Unravelling upper-secondary school teachers’ beliefs about language awareness: from conflicts to challenges in the EFL context

Figures & data

Table 1. Coding scheme consisting of five main categories with accompanying subcodes.

Main categories	Accompanying subcodes
1.#x000A0;Subject matter Teacher’s description of language awareness (LA) or LA-related skills and possible link between LA and other language competencies (= knowledge, skills, attitude)	1.1#x000A0;LA description, subdivided into five domains of LA: Cognitive domain Performance domain Affective domain Social domain Power domain
	1.2#x000A0;Link with other EFL domains
2.#x000A0;Curricular programme Teacher’s beliefs about and interpretation of the EFL curriculum, including course materials and team agreements	2.1#x000A0;Course materials
	2.2#x000A0;Curriculum
	2.3#x000A0;Team
	2.4#x000A0;Link with other language subjects
3.#x000A0;Student learning Teacher’s beliefs about students and student learning in the EFL context	3.1#x000A0;Student competencies
	3.2#x000A0;Individual differences
	3.3#x000A0;Motivation
4.#x000A0;Instructional technique Teacher’s beliefs about chosen strategy, preparation and structure of lessons or class activities with a focus on LA(-aspects)	4.1#x000A0;Instructional strategy
	4.2#x000A0;Feedback
	4.3#x000A0;Assessment
5.#x000A0;Educational context Teacher’s beliefs about influential factors at classroom, teacher, school level	5.1#x000A0;School support
	5.2#x000A0;Time
	5.3#x000A0;Teacher collaboration

Table

Teacher	Gender	Age (in years)	Teaching experience (in years)
1	M	63	40
2	F	56	19
3	F	29	3
4	M	56	28
5	F	43	8
6	F	29	7
7	M	58	33
8	F	58	34
9	M	45	19
10	F	40	18

Table

Overview of the coding scheme consisting of five main categories, accompanying subcodes, descriptions and interview examples.
Main categories	Accompanying subcodes	Subcode description	Example of interview quote
1. Subject matter Teacher’s description of language awareness (LA) or LA-related skills and possible link between LA and other language competencies (= knowledge, skills, attitude)	1.1 LA description, subdivided into: •#x000A0;Cognitive domain •#x000A0;Performance domain •#x000A0;Affective domain •#x000A0;Social domain •#x000A0;Power domain	Teacher’s description, characterisation or explanation of LA(-related aspects), subdivided according to the five domains of LA (James & Garrett, 2013)	‘[LA is] curiosity. And I think they [students] should realise that language is very broad, that is what they should realise. Actually, the fact that language plays a role in all school subjects and in all aspects in life. And for me it would be really nice if they develop a certain curiosity towards languages’ (This interview example was coded as affective as well as social).
	1.2 Link with other EFL domains	Teacher’s beliefs about the connection between LA and other domains within the EFL curriculum	‘The nice part about teaching English I think, is that literature is always referred to in articles, there are always references to elements from literature. Take newspaper headlines for example, all these wordplays. And all references in articles, for example from literature, general knowledge or knowledge about the language itself. I often point that out and ask ‘why does the author do that’, ‘what does this reference has to do with’. I think it stimulates students if they notice it’.
2. Curricular programme Teacher’s beliefs about and interpretation of the EFL curriculum, including course materials and team agreements	2.1 Course materials	Teacher’s beliefs about course materials used in the EFL classroom in order to accomplish curricular goals, including teacher’s opinion about the materials in relation to LA, suggestions for possible LA-related course materials and responsibility for the (re)development of course materials	‘Yes, that [reflection] is very important. And the ‘Of Course’ method is not that good, but I like it. The only downside is, students are afraid to let go of the method. Every unit is the exact same, five lessons, so and so many words and recurring grammar’.
	2.2 Curriculum	Teacher’s beliefs about the (intended) curriculum, including curriculum outline and continuity, examination, final exam and teacher’s interpretation and/or implementation of the intended curriculum	‘[Diverting from the programme] is impossible. As opposed to the start of my teaching career, we now have a common exam and every class gets the exact same exam based on the same two chapters. So I am supposed to prepare students for this’.
	2.3 Team	Teacher’s beliefs about agreements with EFL colleagues within the EFL department concerning activities performed and materials used within the EFL classroom, including teacher’s opinion on these agreements in relation to opportunities? for LA	‘I work here for about seven years now and in the pre-university track I am the only EFL teacher, so yeah, discussing with colleagues is a bit complicated then. Also because I realise that trying out new things, innovative activities, that often depends on the younger colleagues, and they are not there at the moment’.
	2.4 Link with other language subjects	Teacher’s beliefs about the link between the EFL subject and other (foreign) language subjects taught in school, including teacher’s opinion on specific aspects of language that could be particularly useful when it comes to (raising students’) LA	‘[The difference between Dutch and English] and then especially that you can point out where things go wrong. For example a sentence as ‘Ik heb die film gisteren gezien’ [I saw that movie yesterday]. If you let them translate then they will translate it literally to ‘*I have seen that movie yesterday’. So okay, it is logical that, as speakers of Dutch, we translate it that way and that students translate it word for word’.
3. Student learning Teacher’s beliefs about students and student learning in the EFL context	3.1 Student competencies	Teacher’s beliefs about students’ competencies (knowledge, skills, attitudes) relevant to and necessary for (success in) the subject of EFL, including difficulties experienced by students, competencies that could be improved by focusing on LA and the way in which these competencies could be improved	‘Well, what I think, many students who obtain bad grades in English think ‘I failed again, I am just bad at this’, but what I realise when they have been on holidays or in contact with family members who do not speak Dutch, then they realise that their English for every-day situations is actually quite good, also because then they dare to speak, they have to’.
	3.2 Individual differences	Teacher’s beliefs about inter-individual student differences, including differences on educational level, personal level and learning (pace) level	‘I realise that some of my students, some weaker students, but also students with a migrant background, really have difficulties […] particularly with the structure, really understanding what a text is about. It is not just vocabulary, but really structure and how do you deal with the language of a text’.
	3.3 Motivation	Teacher’s beliefs about aspects that motivate, interest and engage students within the subject of EFL, including intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, general motivation and interest, and motivation and interest for learning	‘What I would find it really cool, and I would like to do this much more, is to make it more relevant, make it a necessity for students to use English. In the classroom for example by means of an “Escape Room’ in which they have to use English to solve a puzzle or something, so that it is relevant and not just ‘it is a school subject and I just want to do the bare minimum to pass”’.
4. Instructional technique Teacher’s beliefs about chosen strategy, preparation and structure of lessons or class activities with a focus on LA(-aspects)	4.1 Instructional strategy	Instructional strategy, format or teaching activity deliberately chosen by the teacher prior to or during classroom practice with the aim of making students aware of certain aspects of language (learning), including examples of student involvement and LA-raising activities from teacher’s own practices	‘I understand that students should learn and know these words and that they can derive different word classes, such as verb, noun and adjective, but I also think that these [fill in the gap] are dumb type of exercises, especially when the word or the affix is filled in already […] Then it is a terribly dry scheme, so yeah. If it is in the coursebook I do use them, these kind of exercises, but they [students] forget it again, I think. Unless, you know, you let them play with it and let them create a short story with those words, for example. If they really have to apply the words, that is when it becomes useful, but these columns and schemes, nah, they really forget it again’.
	4.2 Feedback	Type of feedback (e.g. individual/group, peer/teacher) chosen by the teacher during classroom practice with the aim of stimulating students’ thinking about language and their own language learning	‘With some assignments I will give them [students] feedback and then I will tell them “okay, you have received feedback now, go through this feedback and incorporate it in a new version, so that you can improve your finale grade”. This way they are extra motivated to look at the feedback and really do something with it instead of just receiving their grade and throw the feedback into the trash bin’.
	4.3 Assessment	Types of assessment (e.g. formative/summative, individual/group/peer) described by the teacher relevant to assessing LA-related learning activities, including teacher’s opinion on the quality and suitability of certain types of assessment	‘If you do these type of [LA] exercises, then it is necessary to, the question is how do you assure the quality? Now you can assure quality because the standards for every exam are the same and also because the final exam is standardised and the same for everyone’.
5. Educational context Teacher’s beliefs about influential factors at classroom, teacher, school level	5.1 School support	School support (e.g. staff, department, principal) and approval experienced by teachers, including practical, financial, technical support	‘Yeah, the science department in our school has an advantage over the language department. Look at our dictionaries for example, that is just sad. But we need budget and we do not have the money to buy new ones, but anyway, you know, eventually we will get there’.
	5.2 Time	The influence of time on (the quality of) teaching practices as experienced by teachers, including classes per week, time per class, class preparation time	‘I do not have the time to do that, the number of hours is just not enough. I only have two hours a week for the senior years and in those two hours I have to work on the exam programme, so practice listening, speaking, writing skills. And practice the final exam, of course’.
	5.3 Teacher collaboration	Teacher’s beliefs about collaboration with other (foreign) language teachers, within or outside his or her own school, including collaboration and alignment that could expose, to students, the link (e.g. similarities and differences) between the language subjects and support students’ language learning process	‘I work a lot together with other languages, not necessarily in terms of subject matter content, but we do exchange ideas. Writing an application letter is the same in like German, so we use the same formats’.

James, C., & Garrett, P. (2013). Language awareness in the classroom. New York, NY: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315845524

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