Teachers’ Beliefs, the Concept of Face and Classroom Practices (Published)
Students who want to be English language teachers enter teacher preparation programs viewing, teaching and learning from their own experience as students as pointed out by many researchers (e.g., Curtner-Smith, Hastie, & Kinchin, 2008; Richardson, 1996; Russell, 2008, Schweisfurth 2015). They want to teach the way they were taught while they were at the universities. Often, they have a role model, a teacher who serves as a guide an inspiration for them. After they graduate and start working as English teachers, what they face, in reality, sometimes overlaps with the information they were given as students. So, their beliefs about teaching alter and change depending on their teaching contexts. Relating theory and practice enables pre-service teachers to transfer the necessary knowledge and skills gained at the university level on actual teaching practice (Bell & Robinson, 2004). Awareness and enhancing educational processes require an understanding of teachers’ views and actions. They are closely linked to teachers’ strategies for coping with challenges and difficulties in their daily teaching routines and at the same time they influence students’ motivation about the learning process. The purpose of this paper is to address the importance of teachers’ beliefs and actual classroom practices about the importance of teaching prepositions in their classes. Also, the concept of face, loosing or saving face be it of the teachers or students is introduced in this paper. Cases when teachers’ beliefs converge or diverge with real class practices are discussed pointing out the factors that influence teaching practices. Teachers’ beliefs and current practices are important for understanding and improving the educational processes. The authors will compare the teachers’ beliefs and their actual practices in English classes and how is the concept of face employed in EFL classes. For the purpose of this paper, three English teachers out of 20 were randomly selected during a training seminar provided By British Council, Albania. The concept of face is examined through three English teachers who teach at a primary school and are observed how they provide explanation, regarding prepositions, to their students. The findings show that the concept of face is not introduced to students in any class or subject. It is recommended that students should be taught about the concept of face, types of face, how they are related to individuals and the influence that the concept of face has on teachers’ daily teaching routines. Moreover, there is no study on the concept of face in the Albanian context and especially in the EFL classes. So, in the future other studies are needed to stress the importance of the concept of face in the Albanian culture.
Citation: Ogerta Koruti Stroka and Etleva Kondi Koni (2022)Teachers’ Beliefs, the Concept of Face and Classroom Practices, European Journal of English Language and Literature Studies, Vol.10, No.1, pp.1-15
Keywords: EFL classrooms, Face, Practices, teachers’ beliefs, teaching process