An Investigation Of English As A Foreign Language Teachers’ Beliefs And Practices In Teaching And Assessing Speaking Skills: The Case Of Secondary Schools In Bale Zone And Robe Administrative Town, Ethiopia

Abstract

This study was conducted to investigate English as a Foreign Language teachers’ beliefs and practices in teaching and assessing students’ speaking skills at secondary schools in Bale Zone and Robe Administrative Town Ethiopia. To this end, the study adopted both descriptive and correlational research designs in which the data were collected through quantitative and qualitative methods. Twenty-nine secondary schools in Bale Zone and Robe administrative town were sampled as a study site. Then, 101 EFL teachers found in the selected secondary schools were taken as a source of data using comprehensive sampling for the questionnaire; random sampling for classroom observation, and purposive sampling for the interview. Employing qualitative and quantitative approaches, data were collected using a questionnaire, classroom observation, and semi-structured interviews. The quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics containing frequency, percentage, and mean. Two-tailed Pearson correlation was also used to show the relationship between the variables. The qualitative data were analyzed in thematic and quoted descriptions. The findings from the responses indicated the respondent teachers have a positive belief in teaching and assessing speaking skills. However, classroom observation results revealed EFL teachers’ practice of teaching and assessing speaking skills contradict what they believe to be. The overall result indicated that teachers were not teaching and assessing speaking skills according to language teaching theories, methods, and mainly their beliefs. Based on the findings it is concluded that teachers’ beliefs regarding teaching and assessing speaking skills were found to be positive. The correlation results also indicated a positive significant relationship between teachers’ beliefs and their classroom practices. On the other hand, the qualitative result indicated that teachers’ belief and their classroom practices were inconsistent. Based on the findings, recommendations were forwarded.