The relationship between English teachers' self-efficacy beliefs and their classroom practices: A Southeastern case from Turkey

The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between the levels of English teachers' self-efficacy beliefs and their classroom practices. The research sample consisted of 152 English teachers working at different schools in Nizip, district of Gaziantep. In this study, the mix method research design was utilized. The questionnaire used to obtain quantitative data consisted of two parts. The Teacher Self-Efficacy Scale (TSES), developed by Tschannen-Moran and Hoy (2001) and adapted by Choi and Lee (2018), determined the levels of English teachers' self-efficacy beliefs. The Teaching Practices Scale developed by Choi and Lee (2018) determined the teaching practices employed in the classroom. SPSS version 20.0 was used to analyze the data obtained through the questionnaire. Means, standard deviations, percentages and frequencies were calculated through this program. Then, Pearson correlation was utilized to examine the relationship between self-efficacy and teaching practices. Independent sample t-test was used to determine whether there was statistically significant difference between gender in terms of these two concepts and one way ANOVA was used to unearth if there was statistically significant difference among experiences and teaching levels in terms of English teachers' self-efficacy and their classroom practices. In the qualitative study, 14 teachers who volunteered among the teachers participating in the questionnaire were interviewed and in order to analyze the data obtained through the interview, the content analysis was used. The results show that the levels of English teachers' self-efficacy beliefs are quite high. As for the teaching practices employed by English teachers in the classroom, it was determined that they use both teaching practices, although the frequency of employing communicative teaching practices is higher. Moreover, while there is a significant positive relationship between self-efficacy and communicative teaching practices, no significant relationship was determined with non-communicative teaching practices. That's to say, as the self-efficacy of English teachers increases, the tendency to employ communicative teaching practices in the classroom increases. Finally, when examined the differences, it was found out that there is no statistically difference among demographic characteristics in terms of English teachers' self-efficacy and their classroom practices.