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An Assessment of Attitudes and Behaviors of Foreign Language Teachers
Author(s) -
Papalia Anthony
Publication year - 1973
Publication title -
foreign language annals
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.258
H-Index - 49
eISSN - 1944-9720
pISSN - 0015-718X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1944-9720.1973.tb02581.x
Subject(s) - psychology , situated , foreign language , mathematics education , pedagogy , computer science , artificial intelligence
ABSTRACT The aim of this study was to identify what foreign language teachers believe are true characteristics of students and to provide empirical evidence about teachers' classroom behaviors as they relate to the teaching‐learning process. Nine secondary schools situated in urban and suburban communities participated in the study. All foreign language teachers of the participating schools and 1,046 of their randomly selected students were surveyed by means of the Minnesota Teacher Attitude Inventory and the Teacher Description Instrument. Teachers of foreign languages manifested, in varying degrees, supportive attitudes toward pupils. They favored students' self‐motivation and open interaction in the classroom, and they cautiously moved toward a student‐centered concept of instruction. Students, in identifying and rating their teachers' classroom behaviors, confirmed that foreign language teachers displayed student‐centered classroom behaviors and that they actualized learning by being sensitive to the needs and abilities of students.