Blame the Message Senders Not the Messenger: The Defence Case of the English “Native Speaker” Teacher

This article investigates how “native speaker” teachers define who a “native speaker” is and how they view themselves in relation to the concept. It further explores how they feel about discriminatory practices in employability and the pay gap that are systemically carried out against their “nonnative speaker” counterparts by recruiters. Data were gathered from 10 English language teachers: five males and five females from the UK, Canada, Ireland, and South Africa, who were hired by a state university in Saudi Arabia on the basis that they are “native speakers.” The findings show that although the place of birth and the official status of English in a given country were the main defining criteria for hiring a “native speaker,” the interviewees did not view the concept of the “native speaker” in the same ways as their recruiters did, who they believed used those criteria in an overly simplistic and reductive way rooted in native-speakerism. The findings also show that the participants did not enjoy the unjustified privileges given to them by their recruiters at the expense of their “non-native speaker” colleagues. Instead, in some cases, they attempted to confront their recruiters over such discriminatory practices, and in some others, they attempted to bridge the gap and ease the tension between themselves and their “nonnative speaker” counterparts, although these efforts were hindered by the system’s unfair and unjust practices.

A MATTER TO THINK OVER: NATIVENESS OF ENGLISH TEACHERS IN INDONESIA

A shift is happening in languages used in Indonesia, especially in English as a foreign language that must be taught as a compulsory subject in Indonesian formal education institutions from primary to tertiary levels. English takes a place in the third position after Bahasa Indonesia and the regional languages. Since English as an International Language (EIL) paradigm appears, some debates burst up whether it is native speaker or non-native speaker teacher who should teach English in outer-expanding countries. This paper provides a discussion about the issue of native and non-native speaker of English related to the selection of English teachers in Indonesian context. The issue is analysed by using a list of teaching behaviours between native English speaker teachers (NESTs) and non-native of English speaker teachers (NNESTs) examined by Medgyes (1994). A few recommendations about the issue of selecting English teacher in outer-expanding countries are presented in the end of the paper.

The Intercultural Approach in Japanese Speaking Learning Activities

The aim of the study was to get deeply the implementation intercultural approach in Japanese speaking learning activities at senior high school. The research method is qualitative using direct observation. While the process of collecting data used documentation, video record, field note, the interview is appropriate with the research setting. The result of research found that Japanese speaking activities inside and outside the classroomhave some components, namely learning method implementation, the role of teacher and students, the role of native speaker teacher, and the material of learning. It has combined the linguistics aspect and culture to increase students’ comprehension of Japanese language and culture. Keywords: Intercultural Approach, Japanese Speaking, Learning Activities

Beyond ‘(non) native-speakerism’: Being or becoming a native-speaker teacher of English

The labelling of teachers of English as either ‘native’ or ‘non-native’ speakers in the field of English Language Teaching continues to promote ideals of ‘native-speakers’ that impact negatively on the teaching lives of those teachers using English as another language. In this paper, I explore constructs of ‘native-speakerism’ (Holliday, Adrian. 2015. Native-speakerism: Taking the Concept Forward and Achieving Cultural Belief. In Anne Swan, Pamela Aboshiha & Adrian. Hollliday (eds.),Encountering Native-speakerism: Global perspectives, 11–25. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan) by examining them as networks or assemblages formed through interactions of people, technologies, discourses and other material objects integral to teaching and learning environments. Drawing on ‘Actor-network theory’, I analyse unique influences of ‘native’ and ‘non-native’ networks as experienced by individual teachers of English from different contexts. The data collected in this qualitative study shows how ‘native-speaker’ networks form and exert power to reinforce the ideal of ‘native-speaker’ teachers, and restrict the agency of those who are classed as ‘non-native’. By unravelling these networks, I challenge the notions on which they are constructed, and show how the categorising of teachers in this way undermines the legitimacy of those classed as ‘non-native’, and limits their professional development. I therefore argue that moving beyond these labels is an essential step for English Language Teaching to move forward as a profession.

Co-teaching Chinese in middle schools and high schools

This study investigates the co-teaching practices implemented in Chinese language teaching in middle schools and high schools in a school district in the Midwestern United States. With the overarching question of how co-teaching with a native speaker teacher and a language expert teacher enhances the teaching and learning process of Chinese, this study examines co-teachers’ past experiences, their roles and experiences in the co-taught Chinese classes, and their perceptions of student learning and of partner teachers’ experiences, as well as students’ motivational perceptions and classroom engagement. A mixed-methods approach is used. Results suggest that some of the challenges in the co-teaching program are due to insufficient previous co-teaching experience, Chinese co-teachers’ unfamiliarity with the U.S. classroom, and lack of clarity regarding the co-teachers’ responsibilities. The co-teaching approach used in this program is “one teach, one assist.”

Types and Tactics of Questioning used by a Native-speaker Teacher in Teaching Active and Passive Classes

The purposes of this study are to find out what are the types of questions and questioning tactics used by native speaker teacher of English in teaching passive and active classes and what are the tactics of questioning used related to each type of questions being used by the native speaker teacher of English in passive and active Speaking 1 classes. The theories are taken from Wragg and Brown (2001). According to Wragg and Brown (2001) there are 3 types of questioning which are conceptual question, empirical question, and value question. Other than that, there are 7 tactics of questioning which are structuring, pitching and putting clearly, directing and distributing, pausing and pacing, prompting and probing, listening to replies and responding, and sequencing (Wrag & Brown, 2001). The findings showed that the teacher of Speaking 1 used the same types of questions which are conceptual and empirical types of questions. Furthermore, tactics of questioning that the teacher used are different in active and passive classes. The teacher mostly used empirical types of questioning for both passive and active classes. In teaching passive class, the teachers mostly asked sequencing of questions as the tactics of questioning. On the other hand, in active class, the teacher mostly asked prompting and probing as the tactics of questioning. Keywords: types of questions, tactics of questioning, native speaker teacher of English

FEATURES OF INTERACTIVE METHODS AT LESSONS OF UKRAINIAN AS FOREIGN LANGUAGE (FOR TECHNICAL DEPARTMENTS)

The article discusses the features of interactive learning methods of Ukrainian as foreign language at the technical departments of universities. In the realities of the modern education, interactive approaches are presented for the study Ukrainian language by foreign students, which contribute to its in-depth and comprehensive study, reveal the details of their applications and conclude on the most effective among them. it is emphasized that group interactive methods are used most often and demonstrate the best results, because the study process of Ukrainian language takes place in direct communication with a native speaker – teacher . Each method has own advantages and disadvantages, but contributes to a better assimilation of the studied material and encourages students to study the Ukrainian language as a foreign language more diligently.