A Case Study On The Relationship Of Pre-service And Experienced English Teachers'Oral Corrective Feedback Beliefs And Classroom Practices In Senior High School

Learners' errors receive great attention from researchers in second language acquisition(SLA)for ubiquitous learner errors are signs of learning.This naturally leads to the focus on teachers' role in error correction in the pedagogy field.Studies abroad and at home firstly look into teachers' oral corrective feedback(OCF)practices as well as their effectiveness in promoting learners' language acquisition,and then researchers turn to teachers' beliefs which explain their OCF behaviors and eventually examine the relationship between teachers' OCF stated beliefs and classroom practices.However,studies conducted in the Chinese context to explore the relationship between OCF beliefs and practices in pre-service English teachers' and experienced English teachers' cases are insufficient.Therefore,the present study was carried out to complement studies in this field.The present study investigated the relationship between stated beliefs of four EFL teachers(two pre-service teachers,two experienced teachers)in a senior high school about oral corrective feedback and their actual classroom practices.Three research questions were posed:(1)What are pre-service and experienced English teachers stated beliefs about OCF?(2)How do pre-service and experienced English teachers provide OCF in classrooms?(3)To what extent are pre-service and experienced English teachers' beliefs about OCF consistent or inconsistent with their classroom practices?What cause inconsistencies between teachers' OCF beliefs and practices?To answer these questions,classroom observation was conducted to collect data of teachers' OCF practices;a semi-structured interview and stimulated recalls were employed to learn about teachers' stated beliefs towards OCF and their explanation for their classroom behaviors.The results showed that pre-service and experienced teachers shared common beliefs that oral corrective feedback is necessary to promote language learning and that phonological errors should receive more attention and that delayed feedback is effective.Meanwhile,differences existed when it comes to their perceptions of OCF agents and strategies.In classroom practices,pre-service teachers and experienced teachers had low tolerance of learners' errors and they employed recasts most frequently.Generally,teachers'OCF stated beliefs were largely in agreement with their practices,especially in terms of OCF necessity,OCF timing and error types.Incongruities emerged due to classroom complexity(time constraint,students' engagement),students' language proficiency,the gap between technical and practical knowledge,spontaneity feedback,teacher-student relationship and mentors' influence.The outcome of this study aims to help teachers reflect their teaching beliefs and practices,recognize the gap between beliefs and practices,and accept it as an opportunity to promote their professional teaching.Additionally,implications are proposed,especially for student teachers to adjust their beliefs to realities and hone their teaching skills concerning oral corrective feedback.