THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

Teaching is a complex process which can be conceptualized in a number of different ways.

Traditionally, language teaching has been described in terms of what teachers do: that is,
with regards to the actions and behaviors which teachers carry out in the classroom and the
effects of these on learners. Richards (1986) highlights that no matter what kind of class a
teacher teaches, he or she is typically confronted with the following kinds of tasks:
selecting learning activities, preparing students for new learning, presenting learning
activities, asking questions, conducting drills, checking, students' understanding, providing
opportunities for practice of new items, monitoring students' learning, giving feedback on
student learning, reviewing and reteaching when being necessary.
In order to understand how teachers are involved in these teaching dimensions, firstly, it is
necessary to examine the beliefs and thinking processes which underlie teachers
classrooms actions. With this in mind, teachers' beliefs systems are founded on the goals,
values, and beliefs teachers hold in relation to the content and process of teaching, and their
understanding of the systems in which they work and their roles within it. Richards (1991).
In a general way teachers hold beliefs about: teaching, learning, English, the programme
and the curriculum, and language teaching as a profession (Richards and Lockhart 1996);
the same is true for student teachers. When the latter enter the classroom, they are actually
expected to put into practice what they have been taught in theory and to undertake the task
of making decisions related to the planning of a lesson. Generally pre-service teachers
have also been found to hold beliefs about their own professional development but with
very restricted accounts that teaching is largely a matter of personality together with a few
managerial tactics that can be learned from observing other teachers. Supporting these
previous ideas Kagan (1992), states that student teachers past experiences and beliefs act
as a filter which reinforces rather than challenges their preconceived ideas e studies (Nettle
1998; Joram and Gabrielle 1998) have suggested that during teaching practice certain
beliefs can change or remain unchanged. (Richards and Lockhart 1996). For this the author
highlights the important of putting into practice what they have been taught in theory and to
undertake the task of making decisions related to the planning of a lesson. In order words
what is pertinent is that lesson planning is an essential constituent of effective teaching,

and, while deciding on what works best in the classroom, student teachers are asked to
contemplate upon various facets of lesson planning. This view of teaching involves a
cognitive, an affective, and a behavioral dimension (Clark and Peterson 1986; Lynch 1989).
It is based on the assumption that what teachers do is a reflection of what they know and
believe, and that teacher knowledge and "teacher thinking" provide the underlying
framework or schema which guides the teacher's classroom actions.
The role that beliefs play in shaping the instructional decisions and practices that teachers
make use of in teaching. The option the teacher selects is known as a decision (Kindsvatter,
Wilen, and Ishler 1988).
According to Pearson (2004) Decision making involves giving consideration to a matter,
identifying the desired end result, determining the options to get to the end result, and then
selecting the most suitable option to achieve the desired purpose. Teacher decisions about
the issues just mentioned ultimately will influence student learning. Furthermore she states
that, when breaking the decisions down, they fall into three categories: planning,
implementing, and assessing. Some decisions are made at the desk when preparing lesson
or unit plans, designing an instructional activity, or grading papers. Other decisions are
made on the spot during the dynamic interactions with students when delivering a lesson
On the other hand. With this in mind Richard (1996) establishes that teaching involves
making a great number of individual decisions. Before a lesson can be taught it must be
planned. Decisions at this stage are called planning decisions. The teacher has to make onthe-spot decisions concerning different aspects of the lesson, many of which may not have
been planned. These are known as interactive decisions. After the lesson, the teacher must
make decisions about its effectiveness and what the follow-up to the lesson will be. These
are known as evaluative decisions.

With regards to planning decisions, Neely (1986) The planning options a teacher employs
reflect the teacher's beliefs about teaching and learning. Some teachers believe that lessons
should be spontaneous and that a detailed lesson plan restricts the teacher's choices and
discourages responding to students' needs and interests. Although planning decisions may

form the starting point of a lesson, they are not the sole determinant of what happens during
a lesson. Lessons are dynamic in nature, to some extent unpredictable, and characterized by
constant change. Teachers therefore have to continuously make decisions that are
appropriate to the specific dynamics of the lesson they are teaching. Parker (1984) observes
Teaching-learning contexts change, and teachers' behaviors must change accordingly. The
basic problem for teachers is, therefore, to acknowledge that there is no one best way to
behave, and then to learn to make decisions in such ways that their behaviors are
continually appropriate to the dynamic, moment-to-moment complexity of the classroom.
Supporting this idea, Richards (1986) establishes a number of components to an interactive
decision, for instance monitoring one's teaching and evaluating what is happening at a
particular, point in the lesson, recognizing that a number of different courses of action are
possible, selecting a particular course of action and evaluating the consequences of the
choice. Finally, Evaluative decisions are those which a teacher makes after a lesson has
been taught.