Interview 1 Teacher background information For NNEST
I. Current Teaching Situation A. Teaching load
1. What is the number of classes that you have per week? What is their grade level?
2. How long is one class?
3. How is the working load decided?
4. How do you feel about the teaching load (too much, just right)? Do you think the loading affects your teaching?
B. Class observed
1. How many students in the classes?
2. What is the students’ level of proficiency?
3. What is the nature of the students?
4. How are the classes alike or different?
II. Personal Experience A. Basic Facts
1. What is your age/age range?
2. What is your nationality?
3. Do you think you’re a <strict/other adjective> teacher? Why?
C. Personality: (To be asked in later sessions)
1. Do you think your classroom practices reflect own personality? If so, how?
For NEST A. Basic Facts
1. What is your age/age range?
2. What is your nationality?
B. Reason for coming to Taiwan
1. Why did you choose to come to Taiwan and not other countries? And why teach English and not take up other jobs?
2. How long have you stayed in Taiwan and what are your future plans (stay in Taiwan permanently or leaving in a few years?)
3. How do you like Taiwan so far?
C. Previous work experience (not as a teacher)
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1. Have you held other jobs not as a teacher? If so, what type?
2. How long did you stay at each job?
3. Why did you leave those jobs?
4. Do you think the experience has influenced your teaching in any way?
Interview 2 Team teaching practice and difficulties encountered in team teaching I. Model of Team Teaching
A. Concept of Team-teaching
1. What is your definition of team-teaching?
2. What is the purpose of team teaching in elementary school English classrooms? What are its advantages and disadvantages?
3. How does team teaching benefit different parties- the students, the teachers, the school?
4. NEST: How did you get assigned to this school?
5. Who assigns the partners? and on what basis?
B. Lesson Planning
1. How did you decide what to teaching with your colleague? How do you decide the work portion between you and your colleague?
2. Do you plan your lessons with your colleague before class? If yes, how? (If not, why?) What are some of the difficulties encountered?
3. What is your role in the team teaching classroom? What do you think is your counterpart’s role? What do you expect from the other teacher to do?
C. Experience
1. How many years of team-teaching have you had? Can you describe some of the past experiences of team-teaching?
2. How long have your worked with your current colleague?
3. What is your experience of collaboration between you and your colleague in and outside classroom? What are some of the difficulties encountered?
4. How do you feel about the interaction between your colleagues when teaching in the classroom? Please give examples. What are some of the difficulties encountered?
5. How do you feel about team-teaching before you were involved in it? How do you feel now that you are teaching? (any difficulties adjusting to team-teaching?)
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A. Effective models of team-teaching?
1. What are the essential components in the make-up of effective team-teaching?
2. What would you do to improve your practice of team-teaching?
B. Teacher Training
1. What kind of teacher training do you think will be helpful for you when practicing collaborative teaching in elementary EFL classrooms (e.g., training course about cultural awareness, knowledge of learners and
schooling, communication skills, etc.)
2. How should the teacher training be carried out?
C. Others
1. Is team teaching necessary in elementary school English classrooms? Why or why not?
2. Would you prefer teaching alone or team-teach?
3. Could you give some suggestions to future teachers engaging in team-teaching?
III. Team teaching Procedure
A. How do you prepare your lessons before teaching? What procedures do you usually follow? Do you follow your planning strictly? If not, why?
B. Goals:
1. Will you set up your teaching goals before each lesson? If yes, based on what criteria?
2. How do you know if you have achieved your goals? If you fail to achieve your goals, what will you do?
3. To what extent is your teaching based on your students’ needs?
C. Interaction
1. What kind of teacher-student interaction do you expect in your classroom?
Why?
2. What kind of student -student interaction do you expect in your classroom?
Why?
D. Changes:
1 When you teach the same lessons to different classes for a second or third time, will you make some adjustments to your teaching? If yes, why and how?
2. What changes do you think you should make in your teaching in general?
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3. Have you ever faced any challenges and difficulties in your teaching? If so, could you list some of the difficulties? Do you solve these difficulties? If so, how?
4. What is your approach to classroom management?
Interview 3 Native and non-native English teacher issues, Image of NEST vs.
NNEST I. Linguistic Competence
A. Non-NEST
1. How do you evaluate your English competence (speaking, listening, reading, writing)? Which parts do you have the most confidence and the least confidence?
Why is that?
2. Do you strive to improve your command of English? If so, how (subscribe to TIMES, contact with native speakers …etc). ?
3. Length of stay in English-speaking countries? What did you do there?
B. NEST
1. Do you speak Mandarin? Are you learning or planning to learn Mandarin?
II. Image of NEST VS Non-NEST A. Image
1. When you hear the word “Local teacher”/”Foreign Teacher”, what images come to your mind? Why do you think that is?
B. Self-perception of own/other’s advantage & disadvantage 1. Native:
i. What do you regard as the advantages & disadvantages of being a native
teacher (e.g. linguistic competence, teaching, interaction between students…etc)?
ii. How do you overcome those disadvantages?
iii. What do you regard as the advantages & disadvantages of being a non-native teacher?
iv. Do you think you can develop their advantages or are they simply irreplaceable?
2. Non-Native:
i. What do you regard as the advantages and disadvantages of being a non-native teacher?
ii. How do you overcome those disadvantages?
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iii. What do you regard as the advantages and disadvantages of being a native teacher?
iv. Do you think you can develop their advantages or are they simply irreplaceable?
C. Teaching
1. Non-NEST: Are there aspects of teaching you do not totally agree with the NEST? Could you describe the incidences?
2. NEST: Do you know how your colleague conducts her class individually?
How do you know it (classroom observation, from other teachers?)? Are there aspects of teaching you do not totally agree with the NEST? Could you describe the incidences?
3. What similarities and differences are there between your teaching styles and those of your colleague?
4. Do you think that hiring native speakers is really necessary for elementary education in Taiwan?
Interview 4 Inteaction with colleagues, Life in Kinmen and Suggestion 1. Can you describe your relationship with your coteacher?
2. Can you describe how you interact with her in class and outside the classroom?
3. Do you have any misunderstanding or conflicts with your coteacher?
4. What factors might affect your interaction with your coteacher?
5. Do you have any unforgetable or special exerience in coteaching?
6. How do you feel your interaction with other colleagues?
7. What do you think most helpful for ETAs to accustom the life here?
8. Do you think the training and the workshops help your teaching?
9. What do you think the quality of a good teacher?
10. Do you think your interaction with the colleagues and the ss change?
compare with the beginning?
11. Any suggestions for Fulbright program here?
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Appendix 3: Excerpts of Interview Transcription Interview (08/30/2013) with Lisa
Lisa: I'm Lisa, I'm from Mohan, Hawaii. I was born in Michigan. And moved there when I was 9. So I've been lived in both places for about half my life. Then I went all the way to Rod Island for college, where I study religious studies, which is a mixture of philosophy and mistery and anthropology, I think. I like to ask questions like what is religion to different people and when u ask questions you can reduce conflict, because, you realize that there are many differences and the reasons the religions are anyway i've also been a swimmer for my entire life but stopped swimming when I graduated from college so here I am.
Researcher: So you came to Taiwan after you graduated?
Lisa: Yes! And this is for summer. I applied for last September. So I have to wait a while. I finally found out in April that I finally got it.
Researcher: So do you have other places to choose besides Taiwan?
Lisa: No, you apply directly to Taiwan.
Researcher: you don't have other options?
Lisa: You can. But you have to commit from the beginning of the applications.
Researcher: So did you particularly chosed Taiwan?
Lisa: I did. I have studied some Chinese before. I've been to China, but not Taiwan.
And I heard great thins about it. The program here is really good, because it's
co-teaching. And there was very good orientation program. There was a lot of support.
Fulbright englsh teaching assistant started in Taiwan. So it has a lot of history, which is nice.
Researcher: So you received orientation in Taiwan or in America?
Lisa: Taiwan. (For how long?) one month
Researcher: so do you think the training is sufficient for your teaching?
Lisa: Hmm...in some ways. I think that there are ways to improve For example,
It would be betterif we met our local English teachers earlier. Because a lot of the orientation is just hypothetical situations. If your LET is like this or if your students are like this. But we could know who our LETs are beforehand and go through some of the training with them ideally. And then not have to guess, or be surprised when we finallt find out stuff like that.