2013 IJRSLL – Volume 2 Issue 5
Author/s:
Chang, Chiung Wen*
R.O.C. Military Academy, Kaohsiung, Taiwan, R.O.C. (chiungwenchang@gmail.com)
Abstract:
This study investigates the beliefs of native and non-native English speaking teachers on teaching English in kindergartens. A qualitative case study design is used to construct individual portraits and a cross-case analysis of several kindergarten teachers and analyze data following the qualitative data analysis methods by Taylor and Bodgan (1998). Data collected by interview and classroom observation show 4 different beliefs to be salient across the cases: language learning, the role of the teacher, the role of the learner, and self-efficacy. Data analysis shows teacher beliefs that are complex and closely related to the teacher’s life and learning experiences, multiple identities, and different environmental affordances and constraints. Therefore, the teachers’ subjective account from an emic perspective is useful for describing this complexity. The findings of this study have implications for constructing “a technical culture” (Kleinsasser, 1993), in which teachers may find themselves, that supports the teacher, and that contributes to quality teaching and professional growth.
Keywords: teacher’s belief; native-speaking English teachers (NESTs); non-native English speaking teachers (NNESTs); teaching English to young learners; English language teaching
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5861/ijrsll.2012.171
*Corresponding Author