The Non-Native Teacher: Interview with Prof. Peter Medgyes (original) (raw)
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NON-NATIVE TEACHERS, HERE WE GO
Native-speakerism seems to have been an endless controversial issue. First it was the ideal model, then, the outdated language rulers. The purpose of this article is to discuss the changes that native and non-native speaker teachers have undergone with the focus on the fundamental importance of the non-natives. Key words: native-speaker; non-native speaker; International English
System, 2018
Native and non-native teachers in English language classrooms: Professional challenges and teacher education, Juan de Dios Martínez Agudo (Ed.). De Gruyter Mouton, Boston/Berlin (2017). 349 pp. As a non-native teacher educator of English language teaching based in Argentina, I am interested in teachers' English language proficiency and how teacher education programmes can show concerted efforts that address the relationship between language proficiency and teaching efficacy. When I spend time with teachers engaged in professional development opportunities in Argentina and other Latin American countries, there is this feeling floating in the air that we non-native teachers cannot be confident with our professionalism until we sound and teach like a native teacher as if a native L2 teacher were the Southern Cross of our profession. It is 2018 and I can still see job ads where being a native speaker of English, whatever that means, proves essential. From such motivation and experience, I felt drawn to this volume edited by Martínez Agudo as the title suggested to me, prior to reading the book, a comparison of teaching practices and professional development according to the native/non-native identity dichotomy, where the second element is defined and assessed for what is not in relation to the first as in a norm-referenced test. After reading the volume, I realised that the main focus is not so much on comparing native and non-native L2 teachers but on understanding how both can contribute to language learning and teaching processes according to their personal and professional trajectories not necessarily determined by their L1. The volume is divided into four major sections (labelled as Parts I to IV) preceded by a foreword and introduction and concluded with a " critical afterword. " The foreword has been written by Péter Medgyes, probably one of the main experts in the issue of (non)native speaker teacher (see Medgyes, 1994) and whose work is extensively cited throughout the volume. What is interesting about this foreword is that he firmly encourages readers to engage with language teachers at conferences so that researchers who are prolific writers in the field not only talk among experts but also with those they research or wish to empower through their publications. In times where writing for publication is devouring academics' time and energy, Medgyes's recommendation comes as a balm for the soul for teacher educators who mainly work with pre-as well as in-service teachers. In the Introduction, editor Martínez Agudo takes a political stance
Non-native teachers: "knowing where to scratch when learners feel itchy"
Proceedings LIA International Conference: World Englishes across Cultures, 2010
This paper explores how non-native teachers can contribute a great deal to the learning and teaching World Englishes. It aims to provide insights to non-native teachers that they actually possess the same qualities as native teachers, and might even exceed the ability of native teachers in understanding learners' various expectations and needs. Several assets possessed by non-native teachers, are put forward by experts such as . Among the benefits of non-native teachers are being the models of successful learners, knowing the complex process of acquiring the language, having effective strategies to be shared with learners, aware of learners' linguistic and cultural contexts, and being bilingual or multilingual. Those points are discussed in this paper with some examples on classroom situations and teaching practices.
Sutherland (2012) - Native and Non-native English teachers in the classroom
Arab World Englishes Journal, 2012
Native English speakers are often claimed to be better language teachers than non-native English speakers, both by those who have not reflected critically on the inherent differences between knowing how to use a language and knowing how to teach a language, and by those who assume that non-native English speakers are by definition not fluent. Nativeness is thus equated with pedagogical superiority. This claim, whether it is made by students, parents, hiring boards, or other interested parties, is detrimental to non-native English teachers as educators and to the students who learn from them. Non-native English speaking teachers may be demoralised or discriminated against in hiring practices. Students lose when they are taught by teachers with nativeness as their defining characteristic, rather than by the best teachers. In this article the native speakers model, itself a problematic concept, is analysed to show how supposed nativeness is difficult to define accurately. Then the benefits of being taught by native English speakers and non-native English speakers are outlined, with a view to promoting more just hiring practices and sounder educational results for students of English worldwide.
Native and Non-Native Teachers in English Language Classrooms
Native and Non-Native Teachers in English Language Classrooms, 2017
From data collected in France (Derivry-Plard 2003; Griffin 2012), we will present and illustrate the symbolic violence (Bourdieu 2001) that characterises the structure of the field. Based on competing social beliefs and representations embedded through time and space, the symbolic violence that language teachers undergo-either native or non-native-can prevent them and their learners from feeling comfortable with language learning and teaching as an intercultural-pluri endeavour. Personal development and intercultural learning are therefore constrained and we will explore ways of going beyond these limitations. First, we will underline the challenges that such a posture of an intercultural perspective put on educational language policies and language education. Going beyond symbolic violence needs to take into account these two levels before starting to be effective at any classroom level. Combining data from English language teachers in France allows us to assert the need of a multilingual paradigm shift to go beyond symbolic violence.
Teacher Development, 2018
This article examines and theorises the experiences of 12 primary pre-service teachers at an Australian university, undertaking a two-week professional teaching experience in Bangkok. This qualitative ethnographic study of our students' and to some extent our own experiences draws on interviews, questionnaires and observations from the students, as well as reflective notes from two participating supervisors, and set out to account for and understand the sources of the achievements and frustrations experienced by our pre-service teachers. The findings illustrate differences between the students' overseas experiences and Australian-based experiences. These differences include organisational structures, teacher mentoring, and cultural understandings, and the effects these had on the students. In particular, we distinguish the more readily observable structural nature of the schools in which the pre-service teachers were teaching, and the less visible cultural aspects that underlie these structures. We propose ways of helping students, as part of pre-departure briefings, to become more aware of these cultural underpinnings, with a view to helping them become more at ease negotiating intercultural workplaces.
Beyond ‘(non) native-speakerism’: Being or becoming a native-speaker teacher of English
Applied linguistics review, 2018
Although there has been considerable research highlighting the politics embedded into 'native-speaker' discourses, teachers using English as another language continue to experience prejudice. Indeed, through working alongside, and training teachers from different contexts, I have heard and witnessed forms of marginalization linked to factors such as origin, accent and appearance. These instances emphasise the continued need to challenge discourses and prejudices which in fact 'deprofessionalise' ELT by endorsing inequality instead of valuing teachers' pedagogical skills and linguistic competencies. This paper analyses some of the challenges arising through 'native-speakerism' that teachers who are labelled as 'non-native' have faced and examines how nativespeaker networks have had direct influence on them. I examine perceptions of 'nativespeakerism' expressed by four teachers of English of different backgrounds drawing on theoretical concepts of 'being' and 'becoming' by Deleuze and Guattari (1987). I then unravel instances in which the constructs of 'native' and 'non-native' have impacted on these teachers by using a socio-materialist approach to analysis, (Fenwick et al. 2011), specifically Actor Network Theory (ANT) (Latour 2005), which focuses on the relations of humans and non-human actants in a 'network' of interactions. I analyse how constructs of 'native-speakerism' (Holliday 2015) are formed as networks which impact on teachers in their professional roles. 2. Literature review Much research focusing on 'native' and 'non-native-speaker' teachers has been triggered by the publication of key work by Paikday (1985), Medyges (1994) and Braine (1999), provoking discussions around issues linked to marginalization, protectionism and racialism. In this literature review, I provide a brief analysis of themes emerging through this research, highlighting assumptions frequently associated with the 'nativespeaker'. I then focus on studies that have analysed teacher qualities from both teacher and learner perspectives, according to them being 'native' or 'non-native'. These studies have emphasised attributes of 'non-native' teachers, yet also reflect
Native vs non-native language teacher: Pedagogical, psychological and practical considerations
M/Other Tongues in Language Acquisition, Instruction, and Use. Institute of Applied Linguistics, University of Warsaw., 2017
Falling back on students’ L1—whether as the medium of communication, or for expository purposes—immediately summons the native/non-native speaker teacher debate. This is the theme of this chapter, which commences by interrogating the very definition and validity of the NS construct, its relevance as a model to be emulated, and other misconceptions surrounding the oft-purported superiority of the target language native teacher. Subsequently, the numerous assets are itemised which a qualified non-native speaker instructor can bring into the classroom, many of which are—by definition or practically—unattainable to a NS. On balance, the best teacher is one competent in both the target language and the language(s) already spoken by the student—and familiar with their culture—in order to be able to draw relevant comparisons and contrasts and to fall back on this medium of communication where it is more effective or otherwise desirable than TL-only interaction.
(Non)native Speakered: Rethinking (Non)nativeness and Teacher Identity in TESOL Teacher Education
Despite its imprecision, the native-nonnative dichotomy has become the dominant paradigm for examining language teacher identity development. The nonnative English speaking teacher (NNEST) movement in particular has considered the impact of deficit framings of nonnativeness on "NNEST" preservice teachers. Although these efforts have contributed significantly towards increasing awareness of NNEST-hood, they also risk reifying the notion that nativeness and nonnativeness are objectively distinct categories. This article adopts a poststructuralist lens to reconceptualize native and nonnative speakers as complex, negotiated social subjectivities that emerge through a discursive process that the author terms (non)native speakering. It then applies this dynamic framework to analyze "narrative portraits" of four different archetypical language teachers, two of whom seem to fit neatly into (non)native speakerist frames of language and culture and two of whom deviate from them. It then reflects on how these preservice teachers negotiate, re-create, and resist the produced (non)native speaker subjectivities, and considers the complexity, fluidity, and heterogeneity within each archetype. In the conclusion, the author consider implications of (non)native speakering as a theoretical and analytical frame, as well as possible applications of the data for teacher education.