A Qualitative Study Examining Macao’s Parents’Attitude towards Native and Non-native English-speaking Teachers for Private Online Synchronous One-on-one English Lessons

In terms of English learning,whether native English-speaking teachers(NESTs)surpass non-native English-speaking teachers(NNESTs)or vice versa has been a heated topic.These two types of teachers have their own respective benefits and drawbacks with respect to English teaching.Most of the current related studies are on the traditional educational classroom setting in both secondary school and higher education.However,the study of the virtual learning platform as a method of teaching English is rare.This research displays valuable significance in identifying whether parents in Macao have a preference towards NESTs and NNESTs before they purchase the online synchronous one-on-one English lessons for their children.This qualitative study,after two participants were interviewed,concludes that they both prefer NESTs due to their authentic accent and pronunciation and believe it is more suitable in such a speaking-andlistening oriented online lesson.Price is not the prioritized factor to consider.They are generally satisfied with the teaching style of the online NESTs but it is also important to take note of the teaching approach conducted in the online lessons towards children,to ensure that it holds their interest appropriately.

Foreign Language Teacher Recruitment： Theoretical Perspectives and Empirical Findings

In some contexts such as private language schools of Iran language teachers are recruited mainly on the basis of their speaking fluency and in other EFL contexts they are recruited simply because they are native speakers. Moreover, previous studies mainly focus on comparing the effectiveness of native and non-native language teachers by exploring learners＇ and teachers＇ perceptions of native and non-native language teachers. Since recruitment criteria are theoretically unjustified and the results of previous studies are subjective and inconclusive, this study aims at making a case in the opposite direction. That is, the researchers argue that there should be： （1） a shift away from recruiting language teachers on the basis of their speaking fluency and native language background towards hiring language teachers on the basis of their professional performance in the language classroom; （2） a shift away from exploring learners＇ and teachers＇ perceptions of native and non-native teachers towards studying the effect of teachers＇ native language on learners＇ proficiency, accuracy, fluency, and achievement. To pave the way for these shifts, this study first reviews the theoretical perspectives and empirical findings concerning effective language teachers and then draws conclusions and implications which help interested stakeholders, i.e., supervisors, make informed decisions when they recruit language teachers.

Pedagogically, There Is No Room for a Native Speaker.

The current review study challenges the pedagogical role of native English-speaking teacher along with his/her role as a teaching model. The language （English） that about 500 years ago was just spoken by five to seven million speakers living in the British Isles, currently is globally taught, learned, and used by at least one and a half billion speakers living in different countries of the world （Crystal, 2003）. Therefore, one may find native speakers of varieties of Englishes, namely, American, Australian, Canadian, Indian, or British English... rather than the native speaker of pure English. Definitely, the Englishes used by these speakers globally are partially different from one another in terms of lexicon, pronunciation, and even grammar. Accordingly, the aim of this study is to convince the English teachers that there should not be any sensitivity to teaching just one type of English or taking any speakers of these varieties of Englishes as a teaching model. Preferably, in this study, it has been tried to acknowledge teaching interanational （formal） English which might be understandable to English speakers of the world. All in all, the findings of this review study indicated that English teachers all around the world should adopt the language （English） and adapt it based on the cultural norms of the learners and try to help them gain the mastery of language to use it locally and internationally when needed.

Native-speakerism in China:An Investigation of Foreign Language Education Policy and Learners’Attitudes

With the development of globalization,the use of English is no longer restricted to native speaker(NS)but also widely spread to non-native speaker(NNS).The importance of English learning is also acknowledged by Expanding and Outer Circle,and English as a foreign language(EFL)education plays a significant role in China’s education.Admitting the fact that non-native English teachers(NNESTs)take up a large proportion of English teachers,English language teaching(ELT)is still greatly influenced by native-speakerism.This research aims to investigate language ideologies reflected in Chinese foreign language education policy(FLEP)at higher education level,and Chinese English learners’attitudes towards native-speakerism and English teachers.A mixed method of policy analysis and survey is adopted in this research.After conducting analysing two FLEPs in higher education level,it is found that linguistic instrumentalism is the prominent language ideology,although native-speakerism and standard English ideology is implicitly demonstrated.Questionnaire is used to investigate 58 Chinese English learners’attitudes,revealing that most participants do not demonstrate bias towards either NESTs or NNESTs.Instead,the strengths and weaknesses of both NEST and NNEST are identified,though participants adhere to native-speakerism in terms of English variety.Overall,English learner’s attitudes are consistent with language ideologies in FLEPs.This research may provide implications for future studies on addressing native-speakerism in Chinese FLEPs,as well as relationship of students’attitudes and language policies.

A SURVEY:CHINESE COLLEGE STUDENTS’PERCEPTIONS OF NON-NATIVE ENGLISH TEACHERS

本文是一份调查报告。通过对在校大学生的问卷调查和个别访谈,了解他们对中外英语教师的看法。调查的内容包括中外教师的语言能力、课堂教学能力及教师的人格魅力。结果表明,中外英语教师各有优势。外籍英语教师的语言能力,尤其在口语交际能力和目的语文化方面有较高的认同度。但是,中国英语教师也有他们不可替代的地位。他们更加了解学生的学习策略和风格,能够较准确地预测学生的学习难点,因而能更好地帮助他们解决问题。值得指出的是,高年级的学生更加关注教师的专业水平和人格魅力。

Interculturality,Identity,and Power:Experiences of Volunteer Chinese Teachers at Overseas Confucius Institutes

With the rapid expansion of Confucius Institutes globally,the Hanban launched a Volunteer Chinese Teachers(VCT)Program with the purpose of selecting a large number of college graduates and graduate students from Chinese universities to fill vacancies for overseas Chinese teachers.In spite of the multitude of students participating in the program,there has been a paucity of research attention on them.How do these students,most of whom have never been abroad before,manage their life in their host country and negotiate their new role as a VCT in an overseas Confucius Institute?What are their intercultural experiences as they venture into a new country to serve as a native teacher of Chinese?Based on in-depth interviews with a dozen VCTs teaching in linguistically and culturally different contexts,this study seeks to examine the dynamics of interculturality,identity and power relations involved in their overseas language teaching.

A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF THE CLASSROOM DISCOURSE STRUCTURES IN THE COLLEGE ENGLISH CLASSES IN CHINA

The present study, using Discourse Analysis method, makes a comparative study of the interactive features of two groups of college English teaching classes, one instructed by native speakers of English, the other by Chinese teachers of English. It has been found that TST (Teacher-Student-Teacher) structure occurs more frequently in the classes taught by Chinese teachers of English. It is suggested that Chinese teachers put their classes under stricter control than native English teachers do.