Teacher perspectives on language learning psychology

ABSTRACT

Research into the psychology of language learning has grown exponentially in the last decade, yet, teacher perspectives on the field have been surprisingly absent from this body of research. The present study was designed to address this gap. Drawing on a survey with 311 foreign language teachers working at different school levels in 3 European countries, and on individual, semi-structured interviews with 11 teachers, the study focuses on the psychological aspects of language learning which teachers felt were particularly important in their own settings. In particular, teachers’ beliefs, experiences and teaching strategies were explored. The data also revealed strong interconnections between language learning psychology constructs, differences across contexts, and a perceived link between learner and teacher psychology.

KEYWORDS:

• language learning psychology
• teachers
• beliefs
• practices
• teacher psychology

Notes

1. The most illustrative and representative examples were selected for citation purposes.

2. The numbers in brackets indicate the number of teachers who referred to each strategy.