Bilingualism in the Classroom: Exploring Teachers' Beliefs, Attitudes, and Practices

Abstract

This research attempts to study the beliefs, attitudes, and practices of teachers in a Turkish classroom regarding bilingualism, and it tries to understand how those same attitudes and practices may assist or, on the other hand, block the way toward the implementation of effective educational bilingual programs. Given this strong growth in the number of bilingual-background students, teachers need clear orientation regarding the character and specifics of their place in the establishment of a supportive environment for bilingualism. Qualitative design—a set of semi-structured interviews of proficient teachers of bilingual students—comprises a methodological approach that was used in this study. The backgrounds of teachers and their experiences are found to strongly influence the attitudes of teachers towards bilingualism, which in turn has an influence over their practices in the classroom. Bilingual teachers or teachers having experience with bilingual students hold pro-attitudinal views toward bilingualism, and in relation to that, they also tend to implement programs on bilingual education. On the other hand, educators with fewer linguistic skills or those who have monocultural attitudes will more often manifest negative attitudes and hence may be the ones that influence the adoption of such programs in a negative way. These results argue in favour of positive attitudes toward bilingualism being fostered through focused professional development of teachers and supported by policies that will allow an inclusive and supportive environment for students participating in a bilingual program.