The Predictive Relationship between Self-Efficacy Levels of English Teachers and Language Teaching Methods

Purpose: Considering that self-efficacies of teachers can affect their educational and instructional applications, it is probable that self-efficacies of English teachers can predict the language teaching methods they employ. In this sense, the purpose of the study was to investigate the correlation between self-efficacies of English teachers and language teaching methods they employ. Method: This study used quantitative correlational design. 367 English language teachers participated in the study. ELT Context-Specific Teacher Efficacy Instrument and Language Teaching Methods Scale were used in order to collect the data. Descriptive statistics, Pearson's Product-Moment Correlation, and path analysis were used to analyse the data. Findings: The results indicated that English teachers' self-efficacy levels were high and they employed Communication Oriented Teaching more. There was a statistically significant correlation between self-efficacies of English teachers and language teaching methods they employed. The findings also revealed that the self-efficacy of English teachers was a significant predictor of the language teaching methods they employed. Implications for Research and Practice: This study found that as the self-efficacy levels of English teachers increased, they were more inclined to employ communication-oriented teaching methods. Therefore, both pre-service and in-service training should pay attention to the teachers' self-efficacies. Self-efficacies of English teachers should be considered as something important for a desired language teaching experience. (c) 2018 Ani Publishing Ltd. All rights reserved