Teachers’ Beliefs Inventory

Beliefs about Language Learning Footnote 1

Read the following statements about language learning. For each statement indicate if you agree or disagree with the statement (1 = strongly agree; 2 = agree; 3 = neutral; 4 = disagree; 5 = strongly disagree). For numbers 22 and 23, circle your answer.

  1. It is easier for children than adults to learn a foreign language.
  2. Some people have a special ability for learning foreign languages.
  3. Some languages are easier to learn than others.
  4. People from my country are good at learning foreign languages.
  5. It is important to speak English with excellent pronunciation.
  6. It is necessary to know about English-speaking cultures in order to speak English.
  7. You shouldn’t say anything in English until you can say it correctly.
  8. It is easier for someone who already speaks a foreign language to learn another one.
  9. People who are good at mathematics or science are not good at learning a foreign language.
  10. It is best to learn English in an English-speaking country.
  11. The most important part of learning a foreign language is learning vocabulary words.
  12. It is important to repeat and practise a lot.
  13. Women are better than men at learning foreign languages.
  14. If beginning students are permitted to make errors in English, it will be difficult for them to speak correctly later on.
  15. The most important part of learning a foreign language is learning the grammar.
  16. It is easier to speak than understand a foreign language.
  17. It is important to practise with cassette tapes.
  18. Learning a foreign language is different than learning other academic subjects.
  19. People who speak more than one language are very intelligent.
  20. Everyone can learn to speak a foreign language.
  21. It is easier to read and write English than to speak and understand it.
  22. English is:
    1. a very difficult language
    2. a difficult language
    3. a language of medium difficulty
    4. an easy language
    5. a very easy language
  23. If someone spent one hour a day learning a language, how long would it take them to speak the language very well?
    1. less than a year
    2. 1-2 years
    3. 3-5 years
    4. 5-10 years
    5. You can’t learn a language in one hour a day

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Return to note 1 Reflective Teaching in Second Language Classrooms, written by Jack Richards and Charles Lockhart,
© Cambridge University Press, 1994, pages 50-51. Reprinted with permission of Cambridge University Press.