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Open AccessArticle

Teachers’ Perceptions and Appropriation of EFL Educational Reforms: Insights from Generalist Teachers Teaching English in Mexican Rural Schools

by Miguel Hernández Hernández and Jesús Izquierdo

Educ. Sci. 2023, 13(5), 482; https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci13050482 - 10 May 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 4302

Abstract

Educational reforms and educational policy changes have favored the learning of English as a foreign language (EFL) in public education. Empirical research has examined how EFL specialist teachers in urban public schools perceive these changes or the extent to which they adopt a new curriculum. Nonetheless, the new EFL policies have also had an impact on rural schools where generalist teachers are forced to teach English along with other areas of the curriculum. In this context, little research has explored teachers’ perceptions and appropriation of ongoing curricular changes. The present study explored this issue among generalist rural secondary school teachers in the southeast of Mexico. To this end, an explanatory sequential mixed method was adopted with a sample of 216 generalist teachers. During the quantitative phase, the participants completed two Likert scale questionnaires. Then, a semi-structured interview was conducted with a sub-sample of participants who obtained high (n = 7) or low (n = 7) results in the perceptions and appropriation questionnaires. The statistical analyses showed a weak but positive correlation between perceptions and appropriation. The qualitative data provide some insights that explain the weakness of the correlation. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Second Language Acquisition and Language Education – Bridging the Interface)

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20 pages, 397 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Language Assessment Literacy of Middle School English Teachers in Mexico

by Analynn Bustamante

Languages 2022, 7(1), 32; https://doi.org/10.3390/languages7010032 - 11 Feb 2022

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 3732

Abstract

Because English is an integral component of education in Mexico, it is necessary to explore teachers’ language assessment literacy (LAL), or their language assessment knowledge and practices. Previous LAL studies have been performed in standardized testing-focused. However, the present study aims to explore the LAL of teachers of middle school English students in a context where governmental policies strive to engender communicative language learning, specifically, Mexico. I have taken a mixed methods approach which involved a survey (N = 123) and interviews at two locations in Mexico. The semi-structured interviews were conducted at one bilingual middle school (N = 7) and in one extracurricular English program (N = 6). Participants were asked about their previous training, confidence levels in their assessment practices, and their training needs. Findings suggest a divide among teachers with higher and lower levels of LAL. Participants indicated that their training primarily covered traditional forms of assessment and classroom-level decision-making. However, data also suggest that participants valued non-traditional assessment activities. Finally, participants desired training on topics such as the use of technology in assessment, unfamiliar non-traditional assessment activities, and program-level decision-making. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Developments in Language Testing and Assessment)

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