EFL TEACHERS' KNOWLEDGE AND BELIEFS ABOUT PHONOLOGICAL AWARENESS AND PHONICS IN READING INSTRUCTION FOR EARLY GRADERS IN QATARI GOVERNMENT SCHOOLS

This study aimed at exploring the knowledge of EFL female teachers possess regarding phonological awareness and phonics. Also, the study investigates teachers' beliefs about the use of phonics in reading instruction for early graders in Qatari primary government schools and kindergartens. Following the mixed methods research design, a 33-item survey was completed by 142 EFL female teachers, and ten teachers were interviewed for the data collection. To analyze the quantitative data, descriptive and inferential statistics were utilized, while thematic analysis was used for interview analysis. Findings revealed that the majority of participants lack basic knowledge of phonological awareness and phonics. Further, the results indicated that the participants hold positive beliefs toward the phonics importance in reading instruction for early graders. Based on these findings, this study provided implications for reading outcomes improvement in Qatar and similar contexts, and recommendations for further research are offered