English Teachers’ Reflective Practice in the UAE

A crucial component of ongoing professional development, ‘reflective practice’ is meant to aid teachers in moving from a condition where their actions are predominantly led by instinct, intuition, or habit to a state where their actions are predominantly guided by reflection and critical thought (Uştuk and Costa in TESOL J 12, 2021). Teaching professionals who are able to critically evaluate and reflect on their own practices are more effective because it helps them to improve their own teaching, learning, and growth. In this study, a mixed method research approach was adopted as both qualitative and quantitative data were collected to investigate reflective practices that are currently being implemented in Higher Education Institutes and training centres in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), with a particular emphasis on Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) instructors, as well as their perceptions of reflective practice and its impact on their professional development. The findings of the study are intriguing, and they call for a broad conversation and research on reflective inquiry in the UAE as reflective practice is a topic that is yet to be extensively investigated, particularly in connection to the language classroom and TESOL instructors.