Article

Pre- and In-Service Teachers’ Cognitions About Pronunciation Teaching: An Exploration of the Chilean Context

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Abstract

An increasing number of studies have enquired into what teachers think, know and believe in order to understand how these cognitions shape teachers’ practices (Borg, 2015). Despite this growing interest, there is need for investigating teachers’ developmental processes throughout their training and careers more comprehensively (Burri & Baker, 2021). The following doctoral thesis project explores how teachers' knowledge, beliefs and practices about pronunciation teaching compare during and after their training, examining the factors contributing to this development.

Four cohorts of pre-service and in-service teachers from three Chilean universities were studied, with their cognitions compared at different stages of their training and career. This includes student teachers from first, third and fifth years of ELT training programmes and novice teachers. Participants’ knowledge and beliefs about pronunciation teaching were obtained through questionnaires and semi-structured interviews. Initial findings suggest there are noticeable changes in perceptions regarding the importance of pronunciation teaching, learning models, judgements on their own pronunciation and knowledge to teach the content. These preliminary findings can greatly help understand teachers’ training needs to improve their professional preparation and teaching practices.

How to Cite: Villablanca, P. (2022). Pre- and in-service teachers’ cognitions about pronunciation teaching: an exploration of the Chilean context. In J. Levis & A. Guskaroska (eds.). Proceedings of the 12th Pronunciation in Second Language Learning and Teaching Conference, held June 2021 virtually at Brock University, St. Catharines, ON. https://doi.org/10.31274/psllt.13365