Native English-speaking Teachers Research Articles

Do kindergarten teachers possess adequate knowledge of basic language constructs to teach children to read English as a foreign language?

The contribution of teacher knowledge to learning outcomes at the beginning stages of literacy acquisition is of growing concern because the ability to provide quality instruction is central to successful literacy acquisition, particularly for pupils with dyslexia. To date, the majority of research has focused on teachers of English as a first language. Yet, English is the most widely taught foreign language today. The present study extends the exploration of teacher knowledge by probing two heretofore unexamined groups of teachers who are responsible for teaching beginning stages of literacy in English as a foreign language: regular class teachers who are non-native English-speaking (N = 96) and native English-speaking teachers (N = 24) working in the kindergarten setting in Hong Kong. As these two teacher groups serve as gatekeepers of beginning English as a foreign language literacy for kindergarten children in Hong Kong, it is crucial to gather information about the depth and quality of their teacher knowledge. This information can be instrumental to improving the quality of beginning literacy instruction in English and assisting early identification of dyslexia. Both groups completed the basic language constructs survey (Binks-Cantrell, Joshi, & Washburn, Annals of Dyslexia, 62, 153-171, 2012a). Results showed while native English teachers performed significantly better than non-native English teachers, total percentage correct scores were below 50%, except for phonological awareness tasks. All teachers scored higher in items requiring syllable as opposed to phoneme manipulation. Only teacher type predicted teachers' performance on the survey. The need for quality instruction, particularly for children at-risk for dyslexia or those struggling at the beginning stages of literacy acquisition, is addressed.

Beliefs versus Declared Practices of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) Teachers Regarding Teaching Grammar

This study investigated English as Foreign Language (EFL) teachers' beliefs, perceptions and declared practices of teaching grammar within a communicative language teaching (CLT) framework. Participants included 221 EFL teachers, who were teaching during the years 2013-2018 in different grades and schools throughout Israel. Participants were graduates of teacher training programs in colleges and universities and included Non-Native English Speaking Teachers (NNEST) and Native English Speaking Teachers (NEST).An on-line, self-report survey designed specifically for this study contained three closed questions and two open-ended questions. One-way ANOVA statistics, and mean scores of all the responses were performed on the quantitative data. Qualitative data were grouped, analyzed, and coded.Results show a discrepancy between EFL teachers' perceptions and declared practices of teaching grammar in classrooms. Results further reveal significant differences between NEST and NNEST teachers, as well as differences between teachers who teach in different grades (elementary school, junior high school and high school). Moreover, 'vocabulary' and 'speaking' were ranked of highest importance (58% and 55%, respectively), whereas 'writing' and 'grammar' were considered least important (24%). These findings have valuable implications for teachers and teacher education regarding teaching grammar in context and using contextualized activities.

The everyday politics of English-only policy in an EFL language school: practices, ideologies, and identities of Korean bilingual teachers

ABSTRACT Many stakeholders tend to believe that native English-speaking teachers are more qualified and legitimized in teaching English only in English in the EFL context. Considering the theoretical importance of language ideology in understanding pedagogical practices, this study takes the approach that the proactive adaptations of the English-only policy into contemporary EFL classrooms are ideologically driven. Drawing on data from ethnographic fieldwork at an English-only language school in South Korea, this study examines the ways in which Korean bilingual teachers at the school interpreted, valorized, or challenged the monolingual policy in and out of classroom. While the school required Korean bilingual teachers to stick to the English-only policy, they showed different responses to the school's policy in terms of students using their first language and the expansion of the English-only policy beyond the classroom. Results suggest that the teachers’ everyday practice of the English-only policy is a complex process of negotiating interconnected ideologies and identities related to native-speakerism, gendered nationalism, and professionalism. The academic need for the local and ethnographic understanding of the language policy and its professional implications for nonnative English teachers are discussed.

Rater Effects on L2 Oral Assessment: Focusing on Accent Familiarity of L2 Teachers

ABSTRACT In the present study, I examined the effects of rater characteristics, in particular, raters’ familiarity with a foreign accent, on the assessment of second language (L2) pronunciation. Forty-three native English-speaking teachers were divided into three groups according to their reported types of familiarity with Korean accents: heritage, familiar, and unfamiliar. The teachers assessed global proficiency and accentedness of speech samples provided by 40 Koreans speaking L2 English. The ratings made on 1–9 numerical scales were analyzed for interrater reliability and rater severity. While the three teacher groups overall exhibited high interrater reliability, the findings suggest that prior exposure to, or regular contact with, foreign-accented speech may affect teachers’ consistency in ratings. A comparison of the three groups’ severity measures revealed that the heritage teachers were more lenient than the non-heritage (i.e., familiar and unfamiliar) teachers in evaluating global proficiency and accentedness. The difference in the level of severity between the familiar and unfamiliar teacher groups was not significant.

“It’s Not Like That at All”: A Poststructuralist Case Study on Language Teacher Identity and Emotional Labor

ABSTRACT This longitudinal case study explored the language teacher identity construction of two novice native English-speaking teachers (NESTs) in an EFL context. Adopting a poststructuralist approach, Emily’s and David’s teacher identity construction were explored in relation to the emotional labor they expressed and experienced throughout their first year at a university in Turkey. Data were collected over a six-month period through weekly journal entries, semi-structured follow-up interviews and researchers’ field notes. While Emily and David had similar experiences as novice NESTs in their institution, three factors made a difference in their trajectories: educational background, competence in the local language, and supportive discourses at work. These three factors led to different emotional labor in their lives, and this contributed to their investment and participation in communities of practice. Overall, this study presents the ways in which emotional labor is interwoven with notions of investment, burnout, communities of practice, and teacher identity at large.

Shifting attitudes towards native speaker and local English teachers: an elaborative replication

ABSTRACT Students’ attitudes towards native English speaking teachers (NESTs) and local English teachers has been a fertile area of research for many years, but the commonly used surveys focusing on students’ explicit attitudes have been criticised because of the influence of prejudice. An alternative is to use social psychology instruments such as the Implicit Association Test (IAT) to investigate both explicit and implicit attitudes as in Watson Todd and Pojanapunya (2009. “Implicit Attitudes Towards Native and Non-native Speaker Teachers.” System 37: 23–33. doi:10.1016/j.system.2008.08.002). This article is a direct replication of Watson Todd and Pojanapunya (2009), but, because the sociolinguistic context in Thailand has changed with greater use of English as a lingua franca (ELF) since the original study, we aim to look for differences between the findings of the original study and those of the current study rather than confirm the original, a process we term elaborative replication. Using an IAT with 439 Thai university students, the results show that, in contrast to our expectations, students’ implicit and explicit attitudes towards NESTs have become more positive in the ten years since the original study, a finding that casts doubt on the wider social impact of the ELF movement.

Examining the influence of native and non-native English-speaking teachers on Korean EFL writing

Both Native English-Speaking Teachers (NESTs) and Non-Native English-Speaking Teachers (NNESTs) may have advantages as writing instructors, yet little is known about how they actually influence writing in EFL contexts like South Korea. To address this issue, 76 high proficiency Korean EFL university students from the International Corpus Network of Asian Learners of English (ICNALE) were separated into a group that received extensive native English speaker instruction (n = 57) and a group that did not (n = 19) using a self-survey. Analysis of essay content revealed that words used by Korean EFL writers with more NEST instruction are similar in difficulty and variety to native English writers. Concerning style, Korean EFL learners with more NEST instruction used stances to evaluate, validate, and state personal opinions, while learners with less NEST instruction used speech formulas and more unbiased logical arguments. Regarding grammar, Korean EFL learners with extensive NEST instruction used more sophisticated vocabulary, word forms, and verb tenses to create a novel argument using personal experience, whereas Korean EFL learners with low NEST instruction tended to use formulaic and logical arguments with more accuracy. Overall, results suggest that NEST instruction in Korea promotes more creativity and sophistication in composition, while NNEST instruction encourages more accurate use of language. In accordance with the findings, curricula or teacher training may be developed to ensure that each type of instruction shares the strengths of its counterpart.

Negotiating teacher identity: Experiences of Black teachers of English in Korean ELT

Most recent research on teacher identity in the TESOL field has focused on how non-native English-speaking teachers (non-NESTs) view and position themselves vis-à-vis native English-speaking teachers (NESTs), and which factors influence their construction of their professional identities. However, the perceived native speaker/non-native speaker (NS–NNS) dichotomy greatly oversimplifies a complicated phenomenon by representing it as solely linguistic and disregarding sociocultural and political issues. Beyond the question of nativeness versus non-nativeness, race, ethnicity, nationality, and cultural identity have played key roles in how teachers position themselves within English language teaching (ELT). These other factors may be critical in how others judge the capability of a teacher of English and authenticity of his/her English.

Differences Between Native English-Speaking Teachers and Their Non-Native Counterparts When Evaluating Pronunciation

This article is a small-scale qualitative study whose objective was to identify differences between the way in which native English teachers and their non-native Chilean counterparts assess pronunciation. To achieve this, teachers from both groups were asked to assess the same material produced by two students of English pedagogy in a Chilean university. The results show that native English teachers rate students higher than their non-native colleagues. This is apparently due not only to differences in training but also the differences in the processes of acquisition. The outcome of this research concerns anyone interested in teaching and learning English as a second/foreign language.

Creating an effective English-Medium Instruction (EMI) classroom: Chinese undergraduate students’ perceptions of native and non-native English-speaking content teachers and their experiences

ABSTRACT The globalisation of higher institutions has led to the emergence of EMI courses offered by faculty with diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds. Existing literature has revealed that the cultural and linguistic backgrounds of English language teachers affect their teaching behaviour. However, this issue is relatively under-explored among EMI content teachers. This study explored 101 Chinese undergraduate students’ perceptions of two categories of content teachers – native English-speaking EMI teachers and local (non-native English-speaking) EMI teachers – regarding their teaching behaviour and practices. Their perceptions were collected via a questionnaire survey and interviews, which were then triangulated by class observation of teachers’ actual practices. Specifically, the students perceived that native English-speaking teachers adopted more interactive teaching approaches with diverse activities and various modalities of communication, but lacked intercultural competence. In comparison, local teachers obtained intra-cultural competence and thus could communicate with students about their learning difficulties. Their instruction was more intelligible but rather teacher-dominated. Students favoured interactive and efficient EMI courses with a primary focus on content. The findings provide insights for the implementation of the EMI curriculum and the development of EMI teachers’ expertise.

The Negative Influence of Native-Speakerism on the Sustainability of Linguistic and Cultural Diversities of Localized Variants of English: A Study of Local and Expatriate Teachers in South Korea

This study explores teacher identities of native English-speaking teachers (NESTs) and non-native English-speaking teachers (NNESTs) based on interview data collected from twenty teachers who teach English to young learners in South Korean primary schools. The participants comprised ten NESTs and ten NNESTs. Bourdieu’s concept of three pillars was used to explore hegemonic relations between NESTs and NNESTs. The interview analysis showed that two different types of symbolic capital—one specified as native-speakerism and the other concretized as qualified tenured teacher positions—shape the dynamic nature of hegemonic relations that have constructed an antagonistic collective habitus between NESTs and NNESTs. This study revealed that power fluctuations and lack of institutional cultural capital shaped NESTs and NNESTs’ fragmented teacher identities which increased their dissatisfaction with their current roles. Bourdieu’s concepts provide a sociological vocabulary for understanding NESTs and NNESTs’ teacher identities and social status trajectories. This study provides an important theoretical and policy implication that English education practices and policies based on the ideology of native-speakerism fortify students’ preference for native English and negative attitudes towards localized variants of English which threatens the sustainability of linguistic and cultural diversities of localized variants of English.

Native-English speaking teachers’ experiences in East-Asian language programs

This article examines the experiences of transnational teachers of English in government-funded English language teaching programs, each of which recruits, trains, and administers native speakers of English: Hong Kong’s Native-speaking English Teachers scheme (NET), the Japan Exchange and Teaching program (JET), the English Program in Korea (EPIK), and Teach and Learn in Korea (TaLK). It focuses on the relationship between the participation and experiences of native-English speaking teachers and the programs’ different policies and institutional structures. The findings demonstrate that these different policies and institutional structures—such as the program aims, eligibility requirements, policies on salary and benefits—have significant implications for the participation of native-English speaking teachers in these programs. This research, with its focus on the experiences of these teachers, extends our understanding of their involvement in English language teaching in Asia. It urges us to locate transnationalism and the global spread of English within a much more complex field of social power relations, calling for more insightful approaches to English language teaching.

Native‐English‐Speaking Teachers: Disconnections Between Theory, Research, and Practice

Native‐English‐speaking teachers (NESTs) have long been in demand for perceived benefits of the skills they bring to the classroom. However, the notion that native speakers provide the best models of the target language and thus make the best teachers of the language has been criticised in the literature. This article reports on the disconnection between academic literature on NESTs and the realities they report. Drawing on data from an investigation into NEST schemes globally, the article suggests that lived classroom experiences of NESTs are complex, They are also often bilingual, experienced, and qualified, and regard local English teachers (LETs) they work with as experts and in control of how English is practised in the classroom. These characteristics contrast with much of the academic literature, which explores the concept of native speakerism, which tends to view NESTs negatively. The article proposes that one reason for the disconnection between theory and practice is the parallel lives of researchers and teachers, whether NESTs or LETs. Thus, each group’s realities and concerns are not always understood by the other. The article suggests that a substantial group of bilingual and bicultural NESTs consider the country where work home, so future theorisations of NESTs and native speakerism should take account of these teachers.

NNS and NES Teachers’ Co-teaching of Interpretation Class: A Case Study

Previous studies on co-teaching have reported how a native English-speaking (NES) teacher and a non-native English-speaking (NNS) teacher jointly instruct students in their English language classes, yet little is known about their speech behaviour in teaching interpreting as a cross-language, cross-culture task. To bridge the gap, the study recorded the process of co-teaching by one NNS and one NES in a ten-week Chinese–English interpretation course. Using the initiation-response-follow-up talk analysis as its framework, it found that each teacher alternatively prompted and evaluated students in their class talk, with the NES treating and suggesting students’ English use and the NNS demonstrating and diagnosing students’ translation pitfalls. Interviews with the teachers and students revealed that both teachers served as quality inspectors and cultural advisors with complementary perspectives and knowledge. However, a negative side of co-teaching was that the increased teacher–teacher interactions could stifle students’ active thinking, turning them into a kind of passive talk-show listeners waiting to be entertained. Based on those findings, the paper suggested some revised interaction patterns for co-teaching.

Does being taught by native English-speaking teachers promote improvement in speaking skill more?

Please fill up the following information accurately. (Please use Times New Roman, 12 pt. Does being taught by native English-speaking teachers promote improvement in speaking skill more? It has been conceived that being taught by native English-speaking teachers (NESTs) leads to more improvement in speaking proficiency given the fact that English is their mother tongue. This paper aims to examine whether or not being taught by NESTs ends up with more achievement in adult EFL learners’ speaking skills. Experimental research design was used with an eye to scrutinizing if there was a statistically significant difference between the speaking scores of the participants in the experimental group and the ones got by the participants in the control group. The experimental group had proportionately more lessons conducted by NESTs as opposed to the control group taught predominantly by non-native English-speaking teachers (NNESTs). In eight weeks, marking the duration of the study, the participants submitted three speaking portfolios, took one speaking quiz and one end-ofcourse test (ECT). Participants’ scores on the quiz, the ECT and the speaking portfolios were analyzed via conducting independent samples t-test. The findings obtained from the analyses show that no statistically significant difference exists between the speaking scores of the experimental and control group on the ECT, scores on the speaking quiz, the first and second speaking portfolios while a statistically significant difference is observed between the participants’ scores on the third speaking portfolio. The results might arouse suspicion of the popular conception of learning to speak English better as a consequence of being taught by NESTs. Information about Author(s)* Author 1 Author (Last name, First name) Kosar, Gulten Affiliated institution (University) Country Email address gencoglugulten@gmail.com Department & Rank Corresponding author (Yes/No) Write only one corresponding author. Author 2 Author (Last name, First name) Affiliated institution (University) Country Email address Department & Rank Corresponding author (Yes/No) Author 3 Author (Last name, First name) Affiliated institution (University) Country Email address Department & Rank Corresponding author (Yes/No) Author 4 Author (Last name, First name) Affiliated institution (University) Country Email address Department & Rank Corresponding author (Yes/No)

Native vs Non-Native English Speaking Teachers : An Analysis of Business Schools in the Tertiary Education Sector

The study examines how Business Schools at universities in Korea can motivate Korean, English as a foreign language (EFL) learners in business courses under the policy of English-medium instruction (EMI). This research focuses on the role of non-native English speaking teachers (NNESTs) and native English speaking teachers (NESTs) in an EFL environment. To conduct the experiment, EFL learners’ motivation changes and qualitative interviews are collected; the NNEST class (n = 19), and NEST class (n = 18). The results of the motivation survey showed that at the beginning of the semester, the NNEST class learners displayed a lower level of confidence and intrinsic motivation than that of NEST class learners. However, by the end of the semester, while the intrinsic motivation levels remained the same, the NNEST class showed a higher level of confidence, interest, and extrinsic motivation than that of NEST class. Qualitative interviews were also done after the semester ended. The results of the interviews showed that motivation changes had no direct effect on classroom satisfaction in EFL contexts as learners understood the differences between NNESTs and NESTs, and their expectations in class of these two teachers were clearly different. Based on the findings, the paper also provides some policy advice to universities so as to help increase Korean EFL learners’ motivation and class satisfaction under the English-medium instruction policy.

Biological students’ perception of the advantages and disadvantages of learning English with native and non-native English-speaking teachers

A research on 126 students from Department of Biology, Ho Chi Minh City University of Education on the advantages and disadvantages of learning English with native and non-native English-speaking teachers was carried out in January, 2018. Data on their perceptions towards the reasons why they liked studying with teachers were gained from questionnaires. Thirty students in this research were also randomly selected for interview to get their suggestions for the better ways of teaching English. The result showed that biological students preferred learning pronunciation (88.1%), listening (64.2%), speaking (59.5%) and reading (57.9%) with native English-speaking teachers. However, most of them indicated preference to study grammar (63.5%) and writing (43.7%) with non-native English-speaking teachers. Students also suggested some effective ways of teaching English including choosing practical and interesting topics, applying good method of teaching, increasing time of teaching, transferring lesson by using games, stories, picnics, and so on. The findings will help Deans take into consideration the importance of teachers in teaching English.

University Students’ Perceptions of Native and Non-native English Speaking Teachers in General English Education

University Students’ Perceptions of Native and Non-native English Speaking Teachers in General English Education

Constructing Professional Identities: Native English-Speaking Teachers in South Korea

Responding to globalisation, a ubiquitous obsession with English has pervaded South Korea and led to the employment of tens of thousands of expatriate English teachers. However, native-speaking English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers may be subject to marginalisation and acculturation difficulties as they navigate overseas employment contexts. Moreover, scholars question the legitimacy of their careers and challenge the bias for their native-speaker expertise. Against this contentious backdrop, this study explores how the experiences and beliefs of native-speaking EFL teachers both promote and hinder their professional identity constructions. Adopting a qualitative, interpretivist approach, interviews are mobilised to document the participants’ lived realities. Resultant to a thematic analysis, an original typology of five conceptualisations of professional identity is presented, contributing to contemporary identity discourse by revealing that expatriate teachers find their sojourns characterised by much ambivalence, and whilst limited positive professional identity is attainable, there are salient barriers to its development.

Investigating EFL teaching at tertiary level in China from teachers’ perspective - Zheng Huang, Native and Non-Native English Speaking Teachers in China: Perceptions and Practices. Singapore: Springer, 2018. Pp. xv + 192. Hardback $65, ISBN: 978-981-10-5283-5

Investigating EFL teaching at tertiary level in China from teachers’ perspective - Zheng Huang, Native and Non-Native English Speaking Teachers in China: Perceptions and Practices. Singapore: Springer, 2018. Pp. xv + 192. Hardback $65, ISBN: 978-981-10-5283-5 - Volume 36 Issue 1