An Investigation On Teachers' Beliefs For English Language Teachers At Secondary Schools From The Perspective Of Learner Autonomy

In recent years,the study of learner autonomy(LA for short)has been an important subject in the field of foreign language teaching research.Cultivating learner autonomy is an important curriculum goal in the new curriculum standard of secondary school English.As the leader of secondary school English learning,English teachers have an indispensable role in the development of learner autonomy.As the concrete implementer of teaching activities,teachers' beliefs are the key to successfully cultivate learner autonomy in teaching.Teachers' beliefs refer to teachers' views and opinions on teaching and learning,therefore,the cultivation of learner autonomy can be considered from the perspective of teachers.The understanding of learner autonomy by English teachers at secondary schools can enhance the beliefs of English teachers,promote the renewal of their teaching ideas,and promote the improvement of their teaching practice.Theoretically,the study of learner autonomy should be taken not only from the perspective of learners themselves,but also from the perspective of the teacher to explore the understanding of their learner autonomy to drive their beliefs to teach and improve teaching,in order to help learners cultivate learner autonomy in their study.However,in a large number of existing literature,most of the space is mainly used to study how learners themselves cultivate learner autonomy,or to explore how some teaching methods can help to cultivate learner autonomy.Only limited space focuses on the study of learner autonomy in English teachers' beliefs,and further explores the extent to which learner autonomy drives teachers' beliefs and is used in the concept and practice of English teaching at secondary schools.The purpose of this study is to explore the current situation of Chinese English teachers' beliefs in learner autonomy,to investigate teachers' understanding of learner autonomy,to promote the effective cultivation of learner autonomy in middle school English teaching,and to to verify the findings in the literature.In this study,a mixed quantitative&qualitative method can be used to investigate the beliefs of English teachers at secondary schools on learner autonomy from different angles.The questionnaire was adapted from Borg and Al-Busaidi(2012)and was investigated by88 English teachers at secondary schools in Nanchang and Ganzhou,and 20 of them were randomly selected from among these teachers for voluntary interviews.The results show that there is a positive recognition of learner autonomy in the beliefs of English teachers at secondary schools in theory,but it is not optimistic about the feasibility of promoting learner autonomy in practice.This study also discusses the factors that hinder the cultivation of learner autonomy in the existing beliefs of English teachers at secondary schools,among which the factors of culture,psychology and traditional education influence teachers' effective cultivation of learner autonomy.Through this study,English teachers at secondary schools can renew the concept of learner autonomy in teachers' belief,and can improve teaching in practice in order to promote the cultivation of learner autonomy in English teaching.The results show that paying attention to the beliefs of English teachers at secondary schools may be of some benefit to English learners.English teachers at secondary schools can participate in a series of professional development workshops on learner autonomy.It can help teachers realize the deep understanding of learner autonomy in teachers' belief,and put forward practical suggestions for pedagogy and future research.