Connecting Language Proficiency to (Self-Reported) Teaching Ability: A Review and Analysis of Research

Abstract

This article provides a review and analysis of current research examining the connection between teacher language proficiency and their self-reported beliefs about their pedagogical abilities. Generally speaking, (English) language teachers require an advanced level of proficiency in order to be successful language teachers, but pedagogical skills are also necessary for effective instruction. However, examining the relationship between language proficiency and pedagogical skills is not straightforward given the nature of language teaching in which language is both the content and medium of instruction, issues with defining language proficiency (for teaching), and disagreement regarding effective teaching skills in different social contexts. One approach has been to focus on teachers’ self-efficacy beliefs about their abilities to enact specific classroom tasks in certain contexts and potential relationships with teachers’ reported language proficiency. The analysis provided in this article highlights how these constructs have been measured in the literature and if/how they are connected to one another across different studies. Overall, teachers’ self-efficacy beliefs regarding their pedagogical abilities do correlate with language proficiency, but results are at times weak and/or inconclusive with inconsistent results across studies and contexts.

Teacher Self-efficacy Research in English as Foreign Language Contexts : A Systematic Review

“…This scale measures TSE through three factors of student engagement, classroom management, and instructional strategies. As a result, it may not capture the domain-and task-specific nature of TSE in EFL settings, for example, teachers' beliefs about their ability to teach grammar implicitly or to provide corrective feedback (Faez & Karas, 2017). This finding shows a critical need for EFL-specific scales (e.g., the ELT Context-Specific Teacher Efficacy Instrument developed by Akbari and Tavassoli (2014)) that can measure EFL teachers' judgements about their ability to perform different English teaching tasks.…”

“…Klassen et al (2011) claimed that research on TSE in second/ foreign language teaching contexts is still underrepresented within the self-efficacy research literature. The need for TSE research in the EFL area is not only because of the significant role of these beliefs to failure or success of education, but also because of the need to investigate TSE in the EFL field as a unique setting (Chiang, 2008;Faez & Karas, 2017). Faez and Karas (2017) argued that the uniqueness of the EFL field is reflected in the role of English language as both the content and the means of instruction.…”

“…The need for TSE research in the EFL area is not only because of the significant role of these beliefs to failure or success of education, but also because of the need to investigate TSE in the EFL field as a unique setting (Chiang, 2008;Faez & Karas, 2017). Faez and Karas (2017) argued that the uniqueness of the EFL field is reflected in the role of English language as both the content and the means of instruction. In EFL contexts, using English in classrooms is valuable and sometimes the only opportunities for learners to gain exposure to their target language (Yashima, 2002).…”

“…An initial search (June, 2017) in the literature did not identify any previous systematic reviews that specifically deal with the construct of teacher self-efficacy in EFL contexts, except for a review by Faez and Karas (2017) that only focused on the linkage between English teachers' self-efficacy and their English language competence. Therefore, conducting a systematic review would be appropriate, to show a more comprehensive picture of TSE research in this field.…”

Teachers’ writing proficiency and assessment ability: the missing link in teachers’ written corrective feedback practice in an Iranian EFL context

“…Traditionally, it is assumed that higher level of teacher language proficiency results in a better quality of teaching (Richards 2017). Recently, some researchers stressed again that English language teachers require an advanced level of language proficiency to succeed in teaching (e.g., Canh and Renandya 2017;Faez and Karas 2017). In fact, teachers' proficiency, motivation, and identity may affect what students learn in L2 classroom (Valmori and De Costa 2016).…”