Language teachers are concerned with the relationship between what they know or believe and what they practice. In this book, Yang Gao thus addresses this gap. Using the complex dynamic system theory, he reports the characteristics of the Chinese EFL teachers’ belief system and highlights the complexity of the system, the non-linearity, and unpredictability of the subsystems. He further explores the relationships between the stated beliefs and the actual practices among the Chinese EFL teachers. One of the key contributions through the book is the conceptualized model in studying EFL teachers’ beliefs and practices.
Yang Gao, Ph.D., Xinghai Scholar, is Associate Professor of TESOL at Dalian Maritime University (DMU). Prior to DMU, he taught at San Jose State University and Kent State University in the United States. Yang studies TESOL and EFL teacher education.
ForewordXiaofei LuAcknowledgmentsList of Figures and Tables1 Introduction1 How the Book Came Out2 Purpose and Research Questions3 Rationale and Stages of the Exploratory Sequential Mixed-Methods Design4 Biographical Information of the Participants in the Book5 Structure of the Book2 Revisiting the Messy Construct: A Synopsis Review of Teacher Beliefs1 From Teacher Psychology, Cognition to Beliefs2 Defijining Teacher Beliefs3 Nature and Features of Teacher Beliefs4 Content of Teacher Beliefs5 Research on Teacher Beliefs6 Evaluation of Teacher Beliefs7 Beliefs about Languages, Reading, and EFL Teachers: An Even More Complex Picture8 Conclusion3 Paradigm Shifts in Teachers’ Beliefs and Practices1 Introduction2 Research Paradigms and Language Teacher Belief-Practice Research3 The Influx of Paradigms in the New Era4 Theoretical Paradigm Selected for the Present Study5 Conclusion4 Complex Dynamic Systems Theory as a Theoretical Framework to Study Beliefs and Practice of EFL Reading Teachers1 Introduction2 Introducing Complex Dynamic Systems Theory3 Complex Dynamic Systems Theory and the Pragmatism Paradigm4 Complex Dynamic Systems Theory in Educational Settings5 Complex Dynamic Systems Theory in Language Education6 Complex Dynamic Systems Theory in EFL Reading Studies7 Steps in Conducting the Study with a CDST Lens8 Conceptual Frameworks5 Characteristics of Chinese Teachers’ Belief Systems1 An Overview of the Chapter2 Characteristics of Chinese EFL Teachers’ Beliefs about English Reading and Teaching Reading3 Conceptualization of the Dynamics and Agents in the Belief System4 Conclusion6 Exploring Interaction between Reading Beliefs and Reading Teaching Beliefs in Dominant Orientations1 Introduction2 Analyses of Reading Beliefs vs. Teaching Beliefs in the Dominant Orientations3 Possible Explanations for the Interaction4 Conceptualization of the Interaction between the Two Stated Belief Systems5 Conclusion7 The Nexus of Chinese EFL Teachers’ Beliefs and Practices1 Introduction2 Purposive Participants3 Within Case Findings4 Cross-Case Analysis5 Conceptualization of the Coadaptive and Self-organizing Subsystems6 Conclusion8 Conclusion: A CDST Model to Study Language Teacher Beliefs and Practices1 Overview of the Chapter2 Characteristics of Chinese EFL Teachers’ Stated Beliefs about English Reading and Teaching Reading3 Teachers’ Stated Beliefs about English Reading and Teaching Reading4 Teachers’ Stated Beliefs and Actual Practices5 Theoretical Implication: A CDST Model on EFL Teacher Beliefs and Practice6 Practical Implications for EFL Teachers and Teacher Team Leaders7 ConclusionGlossaryIndex