Preservice Teachers’ Beliefs about Teaching English Learners

The current study aims at investigating preservice teachers’ beliefs about teaching English learners and any differences, if any, in the beliefs depending upon whether they take the required courses in the teacher training program. For the study 54 preservice teachers enrolling in a College of Education were asked to draw and describe the situation where a teacher teaches English language learners, and the data was analyzed using the content analysis method. The overall findings revealed that the preservice teachers’ belief in the four categories of teacher’s role, instructional content, student activities, and teaching strategies shown in the pictures and explanation of them was hardly related to whether they take the required courses even though a few minor evidence was found. The teacher education researchers and practitioners need to take into consideration how to construct preservice teachers’ belief in how to teach effectively in language classes based on what they’ve learned in the teacher education courses. (Chungnam National University)