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problems in order to keep their mind up to date,to adapt themselves to the fast changing environment in their career, to firm their appropriate teachingbeliefs. This study theoretically supports the considerable emphasis on the role of reflection to improveteacher professional development and keep their positive teaching beliefs.Apart from that, in reviewing the literature, too much attention has been paid on pre-service EFLteachers’ reflective practice, while few studies focus on the in-service EFL teachers, who certainly needtheir constant development through reflective practice as well. The shortage of the number of relevantstudies reflects the ignorance of investigation of the in-service teachers’ reflection situation in a way, whilethey have the major role in improving the quality of education. Therefore, this study contributes to theevocation of the significant importance of the in-service EFL teachers’ reflection and their teaching beliefs,which are crucial for their professional development.
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Chapter 2 Literature Review

2.1 Definitions of Teachers’ Reflection and Beliefs
The term reflection is rooted from John Dewey’s (1933) influential book How we think: are-statement of the relation of reflective thinking to the educational process. John Dewey, who himselfdrew on the ideas of many earlier educators such as Plato, Aristotle, Confucius, Lao Tzu, Solomon, andBuddha (Houston, cited in Hatton and Smith, 1995:33). Cited in Rodgers’ (2002) work, Dewey definedreflection as “active, persistent, and careful consideration of any belief or supposed form of knowledge inthe light of the grounds that support it and the further conclusions to which it tends”. Dewey regardedreflection a particular form of problem solving, which could be used to resolve particular issues. Hedistinguished reflection from more general thinking, reflective thinking, rather than being a random chainof thoughts; critical reflection, which is a deliberative and critical thinking process, which can profoundlyinfluence one’s experiences, beliefs, opinions and practice.Then Valli’s (1997) made a description ofreflective teachers based on the spirit of Dewey’s words: “ [who]can look back on events, make judgmentsabout them, and alter their teaching behaviors in light of craft, research, and ethical knowledge’’(p. 70).Reflective thinking will lead to reflective action, which is contrasted with impulsive and routineactions. Impulsive action is based on instinctive principles, while routine action is largely based onauthoritative and traditional rules. A reflective teacher, according to Valli’s (1997) definition, which meansone examines his previous teaching practices critically, then comes up with some meaningful ideas as howto improve his teaching performance that can enhance students’ learning and improve students’achievement, and finally puts those ideas into practice.
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2.2 Previous Studies on Teachers’ Reflection
In the past decades, the word ‘reflection’ has become popular in ELT teachers’ training and educationprograms and teaching practice. Especially, there has been an increasing interest on the notion of reflectivepractice over the past years, which covers a number of different professional fields. The term reflectionwas first appeared in John Dewey’s (1933) influential book How we think: a re-statement of the relation ofreflective thinking to the educational process. Refl