5.1 Introduction

This chapter presents a synthesis of teachers’ beliefs about teaching and learning French in OLEs. The focus of this chapter is on describing the beliefs and, as such, considers research question 1: What are some of teachers’ beliefs about teaching FSFL in online learning environments? The aim is to present the beliefs without extensive interpretation or analysis. The following chapter, Chapter 6, will present an interpretation and more extensive analysis of the findings.

The analysis of the beliefs involved coding using key words. As a result of this coding, 12 categories were established. These 12 categories represented 12 topics into which all of the data could be grouped. However, among these categories, it was apparent that there were differences and similarities between each of the 12 categories. While some categories grouped data which viewed use of OLEs in a positive way and expressed their advantages, other categories appeared to group data which emphasized the challenges related to the use of OLEs. The next step therefore involved regrouping each of the 12 categories into two broad categories: beliefs that emphasize the advantages of OLEs for the teaching and learning of FSFL; beliefs that emphasize the challenges related to the use of OLEs. Although there was no attempt whatsoever to group the categories evenly, there were six categories of advantages and six of the challenges. Thus, the data were grouped into what this study refers to as two categories with six sub-categories in each of the two broad categories. The two categories are:

1. beliefs that emphasize the advantages of OLEs for the teaching and learning of FSFL;
2. beliefs that emphasize the challenges related to the use of such environments for this purpose.

These categories were useful and effective in terms of finding a boundary for the data. The data did not need to undergo extensive interpretation or analysis in order to be classified in one or the other category. Within each of the two broad categories six, more specific sub-categories were identified as a result of coding the data. These categories are as follows:

The presentation or description of the findings in this chapter attempts to capture the essence of the beliefs which are often expressed in complex and conflicting ways. The use of a dichotomy of categories (advantages versus challenges) does not imply that participants expressed either one or the other set of beliefs. On the contrary. The same teacher ofttimes expressed both categories of beliefs simultaneously. For example, it was not uncommon for a teacher to express the belief that the use of OLEs allowed her to improve or advance her teaching practices while simultaneously arguing that she lacked the necessary time and training to achieve effective use of OLEs. The next chapter provides an interpretation of the beliefs and therefore an explanation for the conflicts and contradictions which arise in the beliefs described in the present chapter. This chapter does not attempt to interpret the beliefs instead it describes or presents them only. This description begins with the first category of beliefs which relates to the advantages to use of OLEs.