Research on ESL/EFL Teachers＇ Beliefs in China and Abroad： An Overview

Teachers＇ beliefs greatly influence the way that the teachers function in the classroom. Teacher as an important medium for student＇ language learning, the study of teachers and their beliefs in Western countries and in China is a worthwhile topic. This paper offers a selective review and rethinking about what has been done and being done in relation to the understanding of teacher＇s belief, and their belief about language teaching and learning, students learning, themselves as both teachers and individuals; identify some sources of teachers＇ belief and address the needs for change. Understanding teachers＇ conceptualizations of teaching, their beliefs, thinking, and decision making can help us better understand the nature of language teacher education and hence better prepare us for our roles as teacher and teacher educators.     

Learners＇ and teachers＇ conceptions and dispositions of mathematics from a Middle Eastern perspective

The paper discusses an on-going research project that studies students＇ and teachers＇ conceptions and dispositions of mathematics. Conceptions are the views that students hold on a subject, and what they believe is required in learning and doing the subject. Dispositions are the beliefs or tendencies to exhibit a frequent, conscious and voluntary behavior directed towards learning a subject. The participants are high school students, higher education students and mathematics teachers. The study utilizes self-reporting tools as well as focus groups and interviews in a three-stage research model. This is a work on progress. Results to date are briefly discussed.     

Parents＇ views on preschool care and education in local community

In this text, the authors are analyzing preschool care and education in local community. They are focusing on the problem of information transfer between the kindergarten, parents and local community, as well as the model of relationship participation. Cooperation between parents, kindergarten and local community is an important element in the preschool institution quality, because it changes inner relationships, climate and culture. Expectations about cooperation in some authors＇ views （Resman, 1992; Schleicher, 1989; Coleman, 1998; Ryan, 1995） depend on tradition, objectives, social context, legal framework and situational demands. The research data show that Slovene kindergartens have more consumer-like relationships with parents instead of partnership. Kindergartens are clear about important information concerning their pedagogical work and organization, but they do not include parents in making decisions about the developing and executing of programs. 92.3% of parents think that the information they receive is clear, understandable only 89.6% think they are frequent. More then half of the interviewed parents frequently or always participate in kindergarten life and work, only about 43% believe that they can co-influence the development or realization of the programme. Parents also think that the local community is not giving them enough information about preschool care problems, because only 10.2% are included in solving current preschool care problems in their municipality.     

Pedagogical Content Knowledge of Inquiry： An Instrument to Assess It and Its Application to High School In-Service Science Teachers

It is argued that the lack of consensus on what constitutes an inquiry-based approach makes the generalization about it difficult, because the concept is relatively unspecific and vague. This problem can partially be solved by constructing a set of activities promoted by inquiry, thus defining the inquiry objectives for classroom and laboratory teaching. Five high school and college Mexican teachers＇ PICK （pedagogical inquiry/content knowledge） was documented and assessed by means of Loughran, Mulhall and Berry＇s （2004） l-CoRe （inquiry content representation） developed by the authors through a proposal of a set of seven inquiry activities. They were also interviewed to construct the professional and pedagogical experience repertoires, a second tool by Loughran et al. （2004） to document PICK. It was observed that all teachers interviewed have used inquiry to modify their students＇ way of thinking, mainly through question posing. Some of them employed research as their main tool to promote scientific inquiry but others mentioned the lack of time to do it. It is interesting to notice that in spite of the fact that inquiry is out of the curriculum in M6xico, the teachers make use of it to improve their teaching practice. According to their answers, their actions in the classroom or the lab were classified within the three general approaches expressed by Lederman （2004）： implicit, historical and explicit. It is concluded that a given teacher cannot be classified exclusively in one of them, because in his/her activities one general approach overlaps the others. The authors conclude that Lederman＇s classification has to be taken into account as an orientation to characterize a given activity of one teacher, even though the same teacher may use another activity characterized by other general approach. That is, Lederman＇s classification applies to characterize activities, not persons     

A Survey on the Use of Metacognition in L2 Learning and Teaching

The author tries to verify that there are differences between the usages of the metacongintive strategies through a survey. He also discusses the role of the language teacher, since more and more people believe that teachers are not only language instructors but also learner trainers. So if they are interested in improving learners 'use of strategies for learning and using the language, their roles may be changing.     

The emotions in teaching and learning nature sciences and physics/chemistry in pre-service primary teachers

A study was made of different emotions that prospective primary school teachers report with respect to science subjects, when they were pupils, and during their practice teaching, taking into account the variables gender and the speciality they studied in the secondary education. The study consisted of a questionnaire completed by 63 primary education students at the University of Extremadura, Spain. The results show a great difference between the emotions related to the subjects of physics/chemistry and the nature sciences （biology/geology）. The scientific subject influences the emotions of pre-service primary teachers, both in learning and teaching. In physics and chemistry, the emotions are mostly negative. While in nature sciences they are very positive. In nature sciences, there is a correlation between the emotions felt as secondary school pupils learning science and those they feel as teachers. In physics and chemistry, there is a correlation in the women between the emotions felt as secondary school pupils learning science and those they feel as teachers, but not in the men. The memory of their emotions in learning science at school is more negative than in teaching science during their teaching practice, except in nervousness in physics/chemistry. By gender, men declared a greater predilection for science content than women, with more of them describing such feelings as sympathy or confidence. The results highlight the influential role that emotions play throughout the professional growth of future primary teachers.     

An Analysis on Teacher-student Role Changing in Interactive Teaching Mode

Teachers and students play important roles in teaching activity,and they are the most essential parts of the system.The relationship between teachers and students,the core schooling interpersonal relationship,directly determines whether the teach ing activities can go smoothly or not,and is an important index to measure the quality of teachers and students’school life,and also is an important factor that affects the social function of education.For a long time,relationship between teachers and students has been a hot topic in education and in different sectors of the society.This dissertation aims at discussing the teacher-student role changing in interactive teaching mode to provide reference for building a harmonious relationship between teachers and stu dents.     

中国大学生之外籍教师定型观念调查

Being a special teaching group in China, foreign teachers bring a new and fresh idea to ESL teaching. As it is believed that students＇attitude towards teachers is fundamentally significant in teaching and learning, this study is to examine wheather there exisis consensual and individual stereotypic beliefs about foreign teachers among Chinese college students. And it further asseses the content and favorablity of the stereotpyes if they exist.     

The Influence of Macro and Micro Contexts on Teaching and Learning in the Classroom

This paper is based on three observations and independent thinking of the classroom teaching of the author’s colleagues.It attempts to examine how macro and micro contexts affect teaching and learning in the classroom.The author focuses the discussion on three aspects:(i)the present EFL contextual setting in China;(ii)the influence of the evaluation system on both teachers and students;(iii)his own beliefs as a teacher.Finally,he comes to the implications that teachers should often reflect on their teaching by means of observing other teachers’teachings;In order to bring more effective teaching and learning to the class,Teachers should change their class from a teacher-centered one to a students-centered one.     

Sexuality education： Analysis of Moroccan teachers＇ and future teachers＇ conceptions

Conceptions are analyzed as being the emergences from interactions between three poles： scientific knowledge （K）, values （V） and social practices （P）. The teachers＇ beliefs and values have a direct influence on the way of understanding and teaching a topic. These beliefs must be taken into account in the content and strategies of the teacher＇s formation. In this paper, the authors discuss the importance of studying and analyzing these conceptions and present the results of the research on teachers＇ and future teachers＇ conceptions about sexual health education. In this topic, the conceptions could be deeply rooted not only in scientific knowledge but also in value systems and social practices, because teachers often refuse to teach the ethical, psychological, economic and social issues not strictly reducible to biology, such as sexuality health. The authors used a questionnaire prepared jointly within the European project Biohead-Citizen.     

The Impact of Teacher Education Programs on In-service Teachers in China and USA

Beliefs about knowledge, learning and teaching are assumed to impact teachers＇ practice （Brownlee, 2004; N. Entwistle, Skinner, D. Entwistle, ＆ Orr, 2000）. A change of beliefs is an important step for teacher learning, but it is often seen as difficult if not impossible （Cooney, Shealy, ＆ Arvold, 1998）. This study investigated the impact some teacher education programs from China and the USA had on the teachers＇ beliefs and teaching strategies and how these teachers integrated the acquired knowledge and teaching strategies in their practice. Researchers were particularly interested in investigating teachers＇ ability and willingness to use the strategies congruent with constructivist learning theory in their classrooms.     

Evaluate IELTS Writing

Testing and teaching have so closed relationship so that they are dispensable to each other. Test is testing what gets taught, so it can reinforce learning and motivate students. What is more, testing can also have backwash on teaching and learning, which can be either harmful or beneficial. This essay is going to evaluate the writing section of IELTS. First, it will look at those most important criteria in the author’s mind about assessing a test; then, the author will explore to what extent the test meets these criteria and some thoughts about small changes.     

Pre-service Physics Teachers＇ Conceptions of Nature of Science

Understanding of NOS （nature of science） appears as a prerequisite of a scientifically literate person. Promoting adequate understanding of NOS in pre-service physics teachers is, therefore, an important task of science educators. Before doing that, science educators must have information concerning their pre-service teachers＇ conceptions of NOS. This study used the MOSQ （myths of science questionnaire） to explore 17 pre-service physics teachers＇ conceptions of NOS. Commonly, these pre-service teachers expressed misunderstandings about NOS with respect to： （1） the relationship between theory and law; （2） science as cumulative; （3） subjectivity in science; （4） the scientific method; and （5） the relationship between science and technology. Science educators should consider and utilize these common misunderstandings as a basis of curricular framework for further improving pre-service physics teachers＇ understanding of NOS.     

Teachers-problems-teachers＇ problems： What is considered as a problem,among the main teacher activities,by Hungarian teachers

This paper is about a research focusing on recent problems of Hungarian teachers. The aim of the study is to reveal the real troubles of Hungarian pedagogues, on the basis of their answers to a questionnaire, the nature of these problems and how they affect the role of the teacher. Supposedly, the nucleus of the problems of the teachers is connected with existence, skills and material or professional uncertainty. The study based on the related professional literature and its main statements. The conclusions could be applied mostly to the intellectual and existential preparation of would-be teachers. The aim of the research is to reveal the real problems of the high school teachers after the turn of the century, what these problems are, how stressful they are and how they impact the changing teacher role as, ＂Teachers are central to any consideration of schools, and majority of education policy discussions focus directly or indirectly on the role of teachers＂ （Hanushek ＆ Rivkin, 2006）. Ever since the pedagogical researches had started many monitors, surveys and reports have there appeared about the actual matters, issues and problems of the teachers. However, these previous examinations were structured or set up on the base of assumptions of researchers. The possible problem-framing was quite hypothetical and suggested the presuppositions of the inventors of questions, not that of the involved teachers. The methodological mean of the research was the questionnaire. The research has supposed that problems that are in the forefront of teacher thinking include skills, lack of conformity to practical demands, and material and financial uncertainness. We have focused the survey on finding the problematic activities that are primary for the educators. The results could be applied mainly in the field of the teacher training, especially in the mental and existential preparation of the would-be-teachers. It has also an actuality, since the teacher training stands before a changeover from the traditional structure to the two-level structure （transition between the former traditional and the BA and MA levels of higher education）, so these remarks can also add somewhat to the reform program and--at the collective level-to the identification of issues important to the community of teachers, would-be-teachers and both in-service teachers and educators.     

Evaluation of a Contemporary College English Listening Textbook for Second-year English Major Students at University Level

The role of textbooks,as one important channel between teachers and students,has always aroused scholars’interests,but what indeed are the roles of textbook for students and teachers? This paper aims to evaluate a listening textbook that is used by English major university students in China.Three research questions are proposed which are:(1) What are the students’per ceptions about the listening textbook? (2) What are the teachers’opinions about the listening textbook? (3) To what extent do students and teachers perceptions match? In order to answer these three research questions,questionnaires were designed for both students and teachers to obtain the data.This study is supported both qualitatively and quantitatively.The data of this research suggested that both students and teachers have found advantages of this listening textbook,which they may find helpful for their learning and teaching,but they are also not satisfied with some aspects of the textbook,which they think need further improvement.The students’and teachers’opinions to some extent have reached some agreement about the textbook,but students may not be so enthusiastic about the textbook,while the teachers may show much reliance on the text book.This study has its limitations,but it also provides some insights for teachers and textbook writers.     

The teaching of socioscientific issues in interdisciplinarity biology-philosophy, an ethical stake and citizenship issue

This research starts from a relatively optimistic thinking based on the fact that the teaching of the socioscientific issues through the practice of argued debates can contribute positively towards education in scientific citizenship. The teaching of techno-sciences raises topical questions which interfere in the classroom and at the same time carry scientific and social controversies within which it is possible to anchor the construction of new knowledge and citizen＇s behaviours. These controversial issues raise more questions and motivate the pupils more. Setting these topics for debate in the classroom could ＂restore, if only a little, what＂ Astolfi likes to call ＂the taste of knowledge （savoirs） ＇since the two words （saveur and savoir） come from the same Greek root＇ sapere＂, as Astolfi, 2006, marvellously put it in the foreword to the recent book How to teach socially acute questions （Legardez ＆ Simonneaux, 2006）. The present contribution is research in progress. It questions a protocol of training of future teachers. The principal objective is to train the pre-service teachers to teach socioscientific issues （SSI）. Like Funtowicz and Ravetz （1992, 1993）, we think that the SSI belong to ＂Post-Normal-Science＇. Accordingly, we will study the contribution of the training in epistemic, social and ethical values in the analysis of socioscientific issues by biology and philosophy future teachers. We will analyze the evolution of teacher trainees＇ decision-making after training on 3 socioscientific issues （the oncomice, the baby drug, the therapeutic cloning） and the impact of this socioepistemologic and ethical training on their teaching practices.     

Effective teaching approach employed by primary school science teachers

Teachers are often urged to use a variety of modes of instruction to ensure that diverse student interests and abilities can be accomodated. Yet teachers can be limited in the instructional modes they can use because of insufficient background or knowledge about a specific instructional mode （Dawson, 2004）. Teaching approaches are various in purposes such as to trigger students＇ interest in science, to discover through inquiry approach, to build students understanding through constructivism approach or to introduce a concept through demontration approach. Every approach has the strength and weakness in its use. Although inquiry may not be the only way to teach science, many science educators believe that it may be the best way for students to learn science （Audet ＆ Jordan, 2005）. According to Woolfolk （2001）, constructivism is a mode of instruction that emphasizes the active role of the learner in building, understanding and making sense of information. Demonstrations by teacher can be used with students of all ages and across all subjects. The teacher is not only knowledgeable about the topic but also uses a variety of aids to ensure that students understand what is being demonstrated （Marsh, 2004）. By studying their teaching approaches and methods, the actual practices could be analysed and the effectiveness status of their effectiveness could be determined. Specifically, this study aimed to answer these questions in terms of three approaches namely inquiry, constructivism and demonstrations; how far is this approach effective in terms of teaching and learning, and what is the correlation between these three approaches. Data were collected from primary school science teachers （N=239） and the results shown that the teachers were agreeable with the three approaches, inquiry approach （mean=3.74, SD=0.27）, demonstration approach （mean=3.61, SD=0.27） and constructivism approach （mean=3.86, SD=0.30）. The results also showed that there are significant correlations among inquiry, demonstration and constructivism approach. This finding showed that primary school science teachers not depend only on one type of approach and apply variously in teaching science. There are also positive and significant correlation between that approaches used by primary school science teachers.     

Critical Thinking and Educational Ideal

Critical thinking, as an educational trend, has been much discussed and proposed nowadays. In this paper, an analysis is made on the gap between our present educational practice and educational ideal from three different aspects, that is, the content, the manner and the one-sidedness of our teaching. It＇s observed that there is still a long way to go in order to realize our educational ideal and critical thinking, and critical pedagogy should be widely promoted and applied so as to foster well-educated people in its true sense. A conclusion is finally reached that education is the core no matter what theories and concepts are proposed and adopted.