An Investigation And Analysis Of Factors Affecting Beliefs Of Senior High School Novice EFL Teachers In Hangzhou

Grounded in Williams and Burden’s social constructivism model of the teaching-learning process, this study investigates factors affecting novice EFL teacher beliefs with questionnaires and semi-structural interviews.The data needed were collected from30questionnaires and5interviews with senior high school novice EFL teachers in Hangzhou. Questionnaires include Novice EFL Teacher Beliefs Inventory (NETBI) and Factors Affecting Novice EFL Teacher Beliefs Inventory (FAI). NETBI includes novice EFL teacher beliefs about students, teaching, themselves and about students’ English learning. FAI includes internal factors (gender, age, teaching year, degree, teachers’ experience and teachers’ self-efficacy) and external factors (school type, students’ performance, work pressure, parental involvement, colleagues, participatory decision making, promotion, resource adequacy and New Curriculum Standard Policy). The semi-structural interviews were used to measure novice EFL teacher beliefs about students and teaching as well as factors influencing novice EFL teacher beliefs.The data collected through questionnaires then were computed by Pearson Correlation Analysis and Multiple Regression Analysis with SPSS17.0. The information obtained through semi-structural interviews serves as supplement to the study. The findings of the final research include:1) Senior high school novice EFL teachers in Hangzhou have open teacher beliefs which keep in line with requirements of New Curriculum Reform Policy.2) Teachers’ self-efficacy, teachers’ experience, students’ performance and colleagues have significantly positive influence on novice EFL teachers.3) Students’ performance and teachers’ self-efficacy are two predictors of novice EFL teacher beliefs. Students’ performance accounts for41.6%of the variances while Students’ performance and teachers’ self-efficacy in total account for52.5%variances.Based on the research findings, four suggestions are given:1) Concerns should be given to improve students’ performance.2) Novice EFL teachers should work hard to improve teachers’ self-efficacy.3) Teacher education should be improved to facilitate teachers’ experience.4) Harmonious colleagueship should be built.