An investigation into teacher's beliefs and practice about developing supplementary materials for ielts learners at language centers in Ho Chi Minh city

The next major source of supplementary materials three-quarters of teachers believe to be effective for IELTS training is authentic materials. These materials were restricted to news in articles or online videos with a view to improving the language skills of learners. As an example, teachers P10 and P11 affirmed the ultimate value of reliable sources such as Ted Talk, BBC, CNN. Teacher P7 told that materials from News in Levels, Insider, or Now This were appropriate. It appeared that teachers had a tendency to adopt academic and original materials. This can be explained by the exceptional popularity of the academic format in the IELTS examination.

Just under half of the teachers thought IELTS websites and blogs could be helpful in training IELTS. However, they also expressed an opinion about the reliability of such online domains. Some may recognize them as major sources of materials used regularly alongside other textbooks. Others may consider them the last resort as teacher P9 asserted:

“When other textbooks do not have what I need, then I have to go online and search for materials from reliable sources, namely IELTS Simon or IELTS Liz. I usually develop supplementary materials from these sources, and I don’t use materials in blogs.” (Teacher P9, 29/07/2020)

Likewise, teachers P6 and P2 reported the IELTS Simon website as a reasonable option for supplementary materials, whereas teacher P3 listed other online pages such as IETS Minitest, IELTS Mentor, or IELTS Advantage. Teacher P11 seemed to be more tolerant when accepting IELTS blogs as long as they were written by the native. Apparently, teachers had different standards for using IELTS websites.

As having discussed in the Literature Review, many studies have indicated the resemblance between the tasks in the IELTS examinations and in the other language courses. It was anticipated that there were teachers adopting materials from sources other

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than IELTS. Evidently, teacher P9 said that she used general academic writing books to instruct the student in IELTS writing. Teacher P3 uses “Listening Carefully” by Jack C. Richards to enhance students’ listening ability, and teacher P6 even applied materials from other examinations such as the Preliminary English Test or Key English Test since she believed that they were appropriate for students who were new to the IELTS test.

Finally, only one teacher believed that supplementary materials should first be taken from the main coursebook’s add-ons (P10). These are electronic books, online practice, and practice tests. Another teacher preferred books written by teachers who had achieved band 9.0 in the examination. She often uses their model essays to help her learners in writing practice.

4.2.2. Internal and external sources

Having been determined earlier in Chapter Two, factors affecting teachers’ beliefs comprise four components: experience, knowledge, context, and personalities. Through the process of data analysis, another compelling factor emerged, which is the “washback effect of the IELTS examination.” These factors can be divided into internal and external sources. Overall, factors coming from the outside environment affect more considerably than the others.

4.2.2.1. Teaching context

The context in which teachers involve does have a remarkable effect on beliefs. The contextual factors to emerge from the analysis consisted of learners’ expectations, other teachers’ practices, and language centers’ policies. Findings from the interview echoed what previous research about teachers’ beliefs had yielded.

Teachers P1, P11, and P2 asserted that their students were new to the IELTS test and busy at work. Hence, the students could only fulfill a small number of extra exercises or

tasks. Teacher P6, on the other hand, had a different perspective. She managed to realize what learners lacked and provided them with appropriate supplementary materials. In her words:

“Additionally, there were requirements from learners. For example, if they are not good at particular skills such as reading or listening, I have to use different books. Normally, I employ exercises from KET and PET books because they are suitable for learners at a pre-IELTS level.” (Teacher P6, 24/08/2020)

Although teacher P10 stated that his learners do not have any distinct demand, he believed supplementary materials should be “trendy.” In other words, the materials are expected to be related to students’ background knowledge and interest as he assumed that his students were “university students or new graduates, and they are sensitive to new information.”

However, unlike other teachers who had to deduce learners’ expectations, P3’s learners directly articulate their demand and enthusiasm toward supplementary materials. In her words, the teacher reported:

“My students really like doing extra exercises. After they had and examined the main coursebook, they said: ‘We feel that exercises in the book are easy enough to accomplish, but yours are rather difficult.’ That is, I have extra sources of materials, and they also have other materials at home. They, thus, often require materials other than those in the main coursebooks.” (Teacher P3, 08/08/2020)

Since learners most of the time strictly follow teachers’ instructions and rarely articulate their requirements and expectation, teachers appear to take it for granted that they have full authority for supplementary material development. This, to some extent, explains why teachers only fulfill the necessities and lacks of learners, but not what they

want. By and large, learners’ expectations impact teacher beliefs in two ways. One is implicit, and teachers have to deduce from it, while the other is explicit but rather every so often.

In addition to learners’ factors, teachers seemed to have their beliefs inspired by other colleagues. For example, teachers P5, P4, and P2 stated that they would usually learn from others’ practice if it was appropriate and useful. Teacher P8, likewise, reported her imitation of developing supplementary materials from books published by Cambridge University Press or materials written by those achieving band 9.0 in IELTS. Meanwhile, teacher P11 acknowledged there was a negotiation between teachers in his language center:

“In my language center, all teachers have agreed to use the practice test books published by Cambridge (University Press).” (Teacher P11, 09/08/2020)

However, they also indicated their selectivity. Teacher P4 particularly emphasized the need to look for other updated materials rather than merely replicate what her colleagues are using.

As discussed earlier, a majority of teachers have agreed on the vital role of supplementary materials in IELTS training. It has been reported in the interview that the language centers of the participants were not too strict on the use of extra materials alongside main textbooks. According to teacher P3, her institution even encourages teachers to use supplementary materials. Despite that, there are particular practices that teachers have to follow. For example, both teachers P11 and P2 claimed that their language centers required teachers to use the main textbooks as a way to maintain the homogeneity of every class.

“All teachers in my language center are expected to use materials published by Cambridge (University Press).” (Teacher P11, 09/08/2020)

“My language center requires teachers to follow the provided textbooks in order for homogeneity. However, teachers are able to use supplementary materials as long as the content of the core materials has been delivered.” (Teacher P2, 27/08/2020)

Obviously, not every teacher had their beliefs affected by the policies of their language centers. As in the case of teacher P11, despite the regulations in his institute, he openly expressed his favor of authentic materials such as articles in newspapers. Similarly, in the words of teacher P10:

“Normally, the institute does not give teachers the right to act freely in their class. However, the teacher can use supplementary material. Since I am a member of the board of directors, not merely a teacher, I usually encourage other teachers to use extra materials.” (Teacher P10, 24/08/2020)

Teacher P6, on the other hand, showed concern about materials selection as her institute only allows teachers to use certain supplementary materials for every class level. Only this teacher was influenced by the policies in her language center.

“My center only allows teachers to use some particular supplementary materials for a class level for fear of lacking the source of materials. Therefore, I have to be cautious when choosing a material. The process becomes more challenging when everything is restricted.” (Teacher P6, 24/08/2020)

4.2.2.3. Teachers’ experience

Teachers’ experience involves their personal experience as learners and as teachers. Despite that, content analysis of teachers’ words demonstrated their considerable reliance on the former. Moreover, the data in the survey have indicated there was no significant difference between teachers’ years of training IELTS and the concept of supplementary materials. This seemed to echo what Richards and Lockhart (1999) argued teachers’ beliefs about learning might depend on their personal experience as language learners.

According to the interview data, participants who had already attended an IELTS course as students had a more tendency to develop the supplementary materials in a similar way as their teachers. For example, teachers P6 and P9 told that their teachers used to employ self-developed materials in training IELTS. This, to a considerable extent, inspired their practice in their own classrooms.

“Previously, I was a student of a teacher who specialized in IELTS Writing and developed her own materials for lessons. Therefore, I have a tendency not to use a particular book but synthesize from many books, sources on the Internet, or available worksheets of other teachers to create my own hand-out.” ( Teacher P6, 24/08/2020)

“I think that when my teachers attempted to develop their own materials rather than use a normal main coursebook, I can learn faster and more systematically. The materials focused more on the relevant topics and the test. As I became a teacher, I also imitated my teachers. I developed my own materials in accordance with the topic of lessons and did not follow the coursebook.” (Teacher P9, 29/07/2020)

Although these teachers reported they developed their own materials, there were coursebooks provided by their language centers, and they only employed such materials in particular lessons. As a result, it is still appropriate to consider their self-developed materials as supplementary ones.

The influence of the experience as a learner is also depicted in teacher P10’s perspective about supplementary materials. He claims that supplementary materials are limited to classroom use only. When asked if he had had any experience with supplementary materials as a learner, he said, “my teacher usually provides exercises related to the test tasks. Normally, there were no supplementary materials, but only homework.” It is the term “homework” and the lack of access to in-class supplementary materials that make this teacher establish such belief.

In addition to the influence of their teachers, some interviewees said they drew on their hands-on experience with the materials to decide the content of supplementary materials. Teacher P8, who has strong beliefs in materials published by Cambridge University Press, claimed that she had used such materials when training herself for the IELTS examination. She also revealed that her former teachers had provided her with materials from the same publishing house. Likewise, teacher P3 felt that materials posted on a social network such as Facebook were adequate when she prepared for the test. She then employed them in her classroom as supplementary materials. She, however, did not just let her students practice with the original version of these materials but modified them.

“For example, when I plan an IELTS lesson, if the lesson centers on reading skill, I can adopt reading texts from the social network. However, I have to modify them instead of having students do all the tasks related to the reading text and correct them.” (Teacher P3, 08/08/2020).

Teacher P7 seemed to share the same perspective when she said:

“When I was a student, I had experienced some books or sources of materials that are useful for my study, and I believe they are also useful for my students… My teacher used to recommend some extra materials. However, I feel they are inappropriate for me. Then I do not force my students to use those materials.” (Teacher P7, 24/08/2020)

It is noticeable enough to realize that although personal experience as learners plays a major role in teachers’ beliefs, the extent to which they influence varies. For instance, teachers P7 and P11 confirmed that their experience with the supplementary materials as learners did not impact much on their decisions on the materials to use in their classes. This has been acknowledged in Fives & Buehl’s model, in which beliefs act as a filter to interpret life events. In the case of teacher P3, she did not treat the materials exactly the way she had used as a learner. A plausible explanation for this is the teaching experience since, in the latter part of the interview, teacher P3 admitted:

“Until now, having planned lessons many times, I realize that learning reading is not just to let students do exercises and to correct them. There should be other supplementary activities and tasks… Initially, I employed activities that, I think, are good for learners and interesting. Next, I will modify them until I feel them effective enough.” (Teacher P3, 08/08/2020)

The teaching experience also contributed to the decision to develop supplementary materials by teacher P10. This teacher believed that supplementary materials should only be used in classrooms, which differentiates them from those for homework. Thus, as a teacher, he thought that they would rather be restricted in terms of length.