Changes in beliefs of pre-service teachers in an ESP teacher education programme in Vietnam : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Education at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
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Date
2019
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Massey University
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Abstract
Pre-service English for Specific Purposes (ESP) teachers’ belief change has been
under-researched, so little is known about how and why their beliefs change over
their teacher education programs. This study aimed to identify beliefs about ESP
teaching of pre-service teachers in an ESP teacher education programme in Vietnam;
explore how their beliefs changed after the ESP teaching methodology course and
after the practicum; and identify factors that influenced their belief changes.
A qualitative case study approach and a multiple-case study design were employed
to investigate the belief changes of twelve pre-service ESP teachers. Over a six
month period, data were gathered through the employment of semi-structured
interviews, reflective journals, observations, and stimulated recall interviews. These
qualitative data went through two main analysis processes (within-case and cross-
case analyses) and were analysed inductively, deductively, comparatively, and
chronologically with the support of the NVivo software program. These
comprehensive processes of data collection and analyses resulted in significant
research findings.
The findings revealed that the pre-service ESP teachers held a wide range of initial
beliefs about ESP teaching before they were provided with theory and practice about
ESP teaching. These initial beliefs, which originated from their ESP learning
experiences in the teacher education programme, were found to have a number of
distinctive features and were susceptible to change. The pre-service ESP teachers’
beliefs tended to change in six ways and follow two key processes of belief change.
The findings also revealed a wide variety of contextual and internal factors that,
despite playing different roles, exerted integrated influences on their beliefs.
Therefore, this study highlights the importance of not only the ESP teacher education
program but also the pre-service ESP teachers themselves in the development of
their beliefs about ESP teaching.
The findings from this study shed fresh light on the development of beliefs about
ESP teaching of pre-service teachers in an ESP teacher education program. Insights
into the complexity of their belief change processes will not only facilitate the
development and improvement of ESP teacher education programmes in the future
but also provide a basis for further research into this unexplored area.
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Keywords
English language, Study and teaching, Foreign speakers, Vietnam, English teachers, Attitudes