered more important Yuanrsquos interactive

decision-making suggested two distinctive features of expert teachers ef 1047297ciency and selec-

tivity (Tsui 2003) Yuan was ef 1047297cient in making sense of classroom events to give more

analytical and interpretative comments He also demonstrated an ability to differentiate

between immediate and long-term goals to make selective and swift changes in the class-

room Investigation of such areas not only contributes further to understanding of teachers

and pedagogy in a given context but also educates and develops teachers as active thinkers

in practice Experienced teachersrsquo thinking and decision-making can serve as a source and

focus of teacher training programmes (Richards and Lockhart 1994) For example theseincidents could be used for discussion with trainee teachers in order to explore how to

draw upon what they learn in the training course in their classroom decision-making

Equally evidence from this and similar studies might also serve as scenarios in teacher

development to help teachers become more aware of alternatives and to advance their think-

ing in this decision-making rather than just thinking on onersquos feet Similarly concerning

continuous professional development for in-service teachers self-re1047298ection should be

encouraged which will help teachers understand how their beliefs in1047298uence the taught

the learned and the implicit curriculum in their contexts

Third methodologically this study suggests that in order to understand the exact

relationship between beliefs and practice a 1047297

ne-grained analysis of teacher behaviour through interaction and teacher insights into the reasons underlying decision-making is

important That is to say this study demonstrates one way of achieving an understanding

of the gap between these two theories Yuanrsquos espoused theories were elicited through inter-

views while his theories-in-use were illustrated by his classroom practice understandings

of the relationship between these two theories were achieved by using video-based re1047298ec-

tions Only by considering a detailed analysis of his classroom interaction with students and

the rationale behind this can we understand whether and why he did A or B For example

Yuan believed in the importance of promoting communicative abilities in language teaching

but his classroom practices showed that whilst sometimes he promoted opportunities for

communication and interaction (for example Extract 1) on other occasions he restricted

such opportunities (for example Extract 2)

Without detailed analysis and Yuanrsquos reasoning one might simply suggest Yuan was




frustrating students by interrupting Again without Yuanrsquos re1047298ection it is hard to know why

he switched from an interactive mode to a more authoritative mode in Extract 2 The 1047297nd-

ings suggest that any attempt to study the relationships between beliefs and practice may

need to be carried out along the lines presented here Such an approach arguably

implies a need to understand the connections between beliefs and practice rather than

looking at the extent to which a belief converges with or diverges from a stated practice

By focusing on one particular collection of beliefs (eg enhancing communicative ability)

and comparing them with speci1047297c classroom interaction data and eliciting that teacher rsquos

thinking and reasoning about his or her teaching practices in relation to espoused theories

we can gain insights into the ways in which teachers make sense of and use theories of

action in their classrooms The results demonstrate the complex and context-sensitive

nature of the relationship between beliefs and teaching practices that other researchers

have also observed in mathematics education (eg diSessa Elby and Hammer 2002

Skott 2001 Thompson 1992)

Conclusion

In1047298uenced by Argyris and Schoumlnrsquos theories of action this article has attempted to explore

the relationship between the theories of action of an EFL teacher through interviews video-

recordings and video-based re1047298ection From a theoretical viewpoint the paper con1047297rms that

espoused theories and theories-in-use are not always aligned (Argyris and Schoumln 1974) and

that there exist both convergence and divergence between the two categories of theories

This study also suggests that there is no one-to-one strict relationship between espoused

theories and practices Furthermore there is evidence which demonstrates that both

espoused theories and theories-in-use are highly in1047298uenced by contexts In particular tea-

chersrsquo theories-in-use are in1047298uenced by the moment-by-moment unfolding of classroominteraction In such decision-making the study highlights the profound in1047298uence of cultural

knowledge self-perceived teacher image and educational priorities which deserve more

empirical evidence and exploration

This study advances thinking on teachersrsquo beliefs by highlighting the need to situate

beliefs in social acts and by advocating the role of knowledge self-image and pedagogical

goals in shaping teachersrsquo decision-making While we might expect there to be a similar

pedagogy shared by teachers who work in similar situations (Breen et al 2001) it is

useful for both research and pedagogy if the beliefs and behaviour of a group of teachers

can be investigated through a longitudinal study as undertaken by Breen and his

co-researchersThis study also highlights the complexity of investigating the relationship between

belief and practice At the methodological level it offers an example of using a 1047297ne-

grained analysis of teachersrsquo comments and classroom interaction to make it possible to

examine the relationship between speci1047297c beliefs and with speci1047297c practice and therefore

helps us to understand how teachers as active thinkers draw upon both espoused theories

and theories-in-use in their professional context This approach also adds concrete evidence

of how and why beliefs and practice are connected in particular ways and not in others

Argyris and Schoumlnrsquos theories of action also emphasise that seeking a connection or studying

the gap between espoused theories and theories-in-use creates a dynamic for re1047298ection and

dialogue The 1047297ndings from this study suggest studying beliefs should involve teachers in

the process of understanding the relationship between their theories

The present article was limited to a focus on just one participant However what this

188 L Li



beliefs by considering them from a social perspective and investigating them in a more

interactive manner through an example of gaining insights into teachersrsquo theories A

1047297ne-grained analysis suggests that teachersrsquo beliefs should not be treated as the private

realm of the mind and con1047297rms that the relationship between beliefs and classroom prac-

tices is far more complex

Acknowledgements

I gratefully acknowledge the generosity of Yuan and his students who allowed me into their class-room I would also like to thank the editors and anonymous reviewers for their useful suggestionson improving this article

Notes

1 State schools are government-funded In Beijing and many cities in China secondary schools are

categorised into the following types City Key School District Key School and Ordinary School primarily based on a schoolrsquos history reputation and student academic achievement as shown inthe major tests for example the National College Entrance Examination City Key Schools are

preferred by parents and students for their better resources more experienced teachers and so onit is very competitive to gain a place in these schools District Key Schools are not as successfulas City Key Schools however they are well regarded by parents and society These schools enjoygood reputation in terms of academic achievements facilities resources and support OrdinarySchools are those with average academic results students are less competitive in academicwork and resources are not as advanced as City Key Schools More importantly these schoolsmay typically face dif 1047297culties in retaining high quality teachers There are 19 districts inBeijing and each district has its own local educational authority that is responsible for weeklyteacher professional development activities and test organisation

2 Expert teachers are also called lead teachers They are selected by the local educational authority based on their merits of academic expertise their student academic achievements their quali1047297ca-tions experiences and sometimes research pro1047297les These teachers are supposed to be innovativeand up to date with developments in teaching methodology One of their designated responsibil-ities is to support inexperienced teachers by setting a good example

References

Argyris C and D Schoumln 1974 Theory in Practice Increasing Professional EffectivenessSan Francisco CA Jossey-Bass

Argyris C 1980 Inner Contradictions of Rigorous Research New York Academic PressArgyris C R Putnam and D McLain Smith 1985 Action Science Concepts Methods and Skills

for Research and Intervention San Francisco CA Jossey-BassBasturkmen H S Loewen and R Ellis 2004 Teachersrsquo stated beliefs about incidental focus on form

and their classroom practices Applied Linguistics 25 no 2 243 ndash 272Borg S 2001 Self-perception and practice in teaching grammar ELT Journal 55 no 1 21 ndash 29Borg S 2003 Teacher cognition in language teaching a review of research on what language tea-

chers think know believe and do Language Teaching 36 no 2 81 ndash 109Borg S 2006 Teacher Cognition and Language Education Research and Practice London

ContinuumBreen MP B Hird M Milton R Oliver and A Thwaite 2001 Making sense of language teaching

teachersrsquo principles and classroom practices Applied Linguistics 22 no 4 470 ndash 501Calderhead J 1996 Teachers beliefs and knowledge In Handbook of Educational Psychology eds

DC Berliner and RC Calfee 709 ndash 725 New York Macmillan

Clandinin J and M Connelly 2000 Narrative Inquiry Experience and Story in Qualitative Research San Francisco CA Jossey-Bass

Cortazzi M and L Jin 2006 Changing practices in Chinese cultures of learning Language Culture




Denzin NK and YS Lincoln 1994 Handbook of Qualitative Research Thousand Oaks CA SagediSessa A A Elby and D Hammer 2002 Jrsquos epistemological stance and strategies In Intentional

Conceptual Change eds G Sinatra and P Pintrich 237 ndash 290 Mahwah NJ Lawrence ErlbaumAssociates

Donaghue H 2003 An instrument to elicit teachersrsquo beliefs and assumptions ELT Journal 57 no 4344 ndash 351

Farrell TSC and STK Kun 2008 Language policy language teachersrsquo beliefs and classroom practices Applied Linguistics 29 no 3 381 ndash 403

Feryok A 2008 An Armenian English language teacher rsquos practical theory of communicativelanguage teaching System 36 no 2 227 ndash 240

Foss DH and RC Kleinsasser 1996 Pre-service elementary teachersrsquo views of pedagogical andmathematical content knowledge Teaching and Teacher Education 12 no 4 429 ndash 442

Gatbonton E 2008 Looking beyond teachersrsquo classroom behaviour novice and experienced ESLteachersrsquo pedagogical knowledge Language Teaching Research 12 no 2 161 ndash 182

Gellert U 2001 Research on attitudes in mathematics education a discursive perspective In Proceedings of the 25th meeting of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education 3 (PME-XXV) ed M van den Heuvel-Panhuizen 33 ndash 40 Utrecht Utrecht University

Golombek PR 1998 A study of language teachersrsquo personal practical knowledge TESOL Quarterly

32 no 3 447 ndash 464Gorsuch G 2000 EFL educational policies and education cultures in1047298uences on teachersrsquo approval

of communicative activities TESOL Quarterly 34 no 4 675 ndash 710Hutchby I and R Woof 1047297tt 2008 Conversation Analysis Cambridge PolityJohnson KE 1994 The emerging beliefs and instructional practices of preservice English as second

language teachers Teaching and Teacher Education 10 no 4 439 ndash 452Lee I 2009 Ten mismatches between teachersrsquo beliefs and written feedback practice ELT Journal

63 no 1 13 ndash 22Li L 2008 EFL teachersrsquo beliefs about ICT integration in Chinese secondary schools PhD diss

Queenrsquos University BelfastLi L 2012 Belief construction and development two tales of non-native English speaking student tea-

chers in a TESOL programme Novitas-ROYAL (Research on Youth and Language) 6no133 ndash 58

Li L and S Walsh 2011 lsquoSeeing is believingrsquo looking at EFL teachersrsquo beliefs through classroominteraction Classroom Discourse 2 no 1 39 ndash 57

Lichtman M 2009 Qualitative Research in Education A User rsquo s Guide 2nd ed Thousand Oaks CASage

Morton T 2012 Classroom talk conceptual change and teacher re1047298ection in bilingual science teach-ing Teaching and Teacher Education 28 no 1 101 ndash 110

Ng EKJ and TSC Farrell 2003 Do teachersrsquo beliefs of grammar teaching match their classroom practices A Singapore case study In English in Singapore Research on Grammar edsD Deterding A Brown and EL Brown 128 ndash 137 Singapore McGraw Hill

Nishino T 2008 Japanese secondary school teachersrsquo beliefs and practices regarding communicativelanguage teaching an exploratory survey JALT Journal 30 no 1 27 ndash 50

Nunan D 1992 The teacher as decision-maker In Perspectives on Second Language Teacher

Education eds J Flowerdew M Brock and S Hsia 135 ndash

165 Hong Kong City PolytechnicUniversity of Hong KongOra1047297 SMS and S Borg 2009 Intentions and realities in implementing communicative curriculum

reform System 37 no 2 243 ndash 253Pajares MF 1992 Teachersrsquo beliefs and educational research cleaning up a messy construct Review

of Educational Research 62 no 3 307 ndash 332Phipps S and S Borg 2009 Exploring tensions between teachersrsquo grammar teaching beliefs and

practices System 37 no 3 380 ndash 390Richards JC and C Lockhart 1994 Re 1047298 ective Teaching in Second Language Classrooms

Cambridge Cambridge University PressSato K and RC Kleinsasser 2004 Beliefs practices and interactions of teachers in a Japanese high

school English department Teaching and Teacher Education 20 no 8 797 ndash 816Seedhouse P 2004 The Interactional Architecture of the Language Classroom A Conversation

Analysis Perspective Malden MA BlackwellSinclair J and M Coulthard 1975 Towards an Analysis of Discourse Oxford Oxford University

Press

190 L Li



Skott J 2001 The emerging practices of a novice teacher the roles of his school mathematics images Journal of Mathematics Teacher Education 4 no 1 3 ndash 28

Speer NM 2005 Issues of methods and theory in the study of mathematics teachersrsquo professed andattributed beliefs Educational Studies in Mathematics 58 no 3 361 ndash 391

Speer NM 2008 Connecting beliefs and practices a 1047297ne-grained analysis of a college mathematicsteachersrsquo collections of beliefs and their relationship to his instructional practices Cognition and

Instruction 26 no 2 218 ndash 267Thompson AG 1992 Teachersrsquo beliefs and conceptions a synthesis of the research In Handbook of

Research on Mathematics Teaching and Learning ed DA Grouws 127 ndash 146 New YorkMacmillan

Terasaki A 2005 Pre-announcement sequences in conversation In Conversation Analysis Studies from the First Generation ed G Lerner 171 ndash 224 Amsterdam John Benjamins

Tsang WK 2004 Teachersrsquo personal practical knowledge and interactive decision LanguageTeaching Research 8 no 2 163 ndash 198

Tsui ABM 2003 Understanding Expertise in Teaching Case Studies of EFL Teachers CambridgeCambridge University Press

Tsui ABM 2005 Expertise in teaching perspectives and issues In Expertise in Second Language Learning and Teaching ed K Johnson 167 ndash 189 New York Palgrave Macmillan

Walsh S 2006 Investigating Classroom Discourse London RoutledgeWilliams M and R Burden 1997 Psychology for Language Teachers Cambridge Cambridge

University PressWilson MS and TJ Cooney 2002 Mathematics teacher change and development The role of

beliefs In Beliefs A Hidden Variable in Mathematics Education eds G C LederE Pehkonen and G Torner 127 ndash 148 Dordrecht Boston and London Kluwer

Woods D 2003 The social construction of beliefs in the language classroom In Beliefs about SLA New Research Approaches eds P Kalaja and A Barcelos 201 ndash 229 Dordrecht Boston andLondon Kluwer

Wright T 2005 Classroom Management in Language Education Basingstoke Palgrave Macmillan

Appendix Transcription conventions

Language has not been corrected and standard conventions of punctuation are not used Teacher andlearnersrsquo L1 is transcribed and translated

Y Yuan (the teacher)S student (not identi1047297ed)

NAME the student rsquos name= turn latching one turn follows another without any pause() pause of one second or less(4004) silence length given in seconds or micro-seconds rising intonation - question or other

Yes emphatic speech falling intonation((2 unintelligible)) a stretch of unintelligible speech with the length given in seconds Smiley voicePaul Peter Mary capitals are only used for proper nouns((T organises groups)) researcher rsquos comments or translation




Copyright of Language Learning Journal is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or

emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holders express written permission

However users may print download or email articles for individual use



In a review of the literature there are three observations to be made First at a theoreti-

cal level much of this work has been conducted from a cognitive perspective viewing

beliefs as 1047297xed assumptions representing teachersrsquo mental lives (eg Golombek 1998

Ng and Farrell 2003 Nishino 2008 Pajares 1992) In this tradition research tends to

focus on the realm of reality inside teachersrsquo heads However it might not be appropriate

to view beliefs from a single theoretical stance because a cognitive-based perspective

ignores the contexts and interactive nature of teachersrsquo daily work in classrooms Although

research has to some degree acknowledged the in1047298uence of context on teachersrsquo beliefs and

practice it tends to operate at a macro-level focusing on issues such as curriculum testing

educational policy and school cultures (eg Sato and Kleinsasser 2004) While such studies

are clearly of value they may not always provide adequate insights into what happens at the

micro-level when teachers are engaged in speci1047297c practices This study adopts a micro-per-

spective of context in a bid to provide detailed insights into teachersrsquo moment-by-moment

decision-making while teaching The metaphor of teacher-as-decision-maker (Nunan 1992)

re1047298ects how teachers conceptualise their work and the kind of decision-making underpin-

ning teaching (Tsang 2004) Teachers make many interactive decisions lsquoin the moment-by-moment progression of a lesson and in the context of competing pressures such as time the

attention span of the learners curricular demands exam pressures and so onrsquo (Walsh 2006

48 see also Tsui 2005) Such interactive decision-making constitutes a major part of tea-

chersrsquo classroom behaviour especially when unexpected classroom events emerge

Walsh (2006) suggests that teachers vary in their ability to create learning opportunities

and make good interactive decisions Making good interactive decisions then is an impor-

tant consideration of teachersrsquo classroom practice

Second methodologically research so far has mainly involved elicitation of teachers rsquo

perceptions using for instance questionnaires and interviews in order to compare with

their classroom activities generally The precise connections between teachersrsquo beliefsand speci1047297c practices are rarely examined in any detailed manner (but see Li 2012 Li

and Walsh 2011 Speer 2008) That is the moment-by-moment decisions which in1047298uence

interaction learning and teaching practices have often not been considered Such decisions

are studied here through the lens of classroom interaction and then compared with stated

beliefs In this study a set of beliefs and practices that relate to each other are examined

in order to establish exact relationships between them

Third although empirical research into the relationship between teachersrsquo beliefs and prac-

tice has 1047298ourished since the 1990s most existing studies have been almost wholly conducted

in ESL (English as a second language) contexts and there is still a lack of parallel research with

NNEST (non-native English speaker teachers) in non-anglophone settings with one or twoexceptions such as Breen et al (2001) Phipps and Borg (2009) Li and Walsh (2011)

Research in EFL (English as a foreign language) contexts will make a signi1047297cant contribution

to understanding language teachers and pedagogy in international contexts

In view of this gap there is a need to study teachersrsquo beliefs and practices in detail in

order to explore the complexity of their relationship A major motivation for the present

study is to offer a 1047297ne-grained moment-by-moment analysis of the relationship between tea-

chersrsquo beliefs and practice drawing on theories of action

Beliefs practices and theories of action

Beliefs and practice are a complex combination of past experience present situation and

future plans (Clandinin and Connelly 2000) Woods (2003 207) suggests the relationship

176 L Li





























































The study





























178 L Li





































next rsquo



































Findings

Espoused theories
















English is atool to







180 L Li





































































182 L Li















deliberately


























((mistletoe))




























184 L Li




























lengedrsquo

or lsquo

in troublersquo


Discussion
























contexts
























Pedagogical goal




186 L Li















images



















































Conclusion






























188 L Li








Acknowledgements


Notes





References











































Press

190 L Li
























































































The study





























178 L Li





































next rsquo



































Findings

Espoused theories
















English is atool to







180 L Li





































































182 L Li















deliberately


























((mistletoe))




























184 L Li




























lengedrsquo

or lsquo

in troublersquo


Discussion
























contexts
























Pedagogical goal




186 L Li















images



















































Conclusion






























188 L Li








Acknowledgements


Notes





References











































Press

190 L Li
































































next rsquo



































Findings

Espoused theories
















English is atool to







180 L Li





































































182 L Li















deliberately


























((mistletoe))




























184 L Li




























lengedrsquo

or lsquo

in troublersquo


Discussion
























contexts
























Pedagogical goal




186 L Li















images



















































Conclusion






























188 L Li








Acknowledgements


Notes





References











































Press

190 L Li

















































Findings

Espoused theories
















English is atool to







180 L Li





































































182 L Li















deliberately


























((mistletoe))




























184 L Li




























lengedrsquo

or lsquo

in troublersquo


Discussion
























contexts
























Pedagogical goal




186 L Li















images



















































Conclusion






























188 L Li








Acknowledgements


Notes





References











































Press

190 L Li
































































































182 L Li















deliberately


























((mistletoe))




























184 L Li




























lengedrsquo

or lsquo

in troublersquo


Discussion
























contexts
























Pedagogical goal




186 L Li















images



















































Conclusion






























188 L Li








Acknowledgements


Notes





References











































Press

190 L Li










































deliberately


























((mistletoe))




























184 L Li




























lengedrsquo

or lsquo

in troublersquo


Discussion
























contexts
























Pedagogical goal




186 L Li















images



















































Conclusion






























188 L Li








Acknowledgements


Notes





References











































Press

190 L Li
































((mistletoe))




























184 L Li




























lengedrsquo

or lsquo

in troublersquo


Discussion
























contexts
























Pedagogical goal




186 L Li















images



















































Conclusion






























188 L Li








Acknowledgements


Notes





References











































Press

190 L Li























































lengedrsquo

or lsquo

in troublersquo


Discussion
























contexts
























Pedagogical goal




186 L Li















images



















































Conclusion






























188 L Li








Acknowledgements


Notes





References











































Press

190 L Li








































contexts
























Pedagogical goal




186 L Li















images



















































Conclusion






























188 L Li








Acknowledgements


Notes





References











































Press

190 L Li










































images



















































Conclusion






























188 L Li








Acknowledgements


Notes





References











































Press

190 L Li












































Conclusion






























188 L Li








Acknowledgements


Notes





References











































Press

190 L Li



































Acknowledgements


Notes





References











































Press

190 L Li



























































Press

190 L Li




























complexity of teacher cognition (2013)

Documents