Teacher Reflection in Practice: Reflection-in-Action and Reflection-on-Action in Pronunciation Teaching in a Multilingual Cambridge Curriculum Classroom
Abstract
Teacher reflection is widely recognized as a critical component of professional growth, there exists a knowledge gap regarding its mechanism of action in pronunciation instruction in multilingual and curricular-specified settings. This study aimed to explore how an English teacher in a Cambridge Curriculum secondary school in Semarang, Indonesia, reflected on her pronunciation instruction while working with students with diverse linguistic backgrounds. A qualitative case study design was utilized, and the data were collected through a teacher reflection sheet completed after two observed lessons and a semi-structured interview. The data were analyzed using Braun and Clarke’s (2006) thematic analysis method, guided by Farrell’s (2018) framework of reflection-in-action and reflection-on-action. Four themes were uncovered, with two corresponding to each side of the reflective cycle. In particular, the teacher constantly evaluated the students’ responses during instruction and modified her explanations, pace, and error correction in accordance with them. After the lesson, she reassessed her performance and formulated actionable items for future classes. Thus, the two stages of reflection appeared to merge into a single instructional cycle, with reflection-on-action informing reflection-in-action for the next lesson. The analysis revealed that the teacher’s reflection-in-action was largely informed by the limitations of the lesson time rather than the students’ language backgrounds. The study showed that reflective practice could be instrumental in instructional improvement by formalizing the reflective cycle into discrete steps, which may be beneficial in contexts where reflective practice is not institutionalized. Keywords: teacher reflection, reflection-in-action, reflection-on-action, pronunciation teaching, multilingual classroom, Cambridge Curriculum