•  
  •  

Home > HCAS > HCAS_PUBS > HCAS_JOURNALS > TQR Home > TQR > Vol. 25 > No. 10 (2020)

 

Abstract

The construction of teacher beliefs through teacher education programs and their impact on classroom practices has drawn enormous attention in the concurrent literature. Yet in Bangladesh, little is known about the construction of teacher beliefs through teacher education programs and the impact of teacher beliefs on their classroom practices. Pertinently, the current study aimed at answering the questions regarding teachers’ beliefs about teaching before and after the completion of the TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) programs to identify the changing patterns of their beliefs. In addition, the study explored their classroom practices to examine whether teachers’ beliefs are in line with their classroom practices after the TESOL programs. Undertaking a phenomenological approach, data were collected from four university teachers through the method of semi-structured interviews and semi-structured classroom observations. The participants were TESOL graduates. We adopted a thematic analysis to analyze our findings. The findings suggested that a dramatic change took place, as a result of TESOL programs, concerning teachers’ beliefs about their role in the classroom, their teaching methodologies and teaching material resources, and their understanding of effective teaching, classroom management approaches, and qualities of a good teacher. Additionally, the classroom observation data was a testimony of the reflection of their newly shaped beliefs on their classroom practices.

Keywords

Language Teacher Education, TESOL, Teacher Beliefs, Teacher Practice, ESL, EFL, Phenomenological Approach, Bangladesh

Author Bio(s)

Abdul Karim is a Ph.D. Fellow at the School of Educational Studies, Universiti Sains Malaysia. He has been awarded the USM Global Fellowship sponsored by the Institute of Postgraduate Studies (IPS). He is also a Lecturer at Brac Institute of Languages, Brac University. He has completed a Master of Arts (Education) By Research from Universiti Sains Malaysia. Before that, he completed an MA in English (TESOL) from North South University, Bangladesh. He has published widely in the field of English language teacher education in numerous international journals (Indexed in SSCI, SCOPUS, and Web of Science). His research interest concerns English Teacher Education, Teacher Beliefs and Practice, Medium of Instruction, Teacher Identity, Reading and Writing, and E-learning. Correspondence regarding this article can be addressed directly to khasan13aiub@gmail.com.

Liza Reshmin is the Senior Academic Coordinator of the BRAC Institute of Languages at Brac University. In this role, she oversees all the academic English language courses, including curriculum design and quality assurance. In addition, she supervises the course coordinators and the faculty. She represents the Institute on various university committees. Additionally, Liza is a Senior Lecturer in the module for the advanced students. She developed the speaking and listening classes for the module, integrating critical thinking and service-learning in the classes. She is currently pursuing Ph.D. at Universiti Sains Malaysia, Malaysia. Her research interests include collaborative strategies, critical thinking and assessment, and English Medium Instruction (EMI).

Muhammad Kamarul Kabilan (Ph.D.) is a Professor at the School of Educational Studies, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang. His research interests include ICT and English Language Education and, professional development and critical practices of teachers. He has published widely in his area of research in reputable journals such as TESOL Quarterly, British Journal of Educational Technology, Computer and Education, The Internet and Higher Education, and Professional Development in Education.

Faheem Hasan Shahed (Ph.D.) is Associate Professor and Head of MA in TESOL Program at Brac University, Bangladesh. After doing his M.Phil. (1998) and Ph.D. (2001) in ELT from Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi, he has been teaching English to diverse groups of professionals. His areas of interest include ESP, bilingualism, language & politics, and Business Communication. He has published articles and book chapters both nationally and internationally.

Mohammad Mosiur Rahman (MRes in Applied Linguistics) is a Ph.D. Fellow at School of Languages, Literacies and Translation, Universiti Sains Malaysia. His research interests are interdisciplinary issues in language education and applied linguistics. His works have appeared in international journals with high impact factor/Cite Scores such as English Today, Asian Englishes, English Teaching and Learning, Language Testing in Asia, The Qualitative Report, The Journal of Asia TEFL, Online Journal of Distance Education, and so on.

Manjet Kaur Mehar Singh (Ph.D.) is the Deputy Dean of Research, Postgraduate & Networking at the School of Languages, Literacies and Translation, Universiti Sains Malaysia. She also serves as an editorial board member on various international and national level SCOPUS indexed journals. Her areas of specializations are wide-ranging. They include applied linguistics, academic literacies, multiculturalism, and higher education.

Acknowledgements

The first author acknowledges the support of the USM Global Fellowship awarded by the Institute of Postgraduate Studies (IPS), Universiti Sains Malaysia. We also want to offer special thanks to Lady Syeda Sarwat Abed, Senior Director, Brac Institute of Languages for permitting us to collect the data from the language institute and providing us with adequate support. Additionally, we would like to express our gratitude to the teachers who have been benevolent in the interview and classroom observation processes.

Publication Date

10-24-2020

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License.

DOI

10.46743/2160-3715/2020.4272

Download

Share

 
COinS
 
 

To view the content in your browser, please download Adobe Reader or, alternately,
you may Download the file to your hard drive.

NOTE: The latest versions of Adobe Reader do not support viewing PDF files within Firefox on Mac OS and if you are using a modern (Intel) Mac, there is no official plugin for viewing PDF files within the browser window.