A Survey Of Senior High School English Teachers' Beliefs From The Perspective Of Teachers' Metaphors

Since 1980 s,people have come to realize that the study of teaching should not only focus on the explicit behavior of teachers,but also explore their inner world.Teachers' belief has become a hot topic for scholars both at home and abroad.Teachers' beliefs not only directly affect teachers' teaching behaviors in the classroom and other daily work,but also have a great influence on teachers' own professional development.Researching teachers' belief is important for teacher development,student development,and educational reform.Teachers' metaphors make teachers' beliefs more externalized.From the perspective of teachers' metaphors,we can study teachers' beliefs more deeply and help us understand teachers' inner thoughts.This study focuses on three aspects: 1.What is the current situation of English teachers' beliefs in senior high school? 2.What is the current situation of teachers' metaphors implied in teachers' beliefs? 3.What are the factors that influence the change of teachers' beliefs? In this paper,totally 71 English teachers from Affiliated Middle School to InnerMongolia Normal University,Hohhot No.14 Middle School,Railway No.1 High School and Tu Mo Te Senior High School are investigated by combining quantitative and qualitative studies,and four of them are interviewed in depth.Based on the theory of constructivism and teacher cognition,this study analyzes the five dimensions from the perspective of teachers' metaphors,namely,student management,English curriculum,teachers' teaching,evaluation and students' learning.The results of the study indicate that: 1.The overall beliefs of senior high school English teachers are open and positive,and it's consistent with the concept which the National English Curriculum Standard for General High School advocated.There are some differences in English teachers' beliefs in five dimensions,among them,the beliefs in English curriculum are the most open and positive,and the beliefs of evaluation are the most traditional and conservative one among the five beliefs,which are at an intermediate level.2.Teachers are highly approve of the teachers' metaphors of “artists” and “innovators”,and also recognize the metaphors of “gold digger”,“cooperative leader”,“gardener” and “sports coach”,and they express disapproval of “repairman” and “expert authority” and “sports coaches”.Among them,the recognition of “sports coach” belongs to the traditional teachers' belief,mainly caused by the great pressure under the college entrance examination.3.Englishteachers' beliefs are influenced by both internal and external factors,such as teachers' previous experience,teaching experience and reflection on themselves;English Curriculum Standards for Senior High Schools(2017),college entrance examination and students' performance.Based on the results of the study,the author puts forward some suggestions from the aspects of school and teachers to cultivate positive teachers' beliefs,including building cooperative teacher culture in schools and establishing a fair and effective teacher evaluation system,and pay attention to psychological problems of teachers,etc.At the same time,teachers can write reflective diaries or listen to students' feedback to promote the positive development of their teachers' beliefs.