English abstract
Abstract
Investigating English Language Teacher Beliefs about Language Learning The present study aimed at investigating English language teacher beliefs about language learning in Oman. It also examined the influence of background varaibles such as gender, nationality, qualification, teaching experience and stage on teachers' beliefs about learning English.
A belief elicitation instrument was developed to attain those, aims. It was designed in the light of the Beliefs about Language Learning Inventory (BALLI) developed by Horwitz (1985), semi-formal interviews with a number of EFL teachers in general schools in Oman, and a critical review of relevant literature. The population of the study consisted of all English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers in Omani general schools (N=1471). The sample comprised 345 teachers, about 23.4% of the population, and was chosen from four educational regions in the sultanate (Muscat, Interior, Batinah South, Sharqiyah North). The following are the major findings of the present study. EFL teachers in Oman strongly believed in the importance of motivation and attitude, learning strategies, anxiety, and other contextual variables such as the time spent in learning English in schools, the influence of holidays in forgetting what is learned, and the usefulness of group work. As for the other factors (e.g. aptitude, focus on form, age, and the role of culture) teachers believed that their influence
in language learning is of moderate importance. As for the influence of background variables, results showed significant differences in some dimensions based on gender, nationality, qualification, and teaching experience. However, the variable of stage showed no significant differnçes in all the dimensions. In the light of these findings implications on teaching English in Oman were highlighted and recommendations for further research were made.
