The cognitions underlying teachers' use of instructional materials on a BA ELT at a Mexican university

While in the field of language education much has been written about the design and use of instructional materials, very few studies have actually studied teachers' practices in using materials and the rationales for these practices. In response to this gap, this work examines the findings of a study of English language teachers' use of instructional materials on a BA ELT programme in Mexico. Drawing on both qualitative and quantitative data, the study examines how more experienced (METs) and less experienced (LETs) language teachers use ELT materials in their lessons, and identifies what factors• cognitive and contextual• influence their decisions. Language teachers in the institution under study first completed a questionnaire about their use of instructional materials; six of these teachers were then studied through observations and interviews to provide a deeper understanding of classroom practices in using materials and the factors shaping their choices. Findings revealed that textbooks were the most relevant materials in the teachers' practices. In this vein the study unveiled contrasting beliefs between LETs and METs about the use of textbooks. The study also showed that contextual factors such as the length of courses and lessons, and the textbook-based assessment, were explicitly raised as the most influential over the teachers' use of materials. Another emerging factors that also shaped teachers' use of materials include: Procedures for selecting textbooks, institution's facilities, out of fashion materials at the resource centre, institutional mechanisms to supervise teachers' practices and types of teachers' work contracts. Contributions from this work are expected to be relevant for the institution under study, for similar other BA ELT programs and for the field of teacher cognition.