Abstract:

The primary focus of the research study is to investigate what lies behind (foreign language) teachers’ decisions to teach according to a particularly chosen approach. Based on the concept of (foreign language) teachers’ beliefs, which is one of the aspects of teacher cognition (coined by Simon Borg), it is essential that already in the period of pre-service teacher education student teachers understand this concept as a kind of filter through which the teacher re-evaluates acceptance or rejection of new information and understanding of phenomena that take place in the teaching process. Since teachers’ beliefs have a more significant influence than the teacher’s knowledge, it needs to be given due attention in terms of theoretical elaboration as well as empirical investigation. The aim of the research study was to identify what shapes the beliefs of pre-service teachers of English about teaching English grammar. In the paper, the authors present the research findings of a two-year longitudinal research by applying the principles and methods of qualitative methodology carried out in a group of 35 English pre-service teachers (3rd-year undergraduate up to 1st-year graduate students). The research was conducted based on the principles of qualitative methodology. Focus groups and focus interviews were used as research tools in order to collect data. In the data analysis, open coding method was applied as the primary analysis method and the strategy of applying the constant comparison method in terms of systematization of the research data. Both validation and verification were carried out by methodological triangulation. The findings show that the beliefs of pre-service teachers of English are a dynamically evolving construct, which is significantly influenced mainly by the roles that they take in the learning process. Emerging research theory suggests that the beliefs and developing teacher cognition of the research subjects (its complexity) are influenced by specific teaching-learning experience inhered in a particular role, i.e., either the role of beholder or designer of the teaching process.

Keywords:

A teacher’s beliefs, pre-service teachers, language teacher education, qualitative methodology, focus groups, focused interview, Constant Comparison Method.