English language teachers’ mindsets about their teaching competencies : a Maltese case study

Abstract

Mindsets have an important bearing on the personal and professional development of language teachers. Educators with growth mindsets believe in the malleability of their qualities, whereas those with fixed mindsets assume that their skills and performance cannot change. Besides having the right kind of mindset, language teachers also require a number of teaching competencies to operate effectively. This mixed-methods study focuses on the mindsets and teaching competencies of teachers working in the private English language teaching (ELT) sector in Malta. Findings indicate that the participants felt particularly competent about creating good student-teacher relationships and they could easily develop their understanding of the details of language and grammar. However, they admitted that staying in control of emotions is challenging and that they required further personal and professional development to act as mentors and monitor learners' progress effectively.