Using Student Beliefs About Language Learning and Teaching in the Foreign Language Methods Course

TLDR

Prospective foreign‑language teachers bring many preconceived ideas about language learning and teaching that can interfere with their understanding and receptivity to methods class content. The paper introduces two instruments, the FLAS and BALLI, to elicit student beliefs about language learning and teaching and reports typical responses to the BALLI. The authors developed the FLAS and BALLI instruments to capture students’ beliefs about language learning and teaching. The instruments reveal beliefs that can inhibit learning, and the authors suggest that systematic assessment of these beliefs could improve student learning and satisfaction.

Abstract

ABSTRACT Prospective foreign language teachers enter the methods class with many preconceived ideas about how languages are learned and how they should be taught. These beliefs can directly interfere with their understanding of and receptivity to the information and techniques presented in the methods class. This paper describes two instruments for eliciting student beliefs about language learning and teaching, the Foreign Language Survey (FLAS) and the Beliefs About Language Learning Inventory (BALLI), and reports on typical responses of methods students to the BALLI. The discussion of the instruments and the student responses illustrate the kinds of beliefs students may hold which can inhibit their learning. It is suggested that a systematic assessment of student beliefs would increase student learning and satisfaction in the foreign language methods class.