Through the implementation of a closed and open-item questionnaire, parents’ (N=40) perceptions of and attitudes toward native and non-native French-speaking teachers (NFSTs and Non-NFSTs) of French as a Second Language in the Greater Toronto Area were investigated. Participants defined the native French speaker predominantly as someone who learned French as a first language and who learned French in informal environments – namely home and community. Descriptive statistics of 24 Likert-scale items revealed preference for NFSTs to teach oral-aural aspects, the written system of French and form better student relationships. Non-NFSTs were preferred to teach reading, vocabulary, learning strategies and make connections between English and French more salient. Parents stated a variety of strengths and areas needing improvement for both NFSTs and Non-NFSTs, which suggested complimentary and complementary views of these teachers.

Through the implementation of a closed and open-item questionnaire, parents’ (N=40) perceptions of and attitudes toward native and non-native French-speaking teachers (NFSTs and Non-NFSTs) of French as a Second Language in the Greater Toronto Area were investigated. Participants defined the native French speaker predominantly as someone who learned French as a first language and who learned French in informal environments – namely home and community. Descriptive statistics of 24 Likert-scale items revealed preference for NFSTs to teach oral-aural aspects, the written system of French and form better student relationships. Non-NFSTs were preferred to teach reading, vocabulary, learning strategies and make connections between English and French more salient. Parents stated a variety of strengths and areas needing improvement for both NFSTs and Non-NFSTs, which suggested complimentary and complementary views of these teachers.

Techn. University, Diss., 2004--Chemnitz.

No description available.

This study explores the ways that native speakers are represented in different discourses. It combines the personal with the empirical by starting with narratives of professional development, followed by a corpus analysis of how native speakers are defined, and ending with a critical discourse analysis of the roles allocated to native speakers in academic discourse. First, the use of narrative inquiry speaks to the lived experience of three native English speaking language teachers as they develop their professional identity and seek professional development. Their narratives uncover the tensions between their personal goals and external perceptions. In order to situate these narratives in the field, a corpus analysis identifies the difference between how native speakers are defined in general discourse and within academic literature. These different definitions demonstrate distinct patterns of usage that differentiate the concept of the native speaker, the native speaker of English, and the native speaker of English as a language teacher. Finally, a critical discourse analysis illuminates the dominant representations of native speakers in academic literature. An interpretation of six academic articles, drawing on van Leeuwens network of role allocation, highlights: 1) how native speakers are differentiated from non-native speakers; 2) how native speaking language teachers are objectified or excluded from the discourse. The analysis reveals how representations of native speakers influence the participation of native English speaking language teachers in the field of TESOL. The implications indicate that the current representations of native speakers detract from professional development by perpetuating static identities rather than encouraging professional development.

Zugl.: Philadelphia, Univ. of Pennsylvania, Diss.

A Native Speaker as an EFL Teacher Rodilý mluvčí jako učitel angličtiny Miroslav Ledvinka Abstract Introduction: The principal aim of this thesis is to determine the role and significance of native speaker teachers of English in the teaching process, as well as to define the expectations of their students and employers. The status of native speaker teachers in the Czech Republic is being contrasted to the position of non-native speaker teachers. The core of this study lies in the analytical part which attempts to delimit the characteristics of the implementation of native English-speaker teachers into the Czech education system. Theoretical part: The theoretical chapter presents a concise summary of the theoretical terms and concepts, both historical and contemporary, which are related to the topic of native English-speaker teachers. Apart from the traditional survey of topics discussed in various authoritative publications and journals, the theoretical overview also includes a schematic outline of the historical development of the status of native speaker teachers with respect to the social, political, and economic factors which played a major role in the shaping of native speakers' position in the education process, and society as a whole. In addition, the theoretical chapter traces the contribution of...

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This study is based on a previous study made by Ivor Timmis (2002). It explores how important Swedish students find learning English to be and to what extent Swedish student want to conform to native speaker English now that it has become a global language with a multitude of common variants. (Sweden formerly allowed only British and/or American native speaker varieties in English education but have now allowed for other variants as well). The focus of this study was the attitudes and preferences of 69 university students from Västmanlands län and the data was collected using questionnaires. The results suggest that a clear majority of students prefer to learn native speaker English in areas of pronunciation, formal grammar and informal grammar.  Over half of the participants desire to master both formal and informal native speaker English grammar. The results also suggest that even though the students desire to learn informal native speaker English grammar, not all students understand what that means. Based on these results and Timmis’s, this study suggests that the majority of the Swedish university students that participated in the study would prefer to be taught native speaker English, but not all students. Some effort to teach more informal grammar might be wanted by the students since a great majority wish to learn it, but cannot identify it.

In foreign language education the classification native or nonnative speaker of a language often evokes thoughts related to degrees of competence in language teaching (Braine, 2004; Davies, 2004). This comparative case study focused on Spanish teachers in a United States context. It contributes toward the literature base in research related to native and nonnative speakers of languages other than English within the local context. Using the threefold theoretical framework of role identity theory (Stryker, 1968; Stryker & Burke, 2000), teacher efficacy (Tschennen Moran & Woolfolk Hoy, 2001) and social constructivism (Schwandt, 2007), the study aimed at developing understandings about the lived experience of foreign language teachers given the native/ nonnative speaker construct. It investigated how their personal perception of their role impacted the execution of professional duties. It also explored their conceptualization of the language teacher, given their extensive observation of teachers of various languages. The questions guiding the research were: (a) How does each participant conceptualize her role identity as Spanish teacher in a predominantly English speaking setting?, (b) How viable is the native/nonnative speaker construct when teacher efficacy is considered?, and (c) how has the experience of supervising teachers of differing linguistic backgrounds in the language they teach (native/nonnative speaker teachers) influenced the participants’ understanding of the language teacher construct in the USA? Data collection was done through interviews, focus group discussions and classroom observations. The participants were four veteran Spanish teachers who had been in the department chair position for more than ten years. Two grew up speaking the language while the others learned the language in an academic setting. Findings revealed that there was great similarity in the way teachers conceptualized their role as Spanish teacher and that they gave no credence to the native/ nonnative speaker construct as an indicator of language proficiency and competence in language teaching.