An Interpretive Study into Elementary School English Teachers' Beliefs and Practices in Turkey

Autor/in	Uztosun, Mehmet Sercan
Titel	An Interpretive Study into Elementary School English Teachers' Beliefs and Practices in Turkey
Quelle	4 (2013) 1, S.20-33 (14 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext kostenfreie Datei Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
Schlagwörter	Educational Policy; Teaching Methods; English (Second Language); Foreign Countries; English Teachers; Teacher Attitudes; Second Language Instruction; Elementary Education; Interviews; Vocabulary Development; Grammar; Theory Practice Relationship; Educational Objectives; Goal Orientation; Elementary School Teachers; Qualitative Research; Pilot Projects; Turkey + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Politics of education; Bildungspolitik; Teaching method; Lehrmethode; Unterrichtsmethode; English as second language; English; Second Language; Englisch als Zweitsprache; Ausland; English language lessons; Teacher; Teachers; Englischunterricht; Lehrer; Lehrerin; Lehrende; Lehrerverhalten; Fremdsprachenunterricht; Elementarunterricht; Interviewing; Interviewtechnik; Wortschatzarbeit; Grammatik; Theorie-Praxis-Beziehung; Educational objective; Bildungsziel; Erziehungsziel; Zielorientierung; Zielvorstellung; Elementary school; Grundschule; Volksschule; Qualitative Forschung; Pilot project; Modellversuch; Pilotprojekt; Türkei
Abstract	This exploratory study seeks for understanding the relationship between Turkish elementary school English teachers' espoused beliefs about the effective ways of teaching English and their self-reported practices. 6 teachers, who were working at different state schools in a town located in the Northwestern part of Turkey, were interviewed. Interpretation of the data revealed inconsistency between teachers' beliefs and practices. Although there was a strong consensus that English should be taught communicatively, all participants reported that their teaching practices mainly focus on vocabulary and grammar. A number of factors hindering this consistency were mentioned such as exam-based educational policy, time constraints and overloaded syllabus. In the light of these, this study recommends changing the focus of current English testing system to using the language communicatively and implementing an adaptable curriculum where language learning objectives will be shifted from preparing students for the examinations to improving their competences in productive skills. (Contains 3 tables.) (As Provided).
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10