Teaching Immunity of Language Teachers: A Reflective Approach

Year 2024, Volume: 11 Issue: 1, 89 - 104, 01.01.2024

Fadime Yalçın Arslan , Gamze Almacıoğlu

https://doi.org/10.17275/per.24.6.11.1

Abstract

The shield analogy, which teachers have developed to protect themselves naturally against the difficulties that arise in the teaching process, is one of the most effective expressions used to express teacher immunity. Teacher immunity and reflective teaching are very important constructs that can affect language teachers’ practices and professional development. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate how reflection on teaching practice influences the teaching immunity of pre-service EFL (English as a Foreign Language) teachers. It also investigated factors influencing the changes in the teaching immunity of pre-service EFL teachers. The participants were six pre-service EFL teachers at a state university in Turkey. Data were collected through reflection forms during teaching practice and follow-up interviews with the participants. The content analysis method was used to analyse the collected data. The findings revealed that reflecting on teaching practice raised teachers’ awareness about their instructional practice, affective factors, and professional development. Additionally, the results indicated that teaching responsibilities, coping strategies, and contextual factors were the three main factors influencing the changes in the teaching immunity of teachers. It would be fair to state that reflecting on teaching practice may help teachers be resilient to burnout, open to change, tolerate negative behaviours, and, thus, increase their instructional effectiveness.

Keywords

reflection, teaching immunity, teaching practice

References

• Ahmadi, M., Amiryousefi, M., & Hesabi, A. (2020). Role of individual difference variables in EFL teachers’ immunity development. Journal of English Language Teaching and Learning, 12(26), 361-376.
• Akbari, R. (2007). Reflections on reflection: A critical appraisal of reflective practices in L2 teacher education. System, 35(2), 192-207. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2006.12.008
• Atieno, O. P. (2009). An analysis of the strengths and limitations of qualitative and quantitative research paradigm. Problems of Education in the 21st Century, 13, 13-18.
• Aydin, S. (2012). Factors causing demotivation in EFL teaching process: A case study. Qualitative Report, 17, 101.
• Azari Noughabi, M. A., Amirian, S.M.R., Adel S.M.R., & Zareian, G. (2020). The association of experienced in-service EFL teachers’ immunity with engagement, emotions, and autonomy. Current Psychology, 41(4), 5562–5571.
• https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-020-01066-8
• Beyranvand, S., & Zenouzagh, Z. M. (2021). Teacher immunity, technological pedagogical content knowledge, and teacher engagement: contributing factors and relations. SN Soc Sci, 1-241. https://doi.org/10.1007/s43545-021-00250-2
• Canbay, M.O., & Sönmez, G. A. (2023). Comparative Study on Language Teacher Immunity: Samples from Qatar and Turkey. SN Soc Sci 3, 44. https://doi.org/10.1007/s43545-023-00629-3
• Creswell, J. W. (2014). Research design: qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (4th ed.). Sage, Thousand Oaks.
• Dewey, J. (1933). How we think: A restatement of the relation of reflective thinking to the educative process. DC Heath and Company.
• Dornyei, Z., & Ushioda, E. (2011). Teaching and researching motivation (2nd ed.). Longman, Harlow.
• Etikan, I., Musa, S.A., & Alkassim, R.S. (2016). Comparison of convenience sampling and purposive sampling. American Journal of Theoretical and Applied Statistics, 5(1), 1–4. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajtas
• Drew, S. V., & C. Sosnowski. (2019). Emerging Theory of Teacher Resilience: A Situational Analysis. English Teaching: Practice & Critique.
• Fani, M. (2017). Investigating the relationship between reflective teaching and teacher autonomy among Iranian EFL teachers. Proceedings of the 15th International TELLSI Conference.
• Farrell, T. S. C. (2019). Reflective Practice in ELT. London: Equinox.
• Ghazalbash, N., & Afghari, A. (2015). Relationship between burnout and reflective teaching among EFL teachers. International Journal of Foreign Language Teaching & Research, 3(12), 41-51. http://jfl.iaun.ac.ir/article_560102.html
• Gürsoy, S. (2018). The dynamic development of student immunity [Published doctoral dissertation]. Çağ University, Turkey.
• Haji Jalili, M., Sepehri, M., & Shafiee, S. (2023). Teacher Immunity in English Language Institutes and Public Schools: EFL Teachers’ Perception in Focus. International Journal of Foreign Language Teaching and Research, 11 (44), 81-95.
• Hiver, P. (2017). Tracing the signature dynamics of language teacher immunity: A retrodictive qualitative modelling study. The Modern Language Journal, 101(4), 669-690. https://doi.org/10.1111/modl.12433
• Hiver, P., & Dornyei, Z. (2015). Language teacher immunity, A double-edged sword. Applied Linguistics, 38(2), 405-423. https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/amv034
• Leedy, P., & Ormrod, J. (2001). Practical research: Planning and design (7th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill Prentice Hall. Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publications.
• Mahmoodzadeh, M., & Gkonou, C. (2015). A complex dynamic systems perspective on foreign language anxiety. Konin Language Studies, 3(1), 89–108.
• Malmir, A. (2018). Teachers’ reflective teaching and self-efficacy as predicators of their professional success: A case of Iranian EFL teachers. Research in English Language Pedagogy 6(1), 117-138. https://doi.org/10.30486/RELP.2018.538818
• Namaziandost, N., Heydarnejad, T., & Rezai, A. (2022). Iranian EFL teachers’ reflective teaching, emotion regulation, and immunity: examining possible relationships. Current Psychology,
• Ordem, E. (2017). A Language teacher’s reflection on maladaptive immunity, possible selves and motivation. International Education Studies, 10(9), 1-8.
• https://doi.org/10.5539/ies.v10n9p1
• Rahimpour, H., Amirian, S.M.R., Adel, S.M.R., & Zareian, G.R. (2020). A model of the factors predicting English language teacher immunity: a path analysis. Indonesian Journal of Applied Linguistics, 10(1), 73–83. https://doi.org/10.17509/ijal.v10i1.24990
• Rahmati, T., Sadeghi, K., & Ghad, F. (2019). English as a foreign language teacher immunity: an integrated reflective practice. Iran J Lang Teach Res, 7(3), 91–107.
• Rashtchi, M., & Sanayi Mashhoor, H. (2019). Extravert and introvert EFL teachers: How do reflective teaching and burnout relate? Journal of Applied Linguistics and Language Research, 6(3), 73-88. http://www.jallr.com/index.php/JALLR/article/view/1012
• Sadeghi, N., Kasim, Z. M., Tan, B. H., & Abdullah, F. S. (2012). Learning styles, personality types and reading comprehension performance. English Language Teaching, 5(4), 116-123. http://dx.doi.org/10.5539/elt.v5n4p116
• Sampson, R. J. (2016). EFL teacher motivation in-situ: co-adaptive processes, openness and relational motivation over interacting timescales. Studies in Second Language Learning and Teaching, 6(2), 293–318. https://doi.org/10.14746/ssllt.2016.6.2.6
• Saydam, D. (2019). English language teacher immunity: The METU case, (Unpublished master’s thesis). Middle East Technical University.
• Schutz, P. A., & Zembylas, M. (2009). Advances in teacher emotion research: The impact on teachers’ lives. Dordrecht: Springer.
• Skaalvik, E. M., & Skaalvik, S. (2014). Teacher self-efficacy and perceived autonomy: Relations with teacher engagement, job satisfaction, and emotional exhaustion. Psychological Reports: Employment Psychology & Marketing, 114(1), 68–77.
• Songhori, M., & Ghonsooly, B. (2018). Language teacher immunity among Iranian EFL teachers: A self-organization perspective. Iranian Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 7(1), 127-143. http://journalscmu.sinaweb.net/article_87253_0.html
• Stanley, C. (1998). A Framework for teacher reflectivity. TESOL Quarterly, 3(32), 584-591. https://doi.org/10.2307/3588129
• Teng, H. (2017). Emotional development and construction of teacher identity: Narrative interactions about the pre-service teachers’ practicum experiences. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 42(11), 144-163. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1161164.pdf
• Teng, M. F. (2018). Teacher autonomy: A buzzword in teaching English as a foreign language. In M. F. Teng (Ed.), Autonomy, agency, and identity in teaching and learning English as a foreign language (pp. 21–36). Singapore: Springer
• Thomas, D. R. (2006). A general inductive approach for analysing qualitative evaluation data. American Journal of Evaluation, 27(2), 237-246.
• Threeton, M. D. & Walter, R. A. (2009). The relationship between personality type and learning style: A study of automotive technology students. Journal of Industrial Teacher Education, 46(2), 212-239. https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/48842505.pdf