A Sociopsychological Study of Professional Competencies of a 21st Century EFL Teacher (original) (raw)
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Toward Designing a Model of Professional Skills for Iranian EFL Teachers
Iranian Evolutionary and Educational Psychology
Recently, with the growing interest in teachers' professionalism, lots of scholars have focused on different aspects of professionalism in teaching. One of the main aspects of teachers' professionalism, which is related to structural theory and competence-oriented perspective, is teachers' professional skills which is considered as a dimension of effective teaching. This study aimed at developing a model of professional skills for Iranian EFL teachers. To this end, a qualitative design was used. For the purpose of data collection, individual and focus group interviews were conducted. The participants of the study consisted of 25 English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers who were teaching English at secondary level of high schools in Bandar Abbas, Iran. They were selected through purposive sampling because those teachers with more than ten years of teaching experience at secondary level of high schools were recruited in the study. To collect the data, first, the interviews were conducted. Then, the elicited responses were transcribed and codified according to Strauss and Corbin's (1998) systematic steps of open, axial and selective coding. The findings revealed three major themes (interpersonal skills, principle skills, pedagogical skills), nine categories and twenty-seven subcategories. As an implication of the findings, EFL teachers are recommended to consider professional skills while teaching to improve their teaching as well as their students' learning.
Journal of Teaching English Language Studies, 2019
The fundamental goal of any EFL teacher education curriculum is to equip and prepare student teachers for their teaching career. The present study sought to explore how practicing teachers feel about the effectiveness of the latest English teacher education curriculum in the content, pedagogical content and pedagogical knowledge bases and the university education that the current student teachers go through. The participants of the study were 130 male and female high school EFL teachers who were selected through cluster random sampling. The study utilized a descriptive design to investigate the effectiveness of the curriculum. The data were collected via semi-structured interview and a Likert scale questionnaire which comprised 35 items on the detailed stated objectives and performance tasks for each specific course in the curriculum. Descriptive statistical analysis revealed that participants were satisfied with the latest curriculum and perceived it as adequate and effective in stated objectives. Qualitative analysis showed that participants complained that the curriculum is not so successful in providing the student teachers with the opportunity to experience real life teaching during their education, to make them aware of contextual challenges awaiting and strike a balance between ideals and actuals.
2019
The major purpose of the present study was to examine the differences between professional competencies of Iranian EFL Teachers at Public and private sectors and the role of gender, field of study, educational status, and years of teaching experience in Iranian EFL teachers’ competencies. A sample of 300 EFL Iranian teachers were chosen based on convenience sampling and were assessed through the EFL Teachers’ Professional Competencies scale. After gathering the questionnaires, data was analysed by SPSS. According to the results, 1. There were significant differences between Iranian EFL teachers at public and private sectors with respect to their level of competencies, and teachers at private sectors had higher levels of competencies, 2. There were significant differences between male and female EFL teachers with respect to their competencies, 3. There were positive significant relationships between the four sub-constructs of teachers’ competencies and experience, 4. There was a sign...
2018
The issue of professional teaching standards has recently generated considerable interest of the Ministry of Education in KSA and elsewhere. The purpose of this research paper was to examine the extent to which the Professional Standards for English language teachers are applied by the English language female student teachers at Al-Imam Muhammed Ibn Saud Islamic University. The descriptive method was used. The whole population (N=126) of all English language senior female student teachers during the second semester 2016 /2017 was sampled. Data were gathered through a questionnaire. The participants were asked to evaluate their competencies based on the given items in the questionnaire on a 5 point Likert scale ranging from "incompetent" to "highly competent". Findings revealed that the student teachers perceived themselves to be highly competent in language proficiency with the mean scores (4.68), and theoretical knowledge (4.27), However, they were uncertain of ...
Self-Assessed Professional Competence of the High School EFL Teachers in Toraja Indonesia
International Journal of English Linguistics, 2017
The teaching of English as a foreign language (EFL) in Toraja is influenced by the quality of teachers from elementary to university level. The Ministry of National Education in Indonesia has stipulated four competencies that should be mastered by teachers: pedagogical competence, professional competence, personal competence, and social competence. The professional competences of foreign language teachers include a knowledge of various aspects of language in English (linguistics, discourse, sociolinguistic and strategic) and mastery of oral and written English language. The purpose of this study is to identify the perceived level of professional competence of high school EFL teachers in Toraja. For this study, 31 high school EFL Teachers in Toraja were chosen randomly from both public and private schools. Data was collected from questionnaires administered in person and by e-mail. The descriptive statistical results of this research show that half of the teachers reported themselves...
Iranian Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 2020
Professionalism has been generally linked to nations' economic, industrial, and technological developments. Therefore, having a professionally and ethically competent workforce is a necessity in today's changing world. More specifically, L2 teacher professionalism plays a crucial role in economic development too. Given its utmost importance in language teaching, this study intended to investigate how Iranian English teachers would perceive professionalism defined in terms of competence and performance. The participants were comprised of 281 English teachers at junior and senior high schools, language institutes, and universities in Tehran, Fars, Khuzestan, and Qazvin Provinces. The data were obtained through a researcher-made questionnaire, initially consisting of 44 items. However, the final version contained 40 items since four problematic items were deleted. Structural equation modeling was used to develop a three-factor model which lends support to Richards' perspective (2010) derived from his article "Competence and Performance in Language Teaching". The model found three factors, namely competence, performance, and techno-pedagogical competence that matched the components of professionalism proposed by Richards mostly in theoretical terms. The findings indicated that most of the participants endorsed Richards' perspective at least in theoretical terms. The insights from this study can be used to bridge the gap between competence and performance and improve teachers' practice in the classroom context.
Prof. Dr. Sharjeel's Paper, 2021
The significance of English language since the inception of Pakistan as a lingua franca, a medium to reach the scientific and technological asset of the developed nations has become quite distinct. Moreover, it is significant for correspondence and interaction within and outside the country. It is serving a vital purpose for higher studies and study abroad. Its importance in business communication, civil service and employment is inevitable. The aim of the study was to evaluate the competency of teacher educators and its impact on the communicative skills of trainee teachers. Survey method and sequential explanatory design was followed to integrate the mixed-method data collected through the administration of the questionnaire and interviews. The result depicted an uncertain ad incompetent professional skills of trainee teachers. These competencies encompassed skills in developing a lesson plan, constructing instructional learning objectives, adopting student-centered approaches and methods, using instructional technologies and managing classrooms of English language in formal situations. The study concludes that English language must be taught in all the schools irrespective of private or public, rural or urban. It's teaching, however, needs intensive training and evaluation of the competencies of teacher educators who train the trainees (school teachers).
2017
This study sought to compare Iranian EFL novice and expert teachers regarding their professional knowledge at Iranian language institutes and universities. To achieve the aim of study, a questionnaire was developed based on the literature, the theoretical framework and the results of a qualitative study. This questionnaire was administered to the whole sample of the study who was 200 Iranian EFL teachers from different genders and educational contexts. The participants were selected conveniently as going through random sampling was not possible. Based on the results of the exploratory factor analysis, six factors emerged under the main category of professional knowledge for Iranian EFL teachers. The findings of this study revealed that: (a) Iranian EFL expert teachers have higher levels of professional knowledge than Iranian EFL novice teachers (b) expert teachers have higher levels of knowledge about language and knowledge of language skills and components than novice teachers (c) ...
Professional Competencies of Foreign Language Teachers in Elementary and Secondary Schools
2020
The process of globalization and the development of a knowledge-based society has greatly influenced all spheres of social life, especially in the area of education that has a primary task, which is to enable an individual to live and work under these new conditions. This also requires new competencies and new, demanding tasks are being set before teachers on a daily basis, which is expanding their freedom of actions. They are required to improve the quality of the teaching process constantly by introducing various innovations in teaching and to undergo continuous professional development that needs to be a dynamic and durable process. In this respect, foreign language teachers have a particularly important role in trends related to the improvement of the quality of education and teaching.. Through their work, they create a teaching environment that supports the development of competencies necessary for life and work in the 21st century. There is no doubt that the need for continuous professional training of all those involved in the educational process is a necessity and obligation. So, this topic is certainly up-to-date and so far not many studies have been carried out about it, especially in Herzegovina-Neretva Canton elementary and secondary schools. Therefore, the purpose of this paper was to clearly highlight the professional competence and professional development of foreign language teachers, their attitudes and assessments related to the possibilities for continuous professional development and adopting new learning strategies. The main aim of the research was to gain insight into the attitudes of foreign language teachers towards the importance of continuous professional development and its impact on improving professional competencies. 1 The research was conducted in elementary and secondary schools in Herzegovina-Neretva Canton, Bosnia and Herzegovina, on a sample of 91 foreign language teachers (English, 1 In effect, competence and competency (from Latin competentia which meant an agreement, a conjunction, and possibly expertise) are interchangeable, though competence is more often used to describe a person's general ability, while competency is more often used to describe a person's ability to perform a certain task (https://grammarist.com/words/competence-and-competency/).
2016
The present study aimed to investigate professional success among Iranian EFL teachers in two different teaching contexts namely high schools and language institutes concerning their years of teaching experience, gender, level of education and socioeconomic status. Data were gathered from among 61 teachers and 600 students chosen from various private English language institutes and high schools in Shiraz, Iran. The instrument used in the study was a questionnaire developed by Moafian and Pishghadam (2009). Results indicated that professional success of male teachers is higher than that of female teachers. Findings further illustrated that there is a significant positive relationship between English teachers’ professional success and their education level and socioeconomic status. Finally, it was found that English teachers’ professional success is higher among institute teachers compared with their counterparts.