EFL Teachers’ Beliefs and Practices in Relation to Peer Assisted Learning in University English Classes: The Case of Debre Birhan University

Abstract

This study examined EFL teachers’ beliefs about instructional roles of peer-assisted learning and their classroom practices at Debre Birhan University (DBU) where such a learning scheme has been introduced as a classroom instructional strategy. The study involved 16 English language teachers, and employed questionnaire and interview to elicit the teachers’ beliefs and practices related to PAL. Descriptive and inferential statistics such as one sample t-test and Pearson’s Correlation Coefficient were utilized for analyses. The one sample t-test revealed that the teachers had significantly high belief about the importance of PAL in relation to enhancing student learning, self- confidence, and achievement in English. The result also indicated that the teachers employed PAL in the classrooms. However, the Pearson’s Correlation (r) analysisindicated that there was no significant relationship between teachers' beliefs and practices of PAL. The results also showed that most of the teachers did not put PAL into practice in their English classes. Finally, it was unraveled that the majority participantteachers practiced peer-assisted learning differently than DBU expected it to be. Based on the findings and the conclusions made, it was recommended that training be given to teachers on the structure, implementation and benefits of peer-assisted learning to improve instructional practices in PAL