Practicing what they preach? A comparison of teacher candidate beliefs and practices

Following the establishment of a professional consensus with respect to the beliefs associated with effective foreign language (L2) teaching, a next step in the related research should involve examination of the extent to which these beliefs are put into practice. Efforts need to be made to ensure that L2 teachers not only possess these beliefs, but also apply them in their classrooms. This is particularly important in the case of teacher candidates who are just entering the profession and are still developing their instructional beliefs and practices. To investigate possible incongruence between teacher candidate beliefs and practice, the researchers conducted a study that compared the beliefs and practices of 59 L2 teacher candidates in the United States and Germany. Using a mixed methodology, data were collected via surveys, teaching observations, and interviews. The results emphasized both the influential nature of instructional beliefs and that factors may prevent new teachers from consistently applying their beliefs. While both the German and American teacher candidates shared many beliefs about effective L2 teaching, the Germans struggled to implement their beliefs, more so than did their American peers. Implications for teacher training programs are discussed.