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Exploring Foreign Language Pre-service Teacher Beliefs:  
An International Exchange Experience 

 
Laura Levi Altstaedter 

 
East Carolina University, USA 

 
Marina Falasca 

 
Universidad Tecnológica Nacional, Argentina 

 
Abstract 

 
This article explores the beliefs of two groups of students who teach and 
learn foreign languages at two major universities in Argentina and the USA. 
Specifically, it discusses how their prior beliefs and experiences shaped 
their teaching selves, and assesses the extent to which an international 
exchange experience about perceptions of foreign language teaching 
impacted their current beliefs. It is our contention that beliefs are “deeply 
personal and rooted in the culture and norms held by individuals and 
society” (Tatto & Coupland, 2003). However, this study has shown that pre-
service teacher beliefs were fairly similar across languages and cultures. 
The article concludes with a set of practical implications for teacher 
education programs. 

 
Introduction 

 
There are multiple factors affecting the education of current and prospective foreign 
language teachers (Bailey, 1996; Borg, 2003; Freeman & Johnson, 1998; Huhn, 2012; 
Richards, 1998; Roca de Larios, 2002; Watzke, 2007), including their cognition and 
beliefs. These, in turn, are influenced by both past and present educational experiences. 
According to Tatto and Coupland (2003), teacher beliefs are “one of the most prolific 
areas of research in teacher education” (p. 123). However, few studies have examined 
pre-service teachers’ beliefs and thinking in teacher education programs, which may be 
due to the fact that the construct is difficult to define.  
 
Among the most widely cited studies on the topic are those by Nespor (1987) and Pajares 
(1992). The former has admitted that “we do not know very much about how beliefs come 
into being, how they are supported or weakened, [or] how people are converted to them” 
(p. 326). In turn, Pajares (1992) has stated that “understanding the belief structures of 
teachers and teacher candidates is essential to improving their professional preparation 
and teaching practices” (p. 307).   
 
Although some studies have focused on exploring pre-service teacher beliefs before and 
after their teaching practicum (Ha Chan, 2014; Haigh, Pinder, & McDonald, 2006; Zhang, 
2012), there is scarce research that focuses on investigating teacher beliefs in the context 

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of foreign language teacher education programs. In an attempt to bridge this gap, the 
purpose of this study was to investigate pre-service teachers' prior experiences in learning 
a foreign language, how their perceptions and prior experiences might have shaped their 
teaching selves, and how international exchanges about perceptions of foreign language 
teaching might re-shape their current beliefs.  
 
Conceptual Framework 
 
There are many definitions of teacher beliefs in the education literature. According to 
Aguirre and Speer (2000), “beliefs are defined as conceptions, personal ideologies, 
world views and values that shape practice and orient knowledge” (p. 328). These 
conceptions and world views guide pre-service teachers’ decision-making processes 
and ultimately determine everything that happens in the classroom, including choice of 
activities, materials selection, and handling of student errors, among others. 
 
Researchers have pointed out that pre-service teachers “have deeply grounded beliefs 
and attitudes about teaching and learning and expectations about the role of the teacher 
formed on the basis of their extensive experience as learners” (Karavas & Drossou, 
2010). This apprenticeship of observation (Lortie, 1975) describes the phenomenon 
“whereby student teachers arrive for their training courses having spent thousands of 
hours as schoolchildren observing and evaluating professionals in action” (Borg, 2003). 
Thus, it is believed that we teach the way we were taught or, at least, that “the obvious 
relationship between beliefs and teaching practices cannot be ignored” (Diaz Larenas, 
Alarcon Hernandez, Vasquez Neira, Pradel Suarez, & Ortiz Navarrete, 2013). 
 
Some researchers have expressed that “the beliefs [pre-service] teachers hold are 
implicit, informal and embedded in their mental images of classroom practice” (Karavas 
& Drossou, 2010). In turn, others have stated that it is critical to develop an understanding 
of the structure of teachers’ beliefs in order to enhance their educational experiences and 
professional development  (Alarcon, Diaz, Tagle, Ramos, & Quintana, 2014), which can 
be accomplished by helping pre-service teachers identify and reflect upon their beliefs, 
as these can shape, influence and guide their classroom practices  (Cabaroglu & Roberts, 
2000; Diaz Larenas et al., 2013; Karavas & Drossou, 2010; Northcote, 2009). 
 
Despite the evident link between teacher beliefs and practices identified in the extant 
literature, a more in-depth review of the literature revealed that few studies have explored 
the connection between beliefs and perceptions about the self, both as teachers and 
students, especially in teacher education programs (Northcote, 2009). In addition, few 
studies have focused on investigating the beliefs of in-service foreign language teachers 
(Graham, Santos, & Francis-Brophy, 2014)  and pre-service foreign language teacher 
education majors (Alarcon et al., 2014; Diaz Larenas et al., 2013). Thus, the present study 
aimed to explore and identify the beliefs as foreign language learners, as well as personal 
beliefs about foreign language teaching, of two groups of students who teach and learn 
foreign languages at two major universities in Argentina and the U.S. Specifically, the 
purpose of this study was to investigate the following: 
a) What were pre-service teachers' prior experiences in learning a foreign language? 

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b) What were pre-service teachers’ perceptions about the teaching and learning 
processes in the foreign language classroom prior to the exchange? 

c) What was the impact of the exchange experience on pre-service teachers’ beliefs and 
perceptions about foreign language teaching and learning?  

 
Method 

 
Participants 
 
Participants in this qualitative case study included students enrolled in two intact college 
Foreign Language Teaching Methods classes at two major universities, one in Argentina 
and the other in the United States. Undergraduate students pursuing a foreign language 
teaching degree at these universities are required to take the Methods course prior to 
their teaching internship. The four female participants at the Argentinean university were 
enrolled in a Methods class that was held once a week and focused on methods and 
approaches of teaching English as a Foreign Language to native Spanish speakers. On 
the other hand, the four female participants at the US university were enrolled in a 
Methods class that was held twice a week and focused on methods and approaches of 
teaching modern foreign languages, namely, Spanish, French and German, to native 
English speakers.  
 
Research Assumption 
 
Following the methodological approach adopted by Diaz Larenas et al. (2013), the 
present study is based on the assumption that “beliefs influence the teaching practice” (p. 
87) and therefore aims to explore if and how pre-service teachers’ prior experiences 
learning foreign languages shape their beliefs about teaching and learning foreign 
languages. 
 
Instruments and Procedure 
 
The pre- and post-survey questionnaires used in this study were adapted from Richards 
and Rodgers (2001) and Larsen-Freeman (2000). The pre-survey questionnaire 
administered before the exchange included open-ended questions regarding the 
following: pre-service teachers’ past experiences as language learners, as well as their 
personal beliefs and principles about foreign language teaching and learning, including 
the teacher’s role in the classroom, the nature of effective teaching and learning, the 
difficulties learners face and how these can be addressed, successful learning activities, 
as well as the structure of an effective lesson. The post-survey questionnaire 
administered after the exchange included open-ended questions regarding the following: 
(a) pre-service teachers’ contributions to the international exchange; (b) what they 
learned as a result of the exchange in terms of the teacher’s role in the classroom, the 
nature of effective teaching and learning, the difficulties learners face and how these can 
be addressed, successful learning activities, as well as the structure of an effective 
lesson; and (c) the impact of the experience on their current beliefs.  
 

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The exchange experience was conducted through Skype on two different occasions. 
During the initial exchange, students introduced themselves and described their past 
experience learning a foreign language, their teaching experience, and their motivation 
to become a foreign language teacher. In a subsequent meeting, they discussed their 
answers to the pre-survey questions and exchanged views on various topics, for example, 
teaching strategies used across languages, and difficulties encountered by foreign 
language learners of English and Spanish, among others. 
 

Data Analysis and Discussion 
 
The data collected through the pre- and post-surveys were analyzed using NVivo in order 
to identify emerging themes in each of the categories in the surveys, which included: 
experiences as language learners, personal beliefs and perceptions about teaching, and 
personal beliefs and perceptions about learning.   
 
This section summarizes the most important findings. Each of the three research 
questions that guided the present study is followed by relevant tables, which present the 
most salient themes that resulted from the data analysis. Finally, a short discussion 
connects the information in the tables with pertinent quotes from the participants.  
 
What were pre-service teachers' prior experiences in learning a foreign language? 
 
When describing their experiences as language learners, pre-service teachers identified 
the themes listed in Table 1 below. 
 
Table 1 

Experiences as language learners 

Language learner 
difficulties  

Types of 
learning 
activities  

Structure 
of lessons  

Students’ role in 
the classroom  

Teacher’s role in 
the classroom  

Motivation Translation 
Grammar 

based 
Passive In charge 

Listening 
comprehension 

Vocabulary 
activities 

  
Source of 
knowledge 

Grammar 
Communicative 

activities 
   

Communication 
Grammar 
exercises 

   

 
Regarding the first category that emerged in the data analysis, language learner 
difficulties, pre-service teachers expressed a deep concern for motivational factors, 
namely: “Since we were expected to complete grammar exercises in writing, many of the 
students lacked interest in the subject and only learned the rules by heart but were unable 
to remember them after a short period of time.” Likewise, they manifested that “listening 
was hard because [they] didn’t use to practice much,” which is a common problem among 

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foreign language learners in general (White, 1998). Finally, they admitted to having had 
“[...] difficulties in matching gender and number, conjugations, and direct and indirect 
object pronouns.”  
 
In connection with the second category, types of learning activities, pre-service teachers 
claimed to have been mostly exposed to traditional grammar exercises and tests. In their 
own words, “most of the activities were drills focused on specific grammar points to 
practice each structure separately” and “we were evaluated on reading dialogues and 
translating them.” Not surprisingly, they were not asked to engage in communicative 
activities. As one of them confirmed, “we had very few speaking activities.”  
 
With respect to the third category, structure of lessons, pre-service teachers said, “the 
teacher presented a topic and a text and then students completed activities.” According 
to Richards and Rogers (2001), this was the typical structure of a grammar-based lesson, 
where the main focus was on presenting a given grammar rule and the students were 
expected to practice the new grammar point through controlled activities such as 
memorization of dialogues and drills.  
 
Regarding the fourth category, students’ role in the classroom, pre-service teachers 
claimed that “the role of the students was a very passive one and students participated in 
class only when they were asked to.” In keeping with the grammar-based classroom, the 
students were expected to adopt a passive role and the teacher remained in control  
(Richards & Rodgers, 2001). Thus, pre-service teachers’ comments in connection with 
the fifth category, teacher’s role in the classroom, identified the teacher as the main 
source of knowledge. In their words, “the teacher directly instructed students at the front 
of the class.” 
 
As evidenced from pre-service teachers’ comments, there is a clear connection among 
the themes emerging from pre-service teachers’ responses to the questions in this 
section. Specifically, the fact that teachers were in charge and the sources of knowledge 
in the classroom, while the students’ role was passive and consisted in asking questions 
when instructed to do so is closely related to and reflected in the structure of lessons and 
the types of activities that students completed: focus on grammar and drilling activities, 
rule memorization, and lack of listening and speaking opportunities in the classroom, 
among others. 
 
What were pre-service teachers’ perceptions about the teaching and learning 
processes in the FL classroom before the exchange? 
 
When describing their perceptions of teaching and learning foreign languages prior to the 
exchange, pre-service teachers identified the themes listed in Table 2 below. 
 
 
 
 
 

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Table 2 
Perceptions of teaching and learning foreign languages prior to the exchange 

 
Language 

learner 
difficulties 

 
Addressing 
language 
learner 

difficulties 

 
Effective 
learning 
activities 

 
Nature of 
effective 
teaching 

 
 
Structure of 
lessons 

 
 

Teacher’s 
role in the 
classroom 

Self-
confidence 

Opportun-
ities to use 

the 
language 

Based on 
learners' 

needs and 
interests 

Consider 
learners' 

needs and 
interests 

Plan that 
includes:  

activation of 
background 
knowledge, 
introduction/

co-
construction 

of new 
knowledge, 

guided 
practice, 

independent 
practice, 
closure 

Consider 
learners' 

needs and 
interests 

Applying 
what they 
learned 

Error 
correction 

Focus on 
language 
function 

Recycling  Source of 
input 

Motivation Encourage-
ment 

Promote 
learner 

autonomy 
and critical 

thinking 

Inductive 
approach 

 Foster 
learner 

autonomy 
and 

collaborative 
learning 

Communi-
cative skills 

Opportun-
ities for 
critical 

thinking 

Authentic, 
real life, 

communi-
cative 

Input-rich 
learning 

environment 

 Facilitator 

Pronuncia-
tion 

Variety of 
activities 

 Promote 
critical 

thinking and 
communi-

cation 
 

 Promote use 
of target 

language for 
communicati
ve purposes 

   Motivation   

 
Regarding their perceptions on language learner difficulties, pre-service teachers 
identified some of the main difficulties that students typically face, as was reflected in 

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such comments as, “in my experience, the main difficulty students face is pronunciation.” 
Moreover, they discussed how these difficulties should be addressed and claimed that 
“[…] the best way [these difficulties should be handled] is practice,” which is in keeping 
with the latest communicative teaching practices (Richards & Rodgers, 2001). 
 
Concerning their perceptions on effective learning activities, their comments also 
reflected a strong preference for authentic, real life, and communicative activities, as was 
evidenced by such comments as, “learners should be provided with plenty of 
opportunities to use the language within appropriate contexts and situations, e.g. role-
plays” and “successful learning activities are those which clearly reflect real life 
situations.”  
 
While discussing their perceptions on the nature of effective teaching, pre-service 
teachers claimed that teachers should “show [the learners] they can do it, celebrate their 
achievements, put their proficiency level in perspective,” which again points to the 
importance of motivation. Moreover, they stressed the need to promote critical thinking 
and communication. In their own words, “students have to be engaged for effective 
learning to take place. The easiest way for this to happen is for teachers to incorporate 
the five Cs and the three modes of communication.” 
 
As regards their perceptions about the structure of lessons, pre-service teachers showed 
great appreciation for the lesson planning frameworks used, which was reflected in such 
comments as “PACE lessons are incredibly effective lesson/learning activities” and “the 
best lesson structure is the one that we studied: ARC. This consists of four stages: 
application, comprehension and clarification, and reflection.” Thus, they were fully aware 
that they should resort to a coherent lesson planning framework that would link and 
develop all of the language skills (Richards & Rodgers, 2001). 
 
Finally, concerning the teacher’s role in the classroom, they admitted that teachers had 
to develop a different view of their own role in facilitating language learning. In their views, 
not only should “the teacher […] facilitate learning” but he/she should make real 
communication the focus of language learning. 
 
Based on their responses, it was evident that pre-service teachers’ perceptions of how 
foreign language teaching and learning should be structured differed considerably from 
what they described as their prior experiences learning the language, thus contradicting 
the idea of apprenticeship of observation put forward by Lortie (1975). 
 
What were pre-service teachers’ perceptions about the teaching and learning 
processes in the FL classroom after the exchange? 
 
When describing their perceptions of teaching and learning foreign languages after the 
exchange, pre-service teachers identified the themes listed in Table 3 below. 
 
 
 

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Table 3 

Perceptions of teaching and learning foreign languages after the exchange 

 
Language 

learner 
difficulties 

 
Addressing 
language 
learner 

difficulties 

 
Effective 
learning 
activities 

 
Nature of 
effective 
teaching 

 
 

Structure of 
lessons 

 
 

Teacher’s role 
in the 

classroom 

Writing 
Provide 

opportunities 
for practice 

Based on 
students’ 
expecta-

tions 

Effective 
lesson 

planning 

Include 
activation of 
background 
knowledge 

Facilitator, 
guide, model 

Pronunci-
ation 

Provide 
encourage-

ment 

Foster 
critical 

thinking 

Active role 
of students 

in the 
classroom 

Based on 
student 
learning 

outcomes 

Not the only 
source of 

knowledge 

Grammar 
Use L1 to 
provide 

explanations 

Useful and 
interesting 

Based on 
students' 

needs and 
interests 

Inductive 
grammar 
instruction 

Promote 
learner 

autonomy and 
positive 
learning 

environment 

 

Provide 
strategies 
based on 
specific 

problems 

Authentic 
material 

 Practice  

    Models  

    
Structured, 
organized 
logically 

 

 
As shown by some of their responses, pre-service teachers’ perceptions after the 
exchange did not differ significantly from their perceptions before the exchange. Not only 
did they talk about language learner difficulties, but they also discussed how these 
difficulties should be addressed. In their own words, “the difficulties are seen mainly in 
production. Students don’t know how to speak, how to write.” Thus, “teachers should 
focus on each learner’s problem and teach him strategies and ways to tackle that issue.” 
 
Regarding effective learning activities, they further stressed the need to resort to authentic 
materials and tasks. Moreover, they emphasized the need to take students’ expectations 
into account. As they put it, “If teachers are providing students with authentic materials 
and exercises, then both learning and teaching will be effective” and “knowing the aim of 
the students for learning the language narrows down many of the things to be done in the 
classroom to help the learner meet their expectations.” 

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In keeping with the ideas above, pre-service teachers’ comments concerning the nature 
of effective teaching focused on the importance of taking students’ needs and interests 
into account, which was reflected in such comments as, “effective learning takes place 
when teachers consider and are sensitive to students’ needs and interests. Because 
students will feel motivated to learn when the topics are interesting and are connected 
with their real lives.” Once more, they also highlighted the importance of careful planning 
on the part of the teacher, namely: “Teaching and learning is a give and take process. It 
involves well-planned lessons from the teacher and being sure to have active learners in 
the classroom.” 
 
Regarding their perceptions about the structure of lessons, pre-service teachers admitted 
that there is no single lesson planning framework that has been universally accepted. 
Thus, “the structure of an effective lesson can be diverse and can change depending on 
what you are trying to teach. It should also vary but keep a similar structure so that 
students know what to expect [and] are also challenged to think in a different way.” 
However, they emphasized that “lessons should be clearly structured and logically 
organized” if they were to be truly effective.  
 
Finally, pre-service teachers restated that the role of the teacher in the language 
classroom should be that of a facilitator, who creates a classroom climate conducive to 
language learning and promotes learner autonomy, both in terms of the content of 
learning as well as the processes they might employ. In their own words, “teachers should 
be flexible” and “students should become autonomous and independent; otherwise, they 
would automatically stop learning when the teacher is not there.”  
 
What was the impact of the exchange experience on pre-service teachers’ beliefs 
and perceptions about foreign language teaching and learning?  
 
After the exchange, pre-service teachers expressed that they felt they were part of a 
community learning about similar issues, only in different educational and cultural 
contexts. For example, they claimed, “I enjoyed feeling the sense of community that came 
from the fact that we were learning the same methods.” In addition, although they did not 
feel there was a significant change to the beliefs they already held about these topics and 
issues, they did state that the experience helped them realize that the strategies and 
approaches they were learning about could be applied when teaching other languages to 
foreign language learners. As some of them concluded, “I do not think that this experience 
changed my beliefs about foreign language teaching, but it did open my eyes beyond 
using the strategies we learned for just Spanish or French” and “it is reassuring and 
fascinating to think about the same strategies being used across the world and that they 
are effective across languages,” “[...] most importantly, we exchanged ideas on what the 
best lesson structure to teach is, which also coincided with them. What we call ARC they 
call PACE, which is basically the same.”  
 

 
 
 

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Conclusions 
 
As demonstrated by the results outlined before, pre-service teacher beliefs about 
teaching did not seem to originate from their personal experiences as students, i.e., they 
did not appear to teach or intend to teach the way they were taught; as one of them 
expressed: “we highlighted the difference between how we were taught in the past and 
how we are taught to teach currently.” This contradicts an important concept put forward 
by Lortie (1975), namely apprenticeship of observation. In other words, there were 
significant discrepancies between the pre-service teachers’ beliefs about foreign 
language teaching and learning versus their experiences as learners. For example, 
translation and grammar exercises were highlighted as part of their experiences as 
learners whereas authentic, real-life and communicative activities were mentioned both 
during and after the exchange. 
 
Moreover, pre-service teachers did not simultaneously seem to hold beliefs that were 
inconsistent or in conflict with one another. Not only were their beliefs aligned with each 
other but also, and most importantly, with the field. For instance, both groups of students 
saw the teacher as a facilitator and the learners as active participants of the teaching-
learning process. Likewise, they did not favor translation and communicative teaching 
practices at the same time.  
 
Perhaps the most important finding was that pre-service teachers’ beliefs did not vary 
across languages or cultures. Not only were they able to identify similar problems for 
foreign language learners, such as the use of prepositions, but they also stressed the 
importance of communicative teaching practices as well as the need to cater for students’ 
interests. What is more, they found several parallels between the two lesson planning 
frameworks used, i.e., ARC (Scrivener, 1999) and the PACE model  (Adair-Hauck & 
Donato, 2002).  
 
No doubt, the teacher trainers themselves may have contributed to re-shaping the pre-
service teachers’ beliefs by mirroring and promoting good teaching practices. This was 
an important limitation to the study, which was conducted after all the methods and 
approaches had been compared, contrasted and critically analyzed. Apart from that, pre-
service teachers’ beliefs may also have been influenced by previous instructors and/or 
their participation in workshops or webinars. We must not overlook the fact that both 
groups of students had attended at least four other methodology-related courses before 
the exchange.   
 
Implications and Further Research 
 
This study attempted to address a number of issues that were seen as relevant to a critical 
examination of how pre-service teachers’ beliefs are shaped in foreign language pre-
service education. Given the results obtained, teacher trainers are urged to make pre-
service teachers’ beliefs a concrete focus of teacher education programs. 
 

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As exemplified by the different nodes or categories that resulted from analyzing pre-
service teachers’ responses, their beliefs play a fundamental role: they “shape the 
instructional decisions they make and, in turn, affect their relationships with students”  
(Davis, 2006, p. 196). Moreover, pre-service teachers’ beliefs influence teaching 
techniques and strategies, selection of instructional resources, as well as the structure 
of lessons, in effect determining what should be taught and how.  
 
Given that teacher beliefs are so crucial in guiding their practices in the classroom, pre-
service teachers should be encouraged to reflect upon and identify beliefs that conflict 
with current best practices in the field and reconsider them, as well as identify those 
beliefs that match these best practices and hone them. Many teachers engage in 
informal reflection about what goes on in the classroom at the end of each day, but a 
more formal approach to critical reflection needs to be adopted—reflection that is not 
only structured or guided but also consistently done throughout the course, i.e., 
“reflection-on-action (after-the-event thinking) and reflection-in-action (thinking while 
doing)” (Finlay, 2008). 
 
Although it is time-consuming, without reflection pre-service teachers will never know if 
they need to change or not. Thus, they must be given the necessary time to reflect upon  
“how their personal and teaching identities affect their attempts to facilitate classroom 
interactions” (Davis, 2006, p. 212) and instructional practices.  
 
Above all, teacher trainers must receive adequate training. If they intend to guide pre-
service teachers and help them uncover their beliefs, they must be receptive to their 
needs. Not only must they be trained in areas such as effective teaching techniques, 
providing on-going and meaningful feedback to pre-service teachers, but they must also 
be able to reflect upon their own teaching practices and uncover the rationale behind 
them. This may require teacher trainers to answer a number of questions, such as those 
proposed by the Office of Faculty and Instructional Development at Qatar University 
(http://www.qu.edu.qa/): 
 

 “What kind of classroom atmosphere do I create? 

 What kinds of questions do I ask? 

 Is my classroom spontaneous or is it predictable? 

 Are my students involved? 

 Why didn't a lecture go over well? 

 Why did a lecture work?”  (p. 1)  
 
Further research might look into the effect that reflection may have in changing or shaping 
pre-service teacher beliefs. Future studies may also compare and contrast pre-service 
teacher beliefs across other languages and cultures, particularly during the initial phase 
of training. More research into the nature of pre-service teacher beliefs at the beginning 
phase of training would be important for teacher educators in foreign language teaching 
education programs to train and equip pre-service teachers for their upcoming tasks and 
responsibilities as foreign language teachers. 

 

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About the Authors 
 
Laura Levi Altstaedter is currently an Assistant Professor of Hispanic Studies in the 
Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures at East Carolina University. She is also 
Coordinator of the Foreign Language Teacher Education Program at ECU. She received 
an MA and PhD from Virginia Tech, and an MA.Ed. from Wake Forest University. She 
has published articles on foreign language pedagogy in Argentina and the USA.  
 
Marina Falasca is instructor of TEFL Methods and related courses at Universidad 
Tecnológica Nacional and I.E.S. en Lenguas Vivas “Juan Ramón Fernández.” She is also 
a member of the EFL Advisory Board at UTN. She received an MA from Virginia Tech 
and an M.Ed from South Dakota State University. She has published articles on foreign 
language pedagogy in Argentina, Australia, and the U.S. 

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