[[alternative]]Study of junior high school English teachers' beliefs towards the communicative approach

[[abstract]]Study of junior high school English teachers' beliefs towards the communicative approach Bi-ling Chang Abstract The main purposes of this thesis are：（1） to develop a questionnaire as a means of investigating junior high school teachers' beliefs towards the communicative approach；（2）to understand how teachers' beliefs are influenced by different background factors ；（3）to clarify and develop an appropriate frame of reference to help in achieving the success of English innovation in junior high schools in Taiwan. Using English as the subject for the thesis, two studies are conducted：one with quantative method, including 1000 junior high school teachers, and the other in qualitative concern, including 8 teachers. Methods cover the use of questionnaires, observation, and interviews for the study of teachers' beliefs towards the communicative approach. The results of the study shows： 1. Respondents' scores ranged considerably, the vast majority of the teachers seem to hold mildly favourable to their beliefs towards the communicative approach. 2. Teachers' beliefs are significantly different among teachers with different backgrounds. 3. An in-depth analysis followed by interviews reveals the discrepancy between teachers' classroom practices and their expressed beliefs towards the communicative approach. Teachers' beliefs are seen to play a crucial role in determining the implementation of an approach. The administration of the questionnaire and subsequent discussion of teachers' responses would give the opportunity to teachers to become more aware of their beliefs and of elements within them which can be less readily justified. Also, the study of junior high school teachers' beliefs towards the communicative approach would help identify whether teachers are ready to accept and implement this approach in their classrooms, and help in establishing the most appropriate kind of support that is needed in teacher development..