A Study Of English Teachers’ Beliefs And Teaching Behaviors Regarding Their Roles In Promoting Learner Autonomy

The New English Curriculum Standard(2017)claims that teachers implement learner-centered approach,change their roles and promote learner autonomy.Learner autonomy means that under the scientific guidance of teachers,students can achieve independent development through active learning activities.Thus,advocating learner autonomy does not mean weakening teachers’ roles.Instead,teachers’ roles should be highlighted.This requires teachers to change the traditional beliefs about their roles and the role behavior,adopt various teaching strategies,and guide students to learn independently and then teachers become the helpers and instructors of learners.Teachers’ beliefs greatly influence change of teaching behaviors.What’s more,as the subsystem of teachers’ beliefs,teachers’ beliefs about their roles are the key to putting educational reform into practice.Therefore,the present study aims to investigate teachers’ beliefs about their roles in promoting learner autonomy,the roles that they play,and the relationship between teachers’ beliefs and teaching behaviors in senior high school.The present study draws on qualitative and quantitative methods.First,the questionnaire is handed out to nineteen teachers and one hundred and fifty students in a senior high school so that the present study can find out teachers’ beliefs about their roles and teaching behaviors.Then,based on the data from the questionnaires,the present study investigates the relationship between teachers’ beliefs and teaching behaviors.Last,the study interviews six teachers and analyzes the factors that have an influence on the relationship between teachers’ beliefs and teaching behaviors.The research findings are as follows.First,teachers hold a positive view towards their roles in promoting learner autonomy and their beliefs about their roles are consistent with their roles that they play: a counselor,a facilitator,a resource,and a manager.Then,there exists the significant difference between teachers’ beliefs and teaching behaviors in five aspects: helping students set up goals;helping students evaluate their learning progress;encouraging students to make plans;suggesting using tools to assess themselves;suggesting using computer-based learning materials.Then,factors influencing the relationship between teachers’ beliefs and teaching behaviors are related to teachers,students,and policy.Teacher-related factors include strategies and their different understanding of learner autonomy.Student-related factors involve students’ learning habits,English proficiency and degree of learner autonomy.Policy-related factors are the number of students and the examination system.These factors combined cause such a relationship between teachers’ beliefs and teaching behaviors.Therefore,the present research can obtain some implications.Teachers need to read academic articles to acquire the skills and strategies to promote learner autonomy and help students develop good learning habits.Additionally,teachers can carry out English teaching with the small number of students,intervene their autonomous learning appropriately and help students shape the awareness of life-long learning.