Abstract
Languages education, or what has been called the study of languages other than English (LOTE), seems to involve a paradox in Australia. It is supposed to promote cultural enrichment and intercultural understanding, and yet the process of becoming a qualified language teacher tends to be intolerant of the cultural differences of overseas born and educated speakers of these languages. This is clear from an increasing body of literature on the difficulties experienced by overseas educated language teachers, which we review in the first half of this paper. Since this raises questions on how such teachers survive in Australia, we then present an introspective study of the experiences of the first author, including the circumstances that brought her to Australia, the difficulties she faced in teacher training and as a newly employed teacher, and the factors that enabled her to cope and eventually succeed. Her experiences highlight the particular importance of supportive supervisors and colleagues, thus suggesting a valuable role for mentoring.
Highlights
One reason for teaching languages in Australian schools has been to promote cultural enrichment and intercultural understanding, well it has succeeded in doing this
As an anecdotal example from some fifteen years ago, a lecturer in teacher education at one Australian university told the second author of this paper that it was almost impossible for teacher education students of non-English speaking or indigenous background to successfully complete the practicum
To provide a basis for discussion, the first author of this paper presents an introspective account of what she went through to become a teacher of Japanese in Australia
Summary
It is supposed to promote cultural enrichment and intercultural understanding, and yet the process of becoming a qualified language teacher tends to be intolerant of the cultural differences of overseas born and educated speakers of these languages This is clear from an increasing body of literature on the difficulties experienced by overseas educated language teachers, which we review in the first half of this paper. Since this raises questions on how such teachers survive in Australia, we present an introspective study of the experiences of the first author, including the circumstances that brought her to Australia, the difficulties she faced in teacher training and as a newly employed teacher, and the factors that enabled her to cope and eventually succeed. Her experiences highlight the particular importance of supportive supervisors and colleagues, suggesting a valuable role for mentoring
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