Professional Development and the Performance of Teachers of English as a Foreign Language in Taiwanese Cram Schools: A Study Based on the Self-Efficacy Model

Abstract

The world is becoming a “global village”, where regarding the cultural differences we still need to communicate among each other. Finding a common language to communicate is vital, therefore more and more people are learning English, which is considered one of the main global languages. In non-English speaking regions such as Asia efforts are done in order to motivate their citizens in the acquisition of this language, specifically in Taiwan R.O.C. In Taiwan, more EFL Teachers are needed in order to fulfill the demand of the people interested in to learn the language. Cram schools in Taiwan are encouraged to foster professional development experiences to their staff and moreover including self-efficacy within these experiences. Professional development for teachers includes: formal learning and informal learning. Basing professional development on the self-efficacy theory (Bandura, 1977) provides great insights for educators, because permits them to find the sources to boost their confidence, enhance their instructional practices and commit to the organization where they work. In this qualitative research 24 EFL teachers who work in cram schools in Taiwan were interviewed, transcripts of the interview and coding was done to learn more about the experiences in professional development and self-efficacy for teachers in Taiwan. In the construction of professional development including self-efficacy sources: work experience and feedback from superiors and students, were main findings in this research.

The world is becoming a “global village”, where regarding the cultural differences we still need to communicate among each other. Finding a common language to communicate is vital, therefore more and more people are learning English, which is considered one of the main global languages. In non-English speaking regions such as Asia efforts are done in order to motivate their citizens in the acquisition of this language, specifically in Taiwan R.O.C. In Taiwan, more EFL Teachers are needed in order to fulfill the demand of the people interested in to learn the language. Cram schools in Taiwan are encouraged to foster professional development experiences to their staff and moreover including self-efficacy within these experiences. Professional development for teachers includes: formal learning and informal learning. Basing professional development on the self-efficacy theory (Bandura, 1977) provides great insights for educators, because permits them to find the sources to boost their confidence, enhance their instructional practices and commit to the organization where they work. In this qualitative research 24 EFL teachers who work in cram schools in Taiwan were interviewed, transcripts of the interview and coding was done to learn more about the experiences in professional development and self-efficacy for teachers in Taiwan. In the construction of professional development including self-efficacy sources: work experience and feedback from superiors and students, were main findings in this research.