teachers’ beliefs on the use of authentic materials in teaching speaking at high schools in ho chi minh city

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING
HO CHI MINH CITY OPEN UNIVERSITY
______________________________

TEACHERS’ BELIEFS ON THE USE OF AUTHENTIC MATERIALS
IN TEACHING SPEAKING AT HIGH SCHOOLS IN HO CHI MINH CITY

A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree of Master of Arts in TESOL

Submitted by: DOAN THI NIEM
Supervisor: Dr. NGUYEN DINH THU

Ho Chi Minh City, October 2018



MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING
HO CHI MINH CITY OPEN UNIVERSITY
______________________________

TEACHERS’ BELIEFS ON THE USE OF AUTHENTIC MATERIALS
IN TEACHING SPEAKING AT HIGH SCHOOLS IN HO CHI MINH CITY

A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree of Master of Arts in TESOL

Major: Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL)
Code: 60 14 01 11

Submitted by: DOAN THI NIEM

Supervisor: Dr. NGUYEN DINH THU

Ho Chi Minh City, October 2018


STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP
I hereby declare that I am the sole author of this master thesis entitled “Teachers‟ beliefs
on the use of Authentic Materials in teaching speaking at high school in Ho Chi Minh
City”, and that I have not used any sources other than those listed in the references. I
further declare that I have not submitted this thesis at any other institution in order to
obtain other degree.

Ho Chi Minh City, 01 August 2018

___________________________

i


ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
First of all, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to all those who gave me the
possibility to complete my research. I would like to thank my supervisor Nguyen Dinh
Thu Ph.D. for his patience, enthusiasm, motivation, and unstinting support of my
research. His encouragement, constant guidance and creative criticism helped me in all
time of research and writing of this thesis. This research could not be done without his
continuing support, and I am so glad to have him as my supervisor in doing this research.
Besides my supervisor, I thank my TESOL classmates for their encouragements and
valuable suggestions in commenting on my first draft of questionnaire and interview
questions. I appreciate their helps and the great time we worked together.
Lastly of all, I would like to thank my family for their love, continuing supports and

confidence in my efforts. Special thanks to my devoted husband who supported my
decision to attend the MA TESOL course at Ho Chi Minh City Open University and
always be with me whenever I need, and my lovely little daughter, who always waited
patiently for me to return home and play with her.

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ABSTRACT
Speaking is regarded as the most important skill that needs to be acquired by
students in learning English for communication. In reality, to that end, however, many
students experience difficulties in using English to communicate. Those difficulties
appear because students lack topical knowledge and vocabulary. Therefore, using
authentic materials (AMs) in teaching speaking is an appropriate way since it relates
directly to the real world. The research will examine the congruence between teachers‟
beliefs on the use of AMs in teaching speaking, and their classroom practice.
The population for this research is English teachers in Ho Chi Minh City and the
sample is 66 English teachers at seven high schools. This research adopts a quantitative
research using descriptive analysis with cross-sectional design. Quantitative data,
collected from copies of questionnaire, are analyzed by SPSS software version 20.0 and
supplemented with one-to-one interviews.
The results showed that most teachers approved the effects of the use of AMs in
teaching speaking; however, almost all the high school teachers did not frequently
exploited that kinds of materials in their speaking classes. This incongruousness is
stemmed from some factors such as time, students‟ knowledge and English level, fixed
curriculum, as well as the diversity and complexity of authentic materials.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP................................................................................... i
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .............................................................................................. ii
ABSTRACT ...................................................................................................................... iii
TABLE OF CONTENTS ................................................................................................. iv
LIST OF CHARTS AND FIGURES ............................................................................ viii
LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................ ix
LIST OF ABBREVIATION ............................................................................................. x
CHAPTER 1 ....................................................................................................................... 1
1.1.

Background to the Study ........................................................................................ 1

1.2.

Rationale for the Study .......................................................................................... 4

1.3.

Research Questions ................................................................................................ 5

1.4.

Significance of the Study ....................................................................................... 6

1.5.

Overview of the Study ........................................................................................... 6

CHAPTER 2 ....................................................................................................................... 8

2.1. Teachers‟ Beliefs ....................................................................................................... 8
2.1.1. Definition of Teachers‟ Beliefs .......................................................................... 9
2.1.2. Category of Teacher Beliefs ............................................................................. 10
2.1.3 Relationship between Teachers‟ Beliefs and Practices ..................................... 11
2.2. Authentic Materials ................................................................................................. 12
2.2.1. Definition of Authentic Materials..................................................................... 12
2.2.3. Advantages and Disadvantages of Using Authentic Materials in the Classroom
.................................................................................................................................... 13
2.2.4. Criteria for Choosing Authentic Speaking Materials ....................................... 15
2.3. Speaking .................................................................................................................. 16
2.3.1. Definition of Speaking ...................................................................................... 16
2.3.2. Components of Speaking .................................................................................. 17
2.3.3. The Importance of Speaking............................................................................. 17
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2.3.4. Methods of Teaching Speaking ........................................................................ 18
2.3.4.1 The Grammar-Translation method (GTM) ................................................. 18
2.3.4.2 The Audio-Lingual Method (ALM) ............................................................ 19
2.3.4.3 Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) ............................................... 19
2.4. Descriptions of English Textbooks Used at Vietnamese High Schools ................. 21
2.5. Studies on the Use of AMs in the Teaching of English Language ......................... 24
2.6. Research Gap........................................................................................................... 28
2.7. Summary………………………………………………………………………… 29
CHAPTER 3 ..................................................................................................................... 30
3.1. Research Design and Research Process .................................................................. 30
3.1.1. Research Design ............................................................................................... 30
3.1.2. Research Process .............................................................................................. 32
3.2. Research Site and Participants ................................................................................ 33
3.2.1. Research Site .................................................................................................... 33

3.2.2. Participants ....................................................................................................... 34
3.3. Research Instruments .............................................................................................. 35
3.3.1. Questionnaire .................................................................................................... 35
3.3.1.1. Rationale for the Questionnaire .................................................................. 35
3.3.1.2. Description of the questionnaire ................................................................ 36
3.3.2. Interview ........................................................................................................... 38
3.3.2.1. Rationale for the Interview ......................................................................... 38
3.3.2.2. Description of the Interview ....................................................................... 38
3.4. Data collection procedure ....................................................................................... 39
3.4.1. Administering the questionnaire ....................................................................... 39
3.4.2. Conducting the Interview ................................................................................. 40
3.5. Date Analysis Procedure ......................................................................................... 40
3.5.1. Quantitative Analysis for Questionnaire .......................................................... 40
3.5.2. Qualitative Analysis for Interview ................................................................... 40
3.6 Summary………………………………………………………………………….. 40
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CHAPTER 4 ..................................................................................................................... 41
4.1. Data Analysis .......................................................................................................... 41
4.1.1. Analysis of the Questionnaire........................................................................... 41
4.1.1.1. Reliability of the Questionnaire ................................................................. 41
4.1.1.2. Teachers‟ Beliefs ........................................................................................ 42
4.1.1.2.1. The Role of Authentic Materials in Teaching Speaking...................... 42
4.1.1.2.2. The Contrast between the Local English Textbooks and Authentic
Materials............................................................................................................... 43
4.1.1.2.3. The Effects of Using Authentic Materials in Teaching Speaking ....... 45
4.1.1.2.4. The Selection of Authentic Materials in Teaching Speaking .............. 46
4.1.1.3. Teachers‟ Practices ..................................................................................... 49
4.1.1.3.1. Teaching Approach of Speaking Skill ................................................. 49

4.1.1.3.2. The Frequency of Using the Authentic Materials in Teaching Speaking
.............................................................................................................................. 51
4.1.1.3.3. The Types and Sources of the Most Used Authentic Materials .......... 52
4.1.1.3.4. The Hindrances on Using the Authentic Materials in Teaching
Speaking ............................................................................................................... 54
4.1.2. Analysis of the Interview .................................................................................. 55
4.1.2.1. The Teachers‟ Beliefs about the Effects of Using Authentic Materials in
Speaking Classes at the High School Context (Interview Question 3) ................... 55
4.1.2.2. The Teachers‟ Beliefs about the Roles of Authentic Materials in Speaking
Classes at the High School Context (Interview Questions 2, 4) ............................. 58
4.1.2.3. The Teachers‟ Perceptions about the Challenges of Using Authentic
Materials in Speaking Classes at the High School Context (Interview Question 5)
................................................................................................................................. 59
4.1.2.4. The Teachers‟ Beliefs about Selecting Authentic Materials for Their
Effective Teaching of Speaking Skill (Interview Question 6) ................................ 60
4.1.2.5. The Teachers‟ Actual Practices of Using Authentic Materials in Teaching
Speaking at the High School Context (Interview Questions 1, 7, and 8)................ 62

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4.1.2.6. The Teachers‟ Revelation of The Factors Impacting the Relationship
between Their Beliefs and Actual Practices of Using Authentic Materials in
Speaking Classes (Interview Question 9) ................................................................ 65
4.2. Discussion of Findings ............................................................................................ 67
4.2.1. Research Question 1 ......................................................................................... 67
4.2.2. Research Question 2 ......................................................................................... 70
4.2.3. Research Question 3 ......................................................................................... 71
4.3 Summary…………………………………………………………...................…... 72
CHAPTER 5 ..................................................................................................................... 73

5.2. Strengths and Weaknesses of the Methodology ..................................................... 74
5.2.1. Strengths ........................................................................................................... 74
5.2.2. Weaknesses ....................................................................................................... 75
5.3. Implications ............................................................................................................. 75
5.4. Suggestions for further research .............................................................................. 77
5.5. Summary ................................................................................................................. 78
REFERENCES ................................................................................................................ 79
APPENDIX A ................................................................................................................... 92
APPENDIX B ................................................................................................................... 97
APPENDIX C ................................................................................................................... 98

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LIST OF CHARTS AND FIGURES
Chart 4.1 a: The Use Frequency of Grammar-Translation Method .................................. 49
Chart 4.1 b: The Use Frequency of Audio-Lingual Method ............................................. 50
Chart 4.1 c: The Frequency of Employing Communicative Language Teaching ............. 50
Chart 4. 2: The Use Frequency of the Authentic Materials in Teaching Speaking ........... 51
Chart 4. 3: The Types of the Frequently Used Authentic Materials ................................. 52
Chart 4. 4: The Sources of the Obtained Authentic Materials .......................................... 53
Chart 4. 5: The Hindrances on Using Authentic Materials ............................................... 54
Figure 3. 1: Research Process ............................................................................................ 32

viii


LIST OF TABLES
Table 2. 1 : The MOET‟s Objectives for Speaking Skill .................................................. 21
Table 2. 2: Types of Speaking Activities in the Speaking Section ................................... 22

Table 3. 1: Types of Research Designs ............................................................................. 30
Table 3. 2: Research Site ................................................................................................... 33
Table 3. 3: The Demographic Variables of Participants ................................................... 34
Table 3. 4: Research Instruments ...................................................................................... 35
Table 3. 5: Description of the Questionnaire..................................................................... 36
Table 3. 6: Description of the Questionnaire (part B: Teachers‟ Beliefs) ......................... 37
Table 3. 7: Description of the Questionnaire (Part C: Teachers‟ Practices) ..................... 37
Table 4. 1: Reliability Analysis of Teacher Questionnaire (Cronbach‟s Alpha) .............. 41
Table 4. 2: Teachers‟ Beliefs about the Role of Authentic Materials in Teaching Speaking
........................................................................................................................................... 42
Table 4. 3: Teachers‟ Beliefs about the Contrast between the Local English Textbooks
and Authentic Materials..................................................................................................... 44
Table 4. 4: Teachers‟ Beliefs about the Effects of Using Authentic Materials in Teaching
Speaking ............................................................................................................................ 45
Table 4. 5: Teachers‟ Beliefs about the Challenges in Selection of Authentic Materials for
Teaching Speaking ............................................................................................................ 47

ix


LIST OF ABBREVIATION
AMs

: Authentic Materials

GTM

: Grammar-Translation Method

ALM

: Audio-Lingual Method

CLT

: Communicative Language Teaching

x


CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
1.1.

Background to the Study
In English language teaching and learning, there are four language skills that we

need for communication, listening, speaking, reading and writing. And the second one,
speaking, is generally considered to be the most important skill. Since English has
become the major means of communication of many people all over the world, its
importance does not only lie in written form but in how it is used in daily life (Lathifah,
2015). It is supported by Bailey and Savage (1994), who view speaking in a second or
foreign language as the most demanding of the four skills and “a formidable task for
language learners” (p. 84). Ur (1999), in her book titled “A course in language teaching”,
also indicates:
Of all the four skills (listening, speaking, reading and writing), speaking seems intuitively
the most important: people who know a language are referred to as “speakers” of that
language, as if speaking included all other kinds of knowing; and many if not most foreign
languages learners are primarily interested in learning to speak (p. 120).

These authors here emphasize not only the importance of speaking but also the
vast of knowledge that the speaking process requires. Speaking is a complicated process;
requires the integration of many subsystems due to “the fact that speakers not only have
to interpret the message that other speakers try to express, but also take into account other
possibilities” (Bailey & Savage, 1994, p. 6-7). Moreover, speaking is not only saying
words and sentences but requiring cultural background knowledge of the target language
(McKay, 2009). Undoubtedly, “speaking is one of the most difficult skills language
learners have to face” (Bueno, Madrid & McLaren, 2006, p. 321) and mastering English
speaking has never been an easy job for the students (Ariyanti, 2016), as a result many

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language learners find difficulties when they have to speak in the target language
(Nguyen & Tran, 2015).
In helping learners develop their speaking which is deemed such a sophisticated
skill, it is evident that using authentic materials (AMs) may benefit students‟ speaking
skill in terms of performance and proficiency and present them with opportunities to use
their own knowledge and abilities at any stage (Merchi, 2013). In addition to, AMs
manifest a significant influence on students‟ motivation and their speaking achievement
(Rocha, 2005). The history of using AMs in language teaching comes from the
communicative language teaching (CLT) movement of the 1970s because CLT advocates
for the importance of communicative competence over the production of correct
grammatical forms and “places importance in providing learners with opportunities to
practice language in meaningful, authentic setting” (Mustapha & Yahya, 2013, p. 791).
And, especially, nowadays the Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) approach has
been widely utilized in English language teaching as Second Language (ESL) classrooms
around the world (Thamarana, 2015) and has grown increasingly popular in language
classrooms, the use of AMs in teaching speaking has received paramount consideration
of teachers. The communicative classrooms make use of AMs. Khaniya (2006) states: “in

the course of the decade, the use of AMs has become increasingly popular in learning
situations ranging from traditional intensive ESL to language training for professionals”
(p. 17). And using AMs is considered as the main way to make an authentic context for
learners to develop their communicative competence (Ahmed, 2017). It is inferred that
AMs play an important role in teaching a second language, especially when teachers use
CLT in the teaching process.
Beyond materials, teachers themselves also play an important role in teaching
speaking. Liu (2013) considers teachers as “organizers” and “implementers” in oral
English classes. He emphasizes that they have a great impact on the quality and effect of
the classes. Agreeing with this view, Sikder (2016) concludes teachers have a very
important role in teaching speaking communicatively. In other words, what teachers
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teach may exert obvious effects on their students‟ speaking performance. As teachers
take such a critical role, their beliefs have been an interesting topic for researcher since
they are considered as the foundation of teachers‟ teaching strategies (Pajares, 1992).
This may originate from the view that teachers‟ beliefs will exert a strong impact on
forming vivid teaching methods and benefit learners‟ language capacities (Gilakjani &
Sabouri, 2017). Therefore, it is essential to strengthen the research on their beliefs as
Richards et al. (2001) suppose that “in order to understand how teachers approach their
work, it is necessary to understand the beliefs and principles they operate from” (p.1).
Not only teachers‟ beliefs about speaking and teaching speaking are important, but
relationships between these beliefs and their actual classroom practice of speaking
teaching need exploring because the inconsistency between teaching beliefs and actual
teaching practices in the classroom is an evidence of teacher confusion (Mustapha &
Yahya, 2013). Mansour (2013), through data in his case study of science teachers‟ beliefs
and practice, concludes there are some consistency and also some inconsistency between
teachers‟ beliefs and their actual practices. Indeed, the relationship between teachers‟
beliefs and their in-reality practice has been open to debate up to now. While many

teachers around the world have cited CLT as the source of their methodology and
realized the importance of AMs in their teaching, their actual practice is different. Parrish
(2004) views that “although teachers throughout the world would describe their approach
to teaching as CLT, you could walk into classes that look very different in terms of
activities, materials, and interactions” (p. 31). This incongruity is also mentioned by
Karavas-Doukas (1996), “teachers profess to be following a communicative approach, in
practice they are following more traditional approaches” (p. 187). In addition, previous
studies have suggested that teachers‟ beliefs in teaching speaking skills in the English
language classrooms are seldom put into practice (Spawa, et al., 2013). So, studying
teachers‟ beliefs is particularly important in the mainstream of the teaching and learning a
foreign language, particularly regarding the use of AMs in teaching speaking because it
could not be expected that a teacher who has been taught Communicative Language
3


Teaching (CLT) through Grammar Translation Method (GTM) teaches communicatively
(Tamimy, 2015). From the researcher‟s viewpoints, maybe there are some reasons which
make teachers‟ practices different from their beliefs.
1.2.

Rationale for the Study
English is now widely known as the major language for international

communication, commerce and business, science and technology, and many others.
Being able to speak English well and fluently is not an additional thing; it has become a
need for everyone in this globalization era. In Vietnam, although English has been widely
taught for a long time, the actual ability to speak English of many Vietnamese students
from secondary to tertiary levels is still far from satisfactory expectation. They are not
confident with their English and face with many difficulties in speaking English (Bui,
2009; Luu, 2008; Nguyen, 2010). Thus, the issues of how to develop speaking skills for

Vietnamese students have attracted an increasing attention of researchers over the years.
One suggestion is to use AMs because they are original, interesting, motivating and
useful (Peacock, 1997). AMs can keep students informed about new things and bring the
real world into the classroom; as a result, they motivate students and help them develop
their speaking skill (Guariento & Morely, 2001). Besides, using AMs helps teachers
create new exciting and effective activities which can increase students‟ interest, and
expectedly, they will be able to learn speaking better (Peacock, 1997). In the other way,
the use of AMs in teaching speaking can help teachers improve their students speaking
skills as well as preparing them for real-life situations. Despite this fact, in many high
schools in Vietnam, the use of this type of materials has not received full attention when
both teachers and learners only rely on the certain teaching materials given by the
Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) with the aim of getting as high scores as
possible in the exams. Although textbooks have taken on much more authentic look,
“many tasks are poorly designed and many language forms are taught and practiced out
of context” (Nguyen-Minh, 2015, p. 22). In addition, “many of their speaking activities
are found non-communicative, failing to elicit negotiation of meaning and presenting
4


unrealistic and unnatural discourse” (Nguyen-Minh, 2015, p. 57). However, no study has
been conducted with the aim of eliciting teachers‟ beliefs toward using authentic
materials in their speaking classes. Because of the importance of the teachers‟ beliefs in
providing authentic input in teaching speaking, the present study attempts to address this
issue. Thus there is a need to use AMs in teaching speaking English in Vietnam. This fact
encourages the author to conduct a study on Vietnamese high school teachers‟ beliefs in
and perceptions about the use of AMs in teaching speaking, the frequency of using AMs
in speaking classes, as well as the congruence between what they believe and what they
actually do in speaking instruction.
In sum, the purpose of the study is to work out the answer to the question of what
beliefs the selected high school teachers in Ho Chi Minh City hold about the use of AMs

in teaching speaking. Besides, the study aims to explore the frequency of teachers in
using AMS when conducting their actual speaking class. Finally, the survey pursues to
investigate whether there are any congruencies between teachers‟ beliefs and their
practice in teaching speaking their high school students, and then some impacting factors
on this interplay are consequently sought.
1.3.

Research Questions
To achieve the above aims, the researcher addressed three following research

questions:
Research question 1: What beliefs do high school teachers hold about the use of
authentic materials in teaching speaking?
Research question 2: How often and what kind of authentic materials do they use?
Research question 3: What is the relationship between teachers‟ beliefs and their actual
use of authentic materials in teaching speaking? What factors affect the teachers‟ use of
authentic materials in teaching speaking at high schools?

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1.4.

Significance of the Study
This study can be practically significant in a number of ways. First, as discussed

early, speaking deems to be nearly the most important and difficult in language
acquisition at any degree and teachers serve a decisive role in making its teaching and
learning process effectively, so uncovering the high school teachers‟ beliefs and their
classroom practices plays a vital role in helping them design appropriate speaking

activities that suit students‟ needs and interests, modify their current teaching behaviors
in speaking classes so that the teachers may increase students‟ stable achievement in
speaking skill. Second, the study helps raise students‟ awareness of the value of AMs in
their English learning. As a consequence, they can become more active in finding and
using AMs in their own learning process. Next, this study provides insights into how
local high school English teachers perceive the use of AMs in teaching speaking. This
may give useful data to curriculum writers and policymakers as well as schools when
considering changes concerning the use of AMs in teaching. Moreover, the results of this
study help them have a better understanding on the actual speaking teaching and learning
process at high school level so that they can produce more quality materials and adjust
the teaching and learning plans in an attempt to increase the efficiency of teaching and
learning speaking as Mansour (2013) suggests:
[…] When we plan a teacher professional development program, this should be developed
based on an in-depth understanding of the aspects of consistency and inconsistency
between teachers‟ beliefs and practices. This will help contextualize and personalize the
teacher training activities to meet the teachers‟ needs but will also consider the institutional
contexts that the teachers are working in (p. 45).

1.5.

Overview of the Study
Chapter One, Introduction, presents the general interest of the study, the research

questions, and the significances of the study.

6


Chapter Two, Literature Review, provides a review of the theoretical background
relating to the areas of interest to the study. It looks at the general background related to

teachers‟ beliefs, authentic materials (AMs), and speaking skill. Most importantly, the
chapter also summarizes some related empirical studies which previously conducted on
the use of AMs in the teaching of English language in general, and in speaking, in
particular.
Chapter Three, Methodology, presents the design and method employed in this
study. In specific, this chapter will present the research site and population, research
instruments, data collection, and data analysis.
Chapter Four, Data Analysis and Finding Discussion, provides the detailed
analysis of data collected and discussions of the results.
Chapter Five, Conclusion, summarizes the main results of the study. Besides that,
the chapter reveals the strengths and limitations of the study as well as produces some
recommendations for the use of AMs in teaching speaking. Lastly, suggestions for further
research are offered.

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CHAPTER 2
LITERATURE REVIEW
Chapter 2 is to present the theoretical background used to underpin this study.
There are five main parts in this chapter. The first part (2.1) reviews the general theory of
teachers‟ beliefs, including definitions, category and the relationship between teachers‟
beliefs and their practices. The second part (2.2) focuses on AMs, which provides the
definitions and types of AMs, advantages, and disadvantages of using AMs, and criteria
for choosing AMs. The third part (2.3) summarizes the general background related to
definitions, components, and the importance of speaking, also including some highlights
of methods of teaching speaking. The next part (2.4) gives the descriptions of English
textbooks used at Vietnamese high schools. The part (2.5) reviews some related empirical
studies which have examined the use of AMs in the English language teaching and
learning in general and speaking in particular. Based on what have already been done

with regard to the study‟s field, the researcher draws out the research gap (2.6) which will
be solved in the study.
2.1. Teachers’ Beliefs
Teachers have their own beliefs towards their work, their students, their subject
matters and their roles in the teaching and learning process, therefore it is the topic that
has received an intense attention of researchers over the past many years (Larenas, et al.,
2015; Asgari, 2015; Floris, 2013; Xu, 2012; Chiu, 2008) and numerous definitions of
teacher belief have been also given. In this part, the researcher expounds this term clearer
by its definition, category, and its relationship with teachers‟ classroom practices.

8


2.1.1. Definition of Teachers’ Beliefs
Before examining teachers‟ beliefs, it is worth determining the meanings of this
term. In the existing literature, teachers‟ beliefs have been defined by many researchers
(Five & Buehl, 2016; Yang, Chao & Huang, 2014; Pehkonen & Pietilä, 2003; Borg,
2001; Pajares, 1992); however, what is exactly mean by the term “belief” is still vague
(Yang, et al., 2014).
According to Borg (2001), teachers‟ beliefs are “teachers‟ pedagogic beliefs, or
those beliefs of relevance to an individual‟s teaching” (p. 187). With a comprehensive
review of studies in teacher cognition, Borg (2003) in the article titled “Teacher cognition
in language teaching: A review of research on what teachers think, know, believe, and
do” uses another terms, teacher cognition, to refer to “the unobservable cognitive
dimension of teaching” such as beliefs, knowledge, attitudes, etc. (Borg, 2003, p. 81).
Borg regarded teachers‟ beliefs as a component of teacher cognition - a pivotal concept
shaping teachers‟ practices. In the book titled “Teacher Cognition and Language
Education, Research and Practice” published in 2006, he emphasizes that these beliefs
have influences on teaching “it had provided evidence of the ways in which teacher‟s
beliefs and knowledge influence what teachers do in the classroom” (p. 43). Similarly,

Zheng (2009) mentions teachers‟ beliefs as “the complexity of teachers‟ mental lives
underlying their practices” (p. 74). Also, Mansour (2009) states that “belief is used to
characterize a teacher‟s idiosyncratic unity of thought about objects, people, and events,
and their characteristic relationship that affect his/her planning and interactive thoughts
and decisions” (p. 26). In the same vein, Yang, et al. (2014) state that “teacher beliefs are
referred to as a teachers‟ knowledge system with respect to language teaching and
learning and a network that teacher would tap into when it comes to decision making
instructions.” (p. 104). Beside explaining the meaning of teachers‟ beliefs, these
definitions also reflect the relationship between teachers‟ beliefs and classroom practices
succinctly which is similar in meaning to the conclusion of Five and Buehl (2016)
“teachers‟ enacted curriculum, the decisions they make during planning, instruction, and
9


assessment activities, reflects their underlying beliefs about the nature of learning,
knowledge, and students‟ abilities” (pp. 118-119). To sum up, teachers‟ belief are
referred to as a cognitive means that serves as guides to teacher‟s thought and practice.
Hence, understanding teachers‟ beliefs is useful in the development and implementation
of new programs and effective education (Richardson et al., 2012).
In light of the above-mentioned definitions, in this study, the researcher defines
teachers‟ beliefs in a similar manner to Borg (2001) and Yang, et al., (2014). The
respondents‟ opinions about AMs and the use of this type of materials in relation to their
practices are considered as teachers‟ beliefs. In other words, what the participants in the
study thought about the questionnaire and said in the interview is regarded as their
beliefs.
2.1.2. Category of Teacher Beliefs
Teacher beliefs have been categorized into various types by researchers.
Calderhead (1996) introduces five main categories of teacher beliefs: beliefs about
learners and learning; about teaching; about the subject; about learning to teach; about
self and the nature of teaching. Zheng (2009) also specifies five main areas in teacher

beliefs, namely beliefs about learners and learning; about language teaching; about
subject matter; about self and about professional development. In a more academic
fashion, Bellalem (2015) proposes three main categories: personal beliefs; beliefs about
teaching, learning and curriculum and epistemological beliefs that is about learning and
teaching. In this study, among various types of teacher beliefs, the researcher grasps the
two most common ones of teacher beliefs to investigate, respectively beliefs about the
subject matter and beliefs about teaching. Dirkx et al. (1999) conclude that “teachers hold
beliefs about the nature of the subjects they teach, ways to most effectively teach these
subjects, and the variety of curricular materials available to them within their subjects and
to their students within other subjects” (p. 2). However, “teachers can have limited to
very eclectic views of their subject and that in some cases their ideas about subjects vary
10


from one context to another” (Calderhead, 1996, p. 67, in Wu, 2006), so to explore
teacher‟s beliefs on the use of AMs in teaching speaking, it is important to discover their
views about the subject matter. Besides, teachers‟ thoughts and judgments guide their
teaching practice in classes (Le, 2009). It is essential to explore teachers‟ beliefs about
their own language teaching. Moreover, teachers‟ beliefs about the subject matter have
influences on their beliefs about the teaching of this subject. As what is noted in Wu
(2006), Grossman (1991) finds that teachers‟ instructional judgments and decisions are
influenced by their beliefs about the subject matter. Thus, teachers‟ beliefs about the
subjects matter and language teaching need studying more. And based upon these types
of beliefs, the researcher develops the content and layout of the questionnaires more
systematically to explore teachers‟ beliefs on the use of AMs in teaching speaking.
2.1.3 Relationship between Teachers’ Beliefs and Practices
As mentioned early, there has been considerable research into the complex
relationship between teachers‟ beliefs and classroom practices (Buehl, 2016; Buehl &
Beck, 2015; Zheng, 2009; Mansour, 2009; Davis, 2003; Richardson, et al., 1996;
Calderhead, 1996; Pajares, 1992). In these scholars‟ view, teachers‟ beliefs and their

classroom practices interact and influence one another (Rios, 1996; Zheng, 2009). For
some others, teachers‟ belief plays a significant role in shaping their pedagogical
behaviors in the classroom. Davis (2003) states that “beliefs do affect behaviour” and
“given the significant role that beliefs can play in determining behaviour, beliefs relating
to language learning are important” (p. 207). A similar conclusion, found by Borg (2001)
and Xu (2012), concluded that beliefs help teachers shape their planning, curricular
decisions, and determining what should be taught in the classroom. More recently,
Larenas, et al., (2015) consider teachers‟ beliefs as a means of the interpretative
framework which guides teachers‟ practice and behaviors in their classrooms. Seemingly,
teachers‟ classroom practice is strongly influenced by their beliefs; however, these beliefs
are not always fully reflected in their practice (Karavas-Doukas, 1996; Parrish, 2004;
Tayjasanant, 2010, Mandasari, 2015, and Fives & Buehl, 2016). There must be some
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reasons for why this inconsistency happens, and no other one, it is teachers who plan the
lessons know in detail the content of it. To understand what teachers do in their
classrooms we need to gain insight into the beliefs that shape their work.
2.2. Authentic Materials
In this part, the researcher reviews the relevant literature related to authentic
materials, consisting of definition, types, advantages and disadvantage of using AMs in
teaching speaking in the literature as well as criteria for choosing AMs.
2.2.1. Definition of Authentic Materials
In the existing literature, AMs are defined in slightly different ways by different
researchers, but their definitions mostly follow the same direction. According to Peacock
(1997), AMs are materials which can accomplish some social purposes of the
community. Nunan (1999) defines AMs as “spoken or written materials, which are not
intended for use in teaching” (p. 172). Similarly, Carter and Nunan (2001) define AMs as
“ordinary texts not produced specifically for language teaching purposes” (p. 68). In the
same vein, Martinez (2002) defines AMs as the materials which are written for native

speakers and not designed to be used for teaching purposes. The common point among
the scholars is that AMs appear to serve human communication and not for language
educational aims. Therefore, the language used in these materials is real-life language, so
they add a burden on teachers to select, edit and prepare, so teachers hesitate to use them
in teaching. In this current paper, as for the researcher, AMs could be defined as materials
that are produced by a real speaker or writer for real-life aims and designed without
teaching purposes.
2.2.2. Types of Authentic Materials
There have been many ways to categorize AMs. According to Genhard (1996),
AMs are classified into three main categories.

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