Theory and Practice of Second Language Acquisition
vol. 7 (1), 2021, pp. 11–31

https://doi.org/10.31261/TAPSLA.8229

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5631-3706Maria Villalobos-Buehner
Languages Literatures and Cultures, Rider University

A Habermasian Approach to the Examination
of Language Teachers’ Cognitive Interests

A b s t r a c t

Language teacher educators train pre-service teachers in numerous theories and peda-
gogical practices of language learning and language teaching. They expect that their student
teachers will translate this conceptual and practical knowledge into action during their practi-
cum. However, in the process of determining pre-service teachers’ readiness for the field
experience and the profession in general, methods classes measure only their conceptual
knowledge and omit looking at their student teachers’ belief system about language teach-
ing and learning. This belief system is a strong indicator of how the students organize their
knowledge for application (Borg, 2003) and may help teacher educators gauge students’ read
ness in the use of new pedagogies that these pre-service teachers may not have experienced
before. Using two ref lective essays and a piece of authentic assessment as instruments to
gather data, as well as Jürgen Habermas’s theory on cognitive interests as a framework
to explore the espoused beliefs of nine pre-service language teachers at the end of a methods
course, this qualitative study addressed the following questions: What levels of cognitive inter-
ests do the nine pre-service world language and ESL teachers exhibit prior to student teach-
ing? To what extent do the students’ levels of cognitive interests change during the methods
course called Teaching a Second Language? What are the most common cognitive interests
regarding such areas of teaching performance, such as methodology and assessment among
the participants? The results show that the nine pre-service teachers held mostly technical
and some practical cognitive interests at the beginning of the semester. In the end, most of
the participants held practical interests, and three out of the nine pre-service teachers held
elementary emancipatory beliefs. One pedagogical recommendation is to include experiences
in the training of pre-service teachers that promote emancipatory beliefs that could support
teachers in their pursuit of transforming challenging social conditions while examining and
adopting new pedagogies.

Keywords: pre-service language teachers, cognitive interests, technical interests, practical
interests, emancipatory interests, Habermas

Maria Villalobos-Buehner12

Introduction

Methods courses play a pivotal role in the development of a teacher. They
provide the foundational work that would assist the students in applying the
theory to real academic contexts. Most of these methods courses use case stud-
ies, lesson plans, micro-teaching sessions, and formal paper-and-pencil exams
to gain a perspective about their pre-service teachers’ level of preparedness for
their field experience and the profession in general. Even though these evalu-
ations could help determine their level of understanding of concepts, teacher
educators soon find that once in the field, pre-service teachers have a hard
time using this theoretical knowledge to act on either a typical or challenging
practice situation. Therefore, it is imperative that teacher educators examine
not only pre-service language teachers’ conceptual and practical knowledge but
also their beliefs in order to help determine their level of preparedness prior to
student teaching. As Varghese et al. (2005) said,

In order to understand language teaching and learning we need to un-
derstand teachers; and in order to understand teachers, we need to
have a clearer sense of who they are; the professional, cultural, politi-
cal, and individual identities, which they claim or which are assigned
to them. (p. 22)

The main goal of this study was to determine the cognitive interests, con-
ceptual knowledge, and espoused beliefs about language teaching and learning
of nine pre-service teachers in order to gain knowledge about their different
levels of pedagogical preparation and beliefs prior to their student teaching ex-
perience. This study applied the theoretical framework of Habermas’s cognitive
interests to three sources of data (two reflective papers and a piece of authentic
assessment) to answer the following questions:
1. What levels of cognitive interests do the nine world-language and ESL pre-

service teachers exhibit prior to student teaching?
2. Which cognitive interests regarding such areas of teaching performance,

such as methodology and assessment, are most common among the partici-
pants?

3. To what extent do the students’ levels of cognitive interests change, if at all,
during the methods course called Teaching a Second Language?

A Habermasian Approach to the Examination of Language Teachers’… 13

Literature Review

Language Teacher Cognitions

The meaning of the term teacher cognition in this paper relates to the teacher’s
knowledge of theory and pedagogy and their personal theories and beliefs about
teaching (Borg, 2003). In the last two decades, various authors have published
several reviews and studies about experienced and novice language teachers’
cognition (Basturkmen, 2012; Borg, 2003; Burns, Edwards, & Freeman, 2015;
Gabryś-Barker, 2012; Golombek & Johnson, 2017; Mann, 2005; Wright, 2010).
One of the three themes addressed in Borg’s review of the studies done from
1989 to 2000 was cognition and teacher education. He found out that, according
to the mainstream research, student teachers develop in diverse ways. Therefore,
in order to comprehend the scope of the impact of teacher training programs on
student teachers, one should focus on individual cases. Another key theme in
his review was that a change in behavior as a result of teacher education does
not imply a change in cognition and vice versa. Borg also discovered that future
language teachers at the beginning of their studies show distorted or immature
understandings of teaching and learning (Brookhart & Freeman, 1992; Brown &
McGannon, 1998; Cumming, 1989). According to Borg’s review, Brookhart and
Freeman (1992) found two recurrent future teachers’ misunderstandings in their
study: that languages were learned by imitation and that errors were caused by
L1 interference. A recent study on pre-service teachers’ beliefs (Debreli, 2016)
reported that the majority of the 16 pre-service teachers from Cyprus trusted the
methods presented as effective in a teacher education program. These methods
were also the main influential factors in shaping their beliefs.

Basturkumen’s (2012) review showed that most of the studies reported
a “limited correspondence” between experienced teachers’ espoused beliefs and
their classroom practices. Those studies also supported the influence of the
context and teachers’ years of experience in terms of facilitating or restricting
the execution of teachers’ beliefs. These groups of studies determined that the
beliefs of experienced teachers were more evident in their pedagogical choices
and behaviors than those beliefs from novice teachers. Only two dissertation
studies from Basturkurmen’s review reported results related to pre-service
teacher beliefs. Sinprajakpol’s (2004) research found limited correspondence
between pre-service teachers’ beliefs about language teaching and learning
approaches and their classroom practices; Vibulpol’s (2004), on the other hand,
found correspondence between the teachers’ beliefs about their own language
skills and the importance of grammar in their choice of approaches in the class-
room. Despite the disagreement between Sinprajakpol’s (2004) and Vibulpol’s
(2004) results, it is clear that pre-service language teachers’ beliefs are mostly

Maria Villalobos-Buehner14

influenced by their experiences as students and by emergent understandings of
what are considered good practices in the field.

Gabryś-Barker’s (2012) qualitative study about the beliefs of a group of
pre-service teachers about language teaching shows that teachers’ earlier expe-
riences as language students play a pivotal role in the shaping of their beliefs
about teaching. These trainees, as the study describes them, perceive teachers as
experts, sharers of knowledge, and ones with a clear mission. The participants’
perceptions of their future roles as teachers “implies the need for a teacher’s
active involvement: both professional and personal, creativity and responsibility
and also the courage to be different and the need to go on trying, irrespective
of failures and obstacles” (48). Burns, Edwards, and Freeman (2015) summa-
rized the main ontological approaches used from 1990 to 2014 by a group of
studies (Crookes, 2010; Freeman & Johnson, 1996; Kubanyiova, 2012) and their
goal to understand the mind of the language teacher. The bulk of this research
highlights the importance of understanding the pre-service teachers’ values,
beliefs, and histories as learners if teacher programs want to be effective in
their goal to not only shape but also to transform teachers’ practices. Hennisen,
Beckers, and Moerkerke (2017) studied the effectiveness of a curriculum in
helping 136 pre-service teachers link theory with practice. The results showed
growth in their knowledge and new schema formations after the pre-service
teachers participated in a curriculum designed using an inductive approach that
includes in-the-field experiences, post-experience reflections, and pre-service
teachers’ concerns. Most of the studies above have used teachers’ narrative
inquiry in their study design as a “systematic exploration that is conducted by
teachers and for teachers through their own stories and language” (Johnson &
Golombek, 2002, p. 6). This study will contribute to this body of research by
expanding the field’s understanding of pre-service cognitive interests by of-
fering a theoretical framework to help shape our understanding of pre-service
language teachers. A Habermasian lens helps to capture the complexity and
dynamic nature of cognitive beliefs by being able to explore emancipatory ways
of thinking about language-learning practices.

Cognitive Interest Framework

Jürgen Habermas’s (1971) theory of cognitive interests offers a framework
for looking at diverse knowledge, beliefs, and dispositions in order to gain
a wider perspective on pre-service teachers’ cognitive interests. This frame-
work not only explores specific orientations in conceptual knowledge, but it
also looks at people’s interests in connecting with a community and explores
issues of power. The two latter foci allow a framing of our understanding of
student teachers’ belief systems from a socio-critical perspective much needed

A Habermasian Approach to the Examination of Language Teachers’… 15

during these times, when language classes are being cut and second language
requirements are either being substituted with other content areas, such as
coding, or simply eliminated. Therefore, teachers need to develop a critical
lens to understand their own precepts and those of the community in order to
become strong advocates for the profession. Furthermore, this theory of cogni-
tive interests helps to capture the complexity and dynamic nature of pre-service
language teachers’ tenets.

Habermas (1971) stated that people function in a combination of domains
based on specific orientations in their beliefs. These domains of human activity
are classified into three cognitive interest domains:

Figure 1. Domains of Human Interests (Habermas, 1971)

Teachers functioning at a technical-interest level focus on the desire to
control their professional environment by following pre-established precepts
(Scott, 1997) to meet specific academic needs. The focus is “on efficiency
and effectiveness” (Geelan, 2001, p. 7). Language educators performing at this
level might focus on translations, the memorization of vocabulary lists, and
grammar lessons that emphasize repetition and error correction. Teachers aim
at controlling discrete chunks of information (Edgar, 2006).

Teachers functioning at a practical-interest level emphasize the importance
of understanding the environment and the society around them. They work on
developing “interpersonal rapports, understanding, and consensus that facilitate

Maria Villalobos-Buehner16

positive change for their students” (Kondrat, 1995, p. 409). These teachers
look for an understanding of the other and the self (Kondrat, 1995). Language
teachers functioning at this level would plan around the students’ interests. The
goals of communication and cultural understanding would be at the center of
their pedagogical decisions (Edgar, 2006).

Finally, teachers operating at an emancipatory level identify issues of power
in the classroom and school contexts. They focus on a pedagogy that emphasizes
compassion and underscores equity and empowerment for their students and the
school community. Language teachers would foster a caring classroom culture
where all the participants’ voices would have a fair chance to be heard (Edgar,
2006). These teachers would engage in self-reflection (Scott, 1997) and in ad-
vocacy efforts for the profession. They would also design lesson plans based
on principles of social justice and that would benefit the community (Kondrat,
1995). It is important to highlight that these domains are neither linear nor in
hierarchical order. It is advisable that teachers operate in all the domains (Ring,
2014), with one or two domains being more prominent than others.

The profession of social work encourages the inclusion of Habermas’s
framework to redesign curricula that would address current challenges in the
field. For instance, Kondrat (1995) affirmed that incorporating Habermas’s do-
mains in the training of social workers would help determine trainees’ particular
orientations for actions and possible sources of practitioner errors. Ring (2014)
argued that a curriculum based on Habermas’s domains of cognitive interests
would better train social workers in England to deal with an aging population
and difficult financial times for social welfare systems. This framework offers
an empowerment perspective that is needed in the profession to aid ESL, bi-
lingual, and world-language teachers in their pursuit to transform challenging
social conditions “to be more inclusive of diverse and less powerful voices”
(Kondrat, 1995, p. 420). Language-teacher education should not only focus on
the development of pedagogical skills but also on the development of an educa-
tor who could question and transform the implementation of policies that could
compromise the future of language learning.

In the process of reviewing the literature, the researcher found studies
related to cognitive interests in the field of education. Butler’s (1997) thesis
looked at the differences in Habermas’s cognitive interests between students and
their teacher and the impact of these differences on students’ performance in
three different courses for the adult community. Butler found that students with
cognitive interests matching their teacher’s performed better than those with
different cognitive interests. Scott (1997) examined the beliefs of three college
teacher assistants about the teaching and learning of educational technology. His
study found that even though the assistants espoused interests in the practical
domain, their actions in the actual classroom reflected their interests in the
technical domain. This finding correlates with Basturkumen’s (2012) review.

A Habermasian Approach to the Examination of Language Teachers’… 17

This research will be the first qualitative study in the area of language-learning
education that has used Habermas’s domains as a framework to understand
pre-service language teachers’ cognitive interests. This study aims to expand
this area of research by offering a theoretical framework that helps frame our
understanding of language teachers’ cognitive development beyond the descrip-
tive accounts of teachers’ beliefs so needed in our field (Kubanyova, 2012).

Methods

Participants

A convenience sample of nine pre-service teachers agreed to take part in
this study. They were all women between the ages of 20 and 40 who were
taking a methods course in language teaching during the data collection stage
of this study. Three of these participants were pursuing initial certification in
ESL; six were pursuing initial certification in world-language education. Five
were undergraduate students, and four were in the post-baccalaureate education
program. The following Table 1 provides a complete list of the participants.

Table 1

Participants
Name Age Certification U P L1 L2 Professional experience

Gab 20 ESL X English Italian N/A

Kit 20 ESL X English and
Spanish

French N/A

Sam 20 Spanish/ESL X English Spanish N/A

Vic 20 Spanish/ESL X English Spanish and
German

N/A

Mer 36 Spanish X Spanish English Worked in banking

Ele 25 ESL X English Greek Worked from home—
family business

Kel 25 Spanish X English Spanish N/A

Jan 40 French X English French Homemaker

Adi 35 French X French English and
German

Homemaker

Notes: U = Undergrad P = Post-baccalaureate

Maria Villalobos-Buehner18

Procedures and Data Analysis

The researcher collected the data at three different points during the se-
mester while the participants took a methods course called Teaching a Second
Language. Table 2 shows the data collection timeline.

Table 2

Data collection

Data collection point Data collection tool Data collection focus

First week of classes Reflective paper (Appendix A) Participants were asked to
consider past language-learn-
ing experiences to gain a per-
spective on their beliefs about
language learning prior to
starting the methods course.

Ninth week of classes Philosophy of teaching paper
(Appendix B)

Participants were asked to
reflect on their beliefs about
effective language-teaching
practices.

Thirteenth week of classes Authentic assessment—mock
job interview (Appendix C)

Participants were asked to
discuss their beliefs about lan-
guage learning environments,
students’ learning styles,
teachers’ classroom manage-
ment skills, and teachers’ ad-
vocacy efforts.

The first collection point took place during the first week of classes, and
the instrument was a three-page reflective essay about their experiences as lan-
guage students in high school. The participants wrote about their teachers’ peda-
gogical choices in relation to class activities, class content, what made teach-
ers “good,” and the characteristics associated with poor teachers. The second
data-collection point took place during the ninth week of classes. The instrument
was a three-page teaching-philosophy essay. The participants wrote about
their beliefs regarding effective practices in foreign language instruction in
the areas of classroom environments, teachers’ methods, learners’ learning
experiences, and the role of assessment in the language classroom. The third
data-collection point took place at the end of a 13-week course. The instrument
used was a type of authentic assessment that helped students demonstrate what
it means to be an effective language teacher in a real-life situation that would
bring theory and practice together. This assessment combined three elements
of Angelo and Cross’s (1993) Classroom Assessment Techniques (CAT): an
annotated portfolio, invented dialogues, and exam evaluations. This authentic
assessment asked the students to prepare for a final oral exam in the form of
a job interview. Students received an authentic job ad according to their educa-

A Habermasian Approach to the Examination of Language Teachers’… 19

tion major (ESL, French, or Spanish). Afterwards, they had to prepare for this
interview by putting together a teaching portfolio with material developed dur-
ing the course by visiting the school’s job-listings website and preparing a list
of possible questions. They were asked five more questions that were not part
of the list. The answers to these questions were used as data for this study.
Each student received a time slot of 20 minutes to complete this interview.
The interviews were videotaped, and the answers to the five undisclosed ques-
tions were transcribed.

Each answer during the job interview and the two essays was iteratively,
inductively, and deductively coded according to themes that revealed concep-
tual knowledge and espoused beliefs in the areas of classroom management,
planning, assessment, and students’ and teachers’ roles. Following Bernard and
Ryan’s (2010) transcription protocol during the inductive coding process, the raw
data were read and reread in order to familiarize the researchers with the partici-
pants’ answers and to facilitate the creation of the categories listed above. Those
cognitive orientations were then deductively coded, since the researcher brought
a conceptual lens a priori to the analysis of the data. A matrix of analyses was
created according to Habermas’s three types of cognitive interests—technical,
practical, and emancipatory—in combination with the five pedagogical areas
listed above. Next, the researcher and an aide compared each of the students’
answers and classified them according to the definitions of the three cognitive
interests and five pedagogical areas in this matrix. Finally, the researcher and
second reader used this matrix to find out the frequency or different levels of sa-
liency in which each of the cognitive levels stood out in the students’ narrative.

Results

This research looked at the participants’ most common cognitive interests
and classified them into five areas of teaching performance: classroom manage-
ment, planning, assessment, and students’ and teachers’ roles. This study also
focused on finding the levels of cognitive interests in which nine pre-service
world-language and ESL students operate prior to student teaching, and whether
these interest levels change during the methods course called Teaching a Second
Language.

Maria Villalobos-Buehner20

Cognitive Interest Domains and Areas
of Teaching Performance

This study organized the data into five teaching performance indicators
to find out what the participants’ most common beliefs were in each area of
teaching performance according to Habermas’s levels of cognitive interests.
The areas were classroom management, student role, teacher role, pedagogical
method, and assessment.

Technical cognitive interest domain. The study participants believed that
having an organized plan, clear rules, a reward system, and good time manage-
ment were indicators of having good classroom management skills. During the
job interview, Adi highlighted the need to provide structure to teenage students
in order to enhance their learning experience:

Teenagers—they need some structure. So they need to know, that when
they come to my class, there’s a certain structure to the lesson. So uh, [in]
each class there will be three parts: the introduction, the procedures part
with the main activity or activities, and the closure part. (Adi)

The participants who held beliefs at the technical level described student
and teacher roles in simplistic ways that painted a fixed idea of both roles. One
of the most commonly held beliefs was that teachers were always in charge
and that one important task was to motivate their students and attend to their
needs. These participants used the pronouns I, my, and they when describing
language teachers’ and students’ roles in the classroom, which indicates a hard-
line division of roles:

For my middle school classes, I wish to instill the values that I find more
important and valuable in life. (Sam)

The role of instruction is to break down the material in a fashion where
they will comprehend it easily and be able to have it and use it in their
lives. Also, this role is something that should be taken seriously; if the
instructor is not willing to help the students and break down the material
to help them understand, then there is no simple way for the students to
comprehend and learn this language. (Gab)

The most commonly held beliefs in the area of methodology emphasized
the memorization of vocabulary, the importance of teaching grammar, and fol-
lowing the main textbook:

A Habermasian Approach to the Examination of Language Teachers’… 21

It is imperative that students receive extensive practice with the language
basics. They will master letters, numbers, greetings, adjectives, simple verbs
and conjugations, phrases and sentences. (Kel)

Beliefs about assessment at this technical level emphasized it as a way to
monitor and control students’ learning as well as their role in reviewing ma-
terial. Those beliefs also expressed the role of accountability for the student:

I plan to teach my students “Standardized Testing” for reading and writ-
ing as a genre, just like I would teach poetry as a genre. When you think
about it, there is a specific way you analyze and answer questions about
standardized texts, just like there is a specific way to read and evaluate
poetry. Summative assessments leave little room for error, but they help
me as a teacher evaluate class understanding, and they help my students
evaluate their own learning. (Sam)

Practical cognitive interest domain. The most commonly held beliefs
about language classroom management, at the practical level, were the need
to offer language immersion experiences and the use of teams or groups to
help develop communicative language skills and the necessary student sup-
port. The role of the student and teacher was mainly that of negotiators of
meaning. Students are perceived as unique, autonomous, and having a diverse
set of needs. The teacher is passionate, open to new ideas, creative, and of-
fers students support at all times. The main pedagogical method supports the
exchange of meaning, uses authentic texts, and provides students with rich
input. There is an emphasis on experiencing the language at a personal and
intimate level:

I believe that students will remember what they learn better if they are
able to make sense of the information themselves, often in working with
teammates. (Adi)

So I would be very interested to see if there [were] certain things that we
could look at in terms of the cultural unit that we could teach through the
medium of French. So, when we’re talking about French culture, rather than
talk about it in English, let’s talk about it in French. (Jan)

Assessment, at this cognitive level, would help the teachers modify and
adjust their pedagogies and motivate students’ growth in their language skills.
Mistakes are considered necessary for learning:

I want my students to understand that we are all in this learning process
together. Formative assessments will help me build up my understanding

Maria Villalobos-Buehner22

of how students are learning and assimilating the language. They will help
me adapt my instruction to better suit the needs of my students and to
maximize their learning potential. (Jan)

Emancipatory cognitive interest domain. The participants’ beliefs at
this level emphasized the importance of fostering an inclusive and welcoming
classroom that respected differences, and providing a safe space free of fear
tactics that would support students’ growth and curiosity and respect their
unique identities. The role of the teacher is to be passionate, positive, and fully
committed to their students’ success:

I will discover their cultures by allowing the students to feel comfortable
enough to share their cultures in class, and then creating projects and
assignments based on their cultures to create inclusivity and understanding
of other cultures. . . . All I wish to do with my students is to teach them to
be ready for the world while learning to be better people in a comfortable,
fun environment we create together. (Kim)

There were no clear beliefs in the areas of methods and assessment at
this level.

Operational Cognitive Domains

The data showed that the nine pre-service teachers functioned mainly
at the technical and practical domains during the semester (see Table 2).
They also operated at different levels of cognitive interests with different
levels of saliency, which supports what Borg (2003) stated about teachers
developing in unique ways. One cognitive level was more salient than the
other at different points in the semester. Those students who started the se-
mester functioning at a technical domain started functioning at a technical
and practical level at mid-semester and at the end of the semester. Those
students who started functioning at a practical domain did not experience
any change, and very few started to function at the emancipatory domain
toward the end.

A Habermasian Approach to the Examination of Language Teachers’… 23

Table 3

Students’ Cognitiv Interest Domains

Time Beginning of the
semester

Middle of the semester End of the semester

Name T P E T P E T P E
Adi

Ele

Gab

Kel

Kit

Vic

Jan

Mer

Sam

Notes: T = Technical; P = Practical; E = Emancipatory.

Salient Somewhat salient Not salient

The saliency of cognitive interests. The study participants held cognitive
beliefs that exemplified mostly the technical and practical levels. Most of those
operating at the technical level emphasized the need for efficiency, effective-
ness, and the teacher’s control of the classroom. Sam, for instance, believed
that the use of multicultural posters would make her classroom more diverse
and student-friendly. She also considered grammar essential in developing the
literacy process of her students:

To develop cultural sensitivity in my classroom, I will fill my classroom
walls with multicultural posters. This will not only expose my students
to these different cultures, but it will also allow my students who experience
these cultures feel more comfortable with their surroundings. I will utilize
grammar activities when [they correlate] with my lessons as well as when
my students are having difficulty with it. It is important to provide my
students with an academic level of literacy rather than simply a conversa-
tional level. (Sam)

Maria Villalobos-Buehner24

Those operating at a practical level highlighted the importance of providing
immersion opportunities for their students so they could develop strong com-
municative skills in the target language:

A teacher should make it a priority to speak in the target language as much
as possible in the classroom, not only during communicative activities but
also during explanations, as students can learn from these exchanges too.
In doing so, students can realize that the target language is more than the
object of study, it is a vehicle for communication. (Adi)

Gab was the only participant who held some emancipatory beliefs at the
beginning of the semester, and these beliefs became more salient later in
the semester, during the final interview. Gab said, “The concept of teaching
a foreign language is something that has to be done with compassion. This
compassion will help the students be unafraid of not knowing the language and
have the will to further their knowledge with the language.”

The subjects also exhibited different levels of saliency in their beliefs.
However, one level was constantly more salient than the other two. For instance,
Ele stated that she wanted her students to accomplish growth in the technical
aspects of the languages and also have the drive to continue learning English on
their own. Even though Ele was interested in how students feel in the language-
learning process, which is an example of someone working at a practical level,
she believed that the way students feel is her responsibility. She also focused
on the importance of developing students’ linguistic knowledge. Her statement
is an example of someone working mostly at a technical level of cognitive
interest:

The skills my students will master will include: to be brave and confident
when speaking English or trying to learn, various ways to use their vo-
cabulary to create sentences and then eventually form paragraphs, and to
constantly learn and improve their English language proficiency. I want my
students to have a drive to continue learning English on their own outside
of the classroom. (Ele)

Jan’s position about the use of authentic material in the classroom is an
example of someone operating at a practical level of cognitive interest. She
not only highlights the importance of developing multi-literate skills for the
students by using different sources, but she also points out that relying only
on textbook material is not desirable:

Students need to be exposed to the target language in a real setting through
a variety of texts—not just the standard textbook but also newspaper and

A Habermasian Approach to the Examination of Language Teachers’… 25

magazine articles, blogs, websites, radio, TV, films, and advertisements. We
live in a multi-literate world and we need to ensure that our students are
able to communicate effectively in the same way. (Jan)

Changes in the saliency of the students’ cognitive belief system. The
group experienced two common saliency changes from a technical interest
level to a practical level, and more than half started exhibiting some type of
saliency in emancipatory interests either by mid-semester or toward the end of
the semester. For instance, besides holding beliefs at the technical and practical
levels, Vic started to operate at an emancipatory level mid-semester and toward
the end of the semester. Vic’s teaching philosophy emphasized the importance
of students becoming the owners of their own learning process and feeling
empowered:

The student-centered approach allows for many teachable moments as stu-
dents become highly engaged with the content. Once they make relevant
connections to their own lives, the students then take ownership of their
education. My classroom approach is definitely student-centered, with guid-
ance when necessary. This approach fosters students’ critical thinking skills
through the use of daily informal assessment in order for them to become
self-sufficient learners. (Vic)

Six participants experienced different saliency levels of cognitive interests
in their belief system during the semester, and three of the participants’ belief
system remained constant. Gab, Ele, Kel, and Adi held strong technical beliefs
about language teaching at the beginning of the semester. Their belief system
started to function at the practical level mid-semester, and at the end of the
semester, Gab and Kel showed some emancipatory beliefs during the final
interview.

Discussion

The results of this study indicated that Habermas’s framework of cogni-
tive interests describes and aligns with fundamental tenets and principles of
language teaching, which allows language—teacher educator programs to look
at their students’ progress with a broader lens, one that shows not only the
development of the students’ conceptual knowledge but also their development
of espoused beliefs. As Borg (2011) stated, those espoused beliefs “structure
the ways in which knowledge is organized for application and for dissemina-

Maria Villalobos-Buehner26

tion in the professions” (p. 371). A student teacher functioning in a technical
domain considers skill-building activities such as fill-in-the-blank sheets, short
read-aloud exercises, grammar lessons, and vocabulary lists essential, since
these lessons can be predictable and easier to control. These activities also
offer a systematic way of organizing content, which makes this content more
manageable. When Ele explained how a typical day in her classroom would be
during the interview, she emphasized the need for her students to learn new
vocabulary words. She said, “They should be able to identify a new type of
word at the end of the lesson.” Gab described her day as having her students
do the following:

Read and speak, and having the kids speak, and read is very important
because all students learn in different types of ways. Some learn better by
hearing, some by speaking and some by physically reading. So by those
three main things they are able to grasp the concept better and definitely
learn from it in a positive way. (Gab)

These students also believed that they are in charge of every aspect of the
class and even their students’ motivation for learning.

Student teachers with a salient practical cognitive interest would consider
the goal of communication as the one that would guide their pedagogical
decisions. These students would plan around the students’ communicative
interests. These teachers would exhibit interest in using teams and commu-
nity-building exercises. Connecting with peers and others would be central
in their planning for language learning. During the job interview, Jen was
asked to describe what a typical activity would be when she started teaching.
She said the following:

They look at the foods they would offer in France, and then they can work
together, all in French. They can work out what items they want to, you
know, have on their menu and what items they want to prepare. And then
we can invite their families into the classroom, so, bring the community
into the classroom to sample their foods—we can have people serving
them, you know what I mean? It would be a really great experience of
learning about France and its great food heritage, and also, um, showing
[what] we can do, what we can communicate in the language, what we
can prepare from the country, and showing it to the rest of the school
community. (Jen)

Jen highlighted the importance of working together and sharing a cultural
experience as a community.

A Habermasian Approach to the Examination of Language Teachers’… 27

One noteworthy finding was that this group of student teachers did not
exhibit a salient or well-defined emancipatory belief system at the beginning
of the semester, and only two, Kit and Vic, exhibited salient emancipatory
interests toward the end of the semester. Most of their espoused beliefs at this
level were about creating an inclusive classroom culture, free of fear, and being
respectful of students’ differences. During the job interview, Kit highlighted the
“power of we” when asked about what she liked about the school she wanted
to work for. She said:

I checked the school’s website, their curriculum, and I noticed that the
school’s main slogan was “the power of we,” and I thought that was amazing
because it brings everybody together, the community and the stakeholders.
And it is a powerful word to use, and I would love to be part of a com-
munity that brings everyone together and makes an effort to show everyone
in the community—teachers, students, parents, staff—that everybody is
important and vital in the learning experience. (Kit)

Kit emphasized the message of inclusiveness, which showcases beliefs at the
level of emancipatory domain. Having a belief system at the emancipatory level
could allow student teachers to become advocates of their own field, because it
helps them to identify important forces in the decision-making process at a time
when resources in the language field are scarce and threatened with elimination.
Emancipatory beliefs also allow student teachers to look at their own practices
from a critical-theory framework, with the goal of becoming transformative
agents of their own pedagogy. Hopefully, this type of transformation could
lead to changes in old practices—for instance, moving from a grammar-based
classroom to a more communicative approach. Freeman and Johnson (1998) af-
firmed that an effective teacher education program should approach educational
settings not as unbiased and neutral spaces where “educational practices are
implemented” (p. 14), but as “dynamic environments” where student teachers
need to learn how to negotiate issues of power and access.

Limitations and Future Research

One of the most evident limitations of this study is the possibility that
Habermas’s classification would have limited the process of theme recogni-
tion to the three main levels of cognitive beliefs. A second limitation is the
possibility of students’ biases in the answers given during the job interview,
because this interview was part of the final oral exam, and the students might
have included narratives that are only part of what was discussed in class. The
third limitation is the data collection time. More definite changes in their belief

Maria Villalobos-Buehner28

systems could have been observed if the study’s timeframe had been longer
and continued during student teaching.

Future studies could use Habermas’s framework to explore language teacher
development further during student teaching and the first year of teaching.
These studies could explore the role of the cooperating teacher’s belief system
in the development of student teachers’ belief systems. Other studies could
use quantitative measures that would allow for more generalizable results. In
addition, other studies could look into levels of saliency at different points in
the language educator’s career.

Conclusion

The development of the belief system of future language teachers is key
in determining the process of decision-making during their teaching years in
the school system. Habermas offers a framework that captures the complex-
ity of this belief system and will allow teacher educators to plan experiences
that will help teachers develop beliefs not only at the technical and practical
levels but also at the emancipatory level. Educators who are critical thinkers
of their practices and the educational system as a whole are needed to promote
change. Schools need teachers who are willing to transform and consider new
ways of teaching, so their institutions develop more efficient ways to learn
languages. This study shows that Habermas’s framework could help teacher
educators to facilitate the development of a more holistic teacher, one who
not only understands the whats and hows of the field but also the forces that
shape their practices.

References

Angelo, T. A., & Cross, K. P. (1993). Classroom assessment techniques: A handbook for college
teachers (2nd ed.). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Basturkmen, H. (2012). Review of research into the correspondence between language teachers’
stated beliefs and practices. System, 40, 282–295. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2012.05.001

Bernard, H., & Ryan, G. (2010). Analyzing qualitative data: Systematic approaches. Thousand
Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Borg, S. (2003). Teacher cognition in language teaching: A review of research on what language
teachers think, know, believe, and do. Language Teaching, 36, 81–109. https://doi.org/10.1017/
S0261444803001903

A Habermasian Approach to the Examination of Language Teachers’… 29

Borg, S. (2011). The impact of in-service teacher education on language teachers’ beliefs. System,
39(3), 370–80. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2011.07.009

Brookhart, S. M., & Freeman, D. J. (1992). Characteristics of entering teacher candidates. Review
of Educational Research, 62(1), 37−60.

Brown, J., & McGannon, J. (1998). What do I know about language learning? The story of the
beginning teacher. Retrieved from: http://www.cltr.uq.edu.au/alaa/proceed/bro-mcgan.html.
Accessed 22 March 2020.

Burns, A., Edwards, E., & Freeman, D. (2015). Theorizing and studying the language-teaching
mind: Mapping research on language teacher cognition. The Modern Language Journal,
99(3), 585–601. https://doi.org/10.1111/modl.12245

Butler, S. L. (1997). Habermas’ cognitive interests: Teacher and student interests and their
relationship in an adult education setting (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). Auburn
University, Alabama.

Crookes, G. (2010). Language teachers’ philosophies of teaching: Bases for development
and possible lines of investigation. Language and Linguistics Compass, 12, 1126–
1136.

Cumming, A. (1989). Student teachers’ conceptions of curriculum: Towards an understanding
of language teacher development. TESL Canada Journal, 7(1), 33−51.

Debreli, E. (2016). Pre-service teachers’ belief sources about learning and teaching: An explora-
tion with the consideration of the educational programme Nature. Higher Education Studies,
6(1), 116–127. https://doi.org/10.5539/hes.v6n1p116

Edgar, A. (2006). Habermas: The key concepts. New York: Routledge Taylor and Francis Group.
Freeman, D., & Johnson, K. (1996). Reconceptualizing the knowledge-base of language teacher

education. TESOL Quarterly, 32(3), 397–417.
Freeman, D., & Richards, J. C. (Eds.). (1996). Teacher learning in language teaching. Cambridge:

Cambridge University Press.
Gabryś-Barker, D. (2012). Reflectivity in pre-service teacher education: A survey of theory and

practice. Katowice: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Śląskiego.
Geelan, D. (2001). The empty centre: Power/knowledge, relationships and the myth of student

centered teaching in teacher education. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 26(2),
1–11. https://doi.org/10.14221/ajte.2001v26n2.3

Golombek, P. R., & Johnson, K. E. (2017). Re-conceptualizing teachers’ narrative inquiry as
professional development. Profile, 19, 15–28.

Habermas, J. (1971). Knowledge and human interests (J. Schapiro, Trans.). Boston: Beacon
Press.

Hennissen, P., Beckers, H., & Moerkerke, G. (2017). Linking practice to theory in teacher edu-
cation: A growth in cognitive structures. Teaching and Teacher Education, 63, 314–325.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2017.01.008

Johnson, K. E., & Golembek, P. R. (2002). Inquiry into experience: Teachers’ personal and
professional growth. In K. E. Johnson & P. R. Golembek (Eds.), Teachers’ narrative inquiry
as professional development (pp. 1–14). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.

Kondrat, M. E. (1995). Concept, act, and interest in professional practice: Implications of an
empowerment perspective. Social Service Review, 69(3), 405–428.

Mann, S. (2005). The language teacher’s development. Language Teaching, 38(3), 103–118.
Ring, C. (2014). Social work training or social work education? An approach to curriculum

design. Social Work Education, 33(8), 1101–1108. https://doi.org/10.1080/02615479.2014.902435
Scott, B. (1997). Curricular change in higher education: What we say and what we do. Paper

presented at the annual meeting of the Mid-South Educational Research Association,
November 1997, Memphis, TN.

Maria Villalobos-Buehner30

Sinprajakpol, S. (2004). Teachers’ beliefs about language learning and teaching: The relation-
ship between beliefs and practices (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). State University of
New York at Buffalo, New York.

Varghese, M., Morgan, B., Johnston, B., & Johnson, K. A. (2005). Theorising language
teacher identities: Three perspectives and beyond. Journal of Language, Identity and
Education, 4, 21–44. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327701jlie0401_2

Vibulpol, J. (2004). Beliefs about language learning and teaching approaches of pre-service
EFL teachers in Thailand (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). Oklahoma State University,
Stillwater.

Wright, T. (2010). Second language teacher education: Review of recent research on practice.
Language Teaching, 43(3), 259–296. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0261444810000030

A p p e n d i x A

Language Learning Autobiography

This essay provides the reader with a snapshot of your experiences and an introduction to
your views regarding the teaching of a foreign language. Carefully consider your experiences
as a student in your foreign language classes and describe your reaction to these classes in
elementary, middle, and/or high school. You need not list a chronology of every school year.
Well-written essays will answer some but not all of the following questions:
• What were the purposes of the teacher?
• What content was taught?
• What do you remember?
• What did students do in class?
• What did the teacher do?
• What made teachers good and what characteristics did you associate with poor teachers?

Please limit your essays to no more than two, maximum three pages of double-spaced typing
with 1” margins and a 12-point font such as Times New Roman.

A p p e n d i x B

Philosophy of Teaching

Develop a ref lective essay that explores your beliefs regarding the purposes, methods, and
content of foreign language teaching. Consider this essay as a written interview that you are
having with a panel of middle or high school foreign language teachers. Please consider the
following topics as you explain your rationale and teaching practices. Address these issues,
but organize your answer according to your beliefs regarding effective practices in foreign
language instruction.
• What is your rationale for teaching language in the middle or high school? This includes
the knowledge you believe is most important, the values you will teach, and the skills that
students will master in your classes.
• What approach will you take in teaching language to your students?
• How do you believe that students best learn a foreign language? What is the role of instruc-
tion about grammar?

A Habermasian Approach to the Examination of Language Teachers’… 31

• Ref lect on ways you will develop cultural sensitivity in your students.
• What are your career goals? And what are your plans to achieve those goals?
• What are your beliefs about summative and formative assessment in a language class?

A p p e n d i x C

Mock Job Interview

You will demonstrate an understanding of the central concepts discussed in class, such as the
teaching and learning process in world language and ESL education and the national standards.
In the form of a mock job interview, you will describe the importance of language study while
placing it within a cultural, social, educational, and professional context. These interviews will
take place during the last week and the week of finals. You will be given in advance the job
description for a fictitious K–12 world language/ESL teaching position. You are expected to dress
professionally, and interviewers will consist of your course instructor and one or more practicing
teachers/administrators with whom you are not familiar. On the night of the final exam, you
must bring your portfolio, nicely organized. Each interview will last approximately 15 minutes.

The study used the participants’ answers to the following questions:
• What should be the goal of the ESL/World Language classroom?
• How would you assess your students?
• Describe a typical day in your classroom.
• How do you accommodate the various learning styles of students within a class?
• How would you help advocate for the profession?/ ESL: How could you help make the ESL
classroom part of the school community?

Maria Villalobos-Buehner

Habermas‘sche Theorie in der Forschung
zu kognitiven Interessen von Fremdsprachenlehrern

Z u s a m m e n f a s s u n g

Die Ausbildung zum Fremdsprachenlehrer umfasst sowohl theoretische und praktische
Kurse, als auch pädagogische Praktika in der Schule (engl. practicum). Es wird erwar-
tet, dass künftige Lehrer bei der Lehrtätigkeit während Praktikumszeit ihr konzeptionel-
les und praktisches Wissen einsetzen. Allerdings bei der Beurteilung ihrer Bereitschaft zur
Lehrerarbeit wird lediglich das konzeptionelle Wissen in Betracht gezogen, während ihr
Vorstellungssystem bezüglich Fremdsprachenlernen und -lehren ganz unberücksichtigt bleibt.
Das erwähnte Vorstellungssystem bietet nicht nur einen wichtigen Einblick darin, wie sie ihr
unterrichtsbezogenes Wissen organisieren, sondern weist auch auf ihre Offenheit für neue
pädagogische Methoden hin. Im vorliegenden Artikel wird eine auf Grundlage der Theorie
von Jürgen Habermas zu kognitiven Interessen konzipierte Untersuchung dargestellt, die sich
auf die Analyse der Vorstellungen von neun künftigen Fremdsprachenlehrern zum Abschluss
ihres methodischen Kurses bezieht. Die Analyse basiert auf Ref lexionsessays betreffend un-

Maria Villalobos-Buehner32

ter anderem kognitive Interessen der künftigen Lehrer sowie die Unterrichtsmethoden und
Leistungsbeurteilung im Fremdsprachenlehren. Aus der Analyse ergibt sich, dass man bei der
Bildung künftiger Lehrer die vorstellungsfördernden und auf den Verselbstständigungsprozess
bezogenen Erfahrungen berücksichtigen sollte. Dies könnte die künftigen Lehrer bei den
Bestrebungen unterstützen, ihre Autonomie im Bereich der Bewältigung von schweren
Umweltbedingungen zu entwickeln oder die neuen pädagogischen Methoden umzusetzen.

Schlüsselwörter: künftige Lehrer, Vorstellungssystem, Jürgen Habermas, kognitive Interessen