A Snapshot of Their Beliefs and Practices: Perspectives of Mississippi and Alabama Spanish Teachers - Survey Results and Implications for Teacher Education

Oct 15, 2026

The study examines Spanish teachers’ beliefs about their teacher preparation, proficiency, and classroom and beyond-classroom practices in 20 of the largest school districts across Alabama and Mississippi. Survey findings reveal a disparity between teacher beliefs and actual classroom practice. The discussion connects these results to the ACTFL/NCATE Program Standards for the Preparation of Foreign Language Teachers (2002), highlights the need for empirical research support, and outlines implications for teacher education programs and professional development.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages14

Reading Time35 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Purpose of the Study

Literature Review

Pedagogical Knowledge

Content Knowledge

9 A Snapshot of their Beliefs and Practices: Perspectives of Mississippi and Alabama Spanish Teachers Kelly Moser Mississippi State University Jennifer Weir University of Southern Mississippi Krista Chambless University of Alabama at Birmingham Abstract As a result of the ACTFL/NCATE Program Standards for the Preparation of Foreign Language Teachers (2002) much progress has been made with regard to identifying what teachers should know and be able to do. A survey of secondary Spanish teachers in the 20 largest school districts in Alabama and Mississippi investigated teacher beliefs about their teacher preparation, proficiency, and practices within and beyond the classroom context. Results of the survey indicate a disparity between teacher beliefs and classroom practice. The results as well as implications for teacher education programs and professional development are discussed. The paradigm shift that has occurred in foreign language teaching over the last 30 years reflects the increasing demand for students to participate in a global society. The move to communicative language teaching, as opposed to grammarbased language teaching, has brought with it many challenges. One of these challenges is how to prepare teachers to use communicative methodologies. Thus, in the past decade, the foreign language profession has worked to develop standards for foreign language teachers. The American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) in conjunction with the National Council of the Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) developed the ACTFL/NCATE Program Standards for the Preparation of Foreign Language Teachers (2002) . These standards provide a framework for what beginning language teachers should know and be able to do atthe end of their teacher preparation program. The standards are used to determine whether teacher education programs merit recognition at the national level. 122 Dimension 2013 A concern regarding the standards is that they were developed through consensus of experts in the field rather than on empirical research. Recognizing the need for more empirical data to support what experts believe to be good language teaching, ACTFL launched a research priorities initiative to identify the key areas in which research is currently needed in foreign language instruction and learning to inform and improve classroom practice; attract researchers to conduct research in these key areas; and sponsor this research through funding, publication, and dissemination of research results to the field and other stakeholders. (ACTFL, 2011, n.p.) One area identified by this initiative is the need for model foreign language teacher preparation programs. Huhn (2012) provided a comprehensive overview on this topic calling for “longitudinal studies that empirically illustrate the performance of teachers who have completed an NCATE Nationally Recognized teacher education program”(p. S177) . However, before these types of studies can be undertaken, it is important to examine the current programs in each state as well as the current beliefs and practices of foreign language teachers. The purpose of this study is to examine teacher beliefs about their teacher preparation, proficiency, and practices within and beyond the classroom context in Alabama and Mississippi. First, a review of current literature will be presented followed by the research study data. A discussion of the results and implications for the future of foreign language education follow. Literature Review Pedagogical Knowledge The Program Standards for the Preparation of Foreign Language Teachers (ACTFL, 2002) are rooted in the profession’s student standards. These same standards consist of six content standards which underscore the knowledge of language, literature, culture, and linguistics. Given this framework, the preparation of foreign language teacher candidates is no longer viewed as the sole responsibility of faculty in edu

FAQs

What is the main purpose of the study?

To examine Spanish teachers’ beliefs about their teacher preparation, proficiency, and practices within and beyond the classroom context in Alabama and Mississippi.

What research approach and data source does the study use?

A survey of secondary Spanish teachers in 20 of the largest school districts in Alabama and Mississippi is used to investigate teacher beliefs and related practices.

What key finding emerges from the survey results?

The results indicate a disparity between what teachers believe and what they do in classroom practice.

Oct 15, 2026

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