Carlos Lenin Alvarez Llerena - Department of Language Pedagogy, Eötvös Loránd University, Hungary
Xuan Van Ha - PhD Department of Foreign Languages, Ha Tinh University, Ha Tinh, Vietnam

The present study explored the Ecuadorian secondary school teachers' beliefs about teaching EFL in the context of national curriculum reform. The data comprised in-depth interviews with ۱۶ teachers from ۱۴ public secondary schools in Ecuador. The interviews were semi-structured, and they were guided by a set of questions probing into the teachers’ beliefs about instructional design, assessment, teaching materials, and learning activities. Qualitative analysis of the interview transcripts revealed some interesting insights into the Ecuadorian teachers' beliefs and reported practice. The findings showed that the teachers were positive about the principles and innovation in the new curriculum designed by the Ministry of Education. However, various contextual and practical constraints hindered the teachers from implementing the intended curriculum. These factors included large class size, a lack of teacher training and professional development, and the heavy load caused by compulsory extra-curriculum activities. Implications for EFL pedagogy and teacher professional development are discussed.  

Ecuadorian EFL teachers, EFL curriculum reform, teacher beliefs, pedagogical practices, Ecuadorian EFL teachers, EFL curriculum reform, teacher beliefs, pedagogical practices