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the AEP than would be obtained using a single method of inquiry. The investigation was guided by the following research questions:
1. How is co-teaching manifested in elementary school English classrooms in the AEP? Are there improved learning outcomes for students? How are motivation and attitude affected by co-teaching from a NEST and a NNEST?
2. How do NESTs and NNESTs interact, what is the nature of the relationship they develop and how does it evolve?
3. What skills and knowledge do NESTs and NNESTs develop as they interact and how do they contribute to each other’s learning?
4. To what extent is there intercultural communication between NESTs and NNESTs and growth in cultural awareness?
Significance of the study
This study is significant and timely for the following reasons:
It is of interest to researchers in the fields of co-teaching and of NESTs and NNESTs. It shows ways in which the complementary strengths of NESTs and NNESTs can be effectively harnessed.
It is of interest to teacher trainers outlining as it does the challenges which await novice language teachers when they are asked to work in co-teaching schemes with teachers with another language and culture.
It is of interest to school administrators and local teachers as it shows ways in which to manage co-teaching and integrate NESTs effectively into the daily workings of school life and the classroom.
It is of interest to education officials and administrators who are considering embarking on a NEST scheme since it illustrates the challenges such programs face,
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provides data on outcomes and points to successful models of organization.
Definition of terms
The following are terms that appear frequently in the text. Some of them are specific to this investigation while others are commonly used in different ways by different authors; the sense with which they are used in this study is therefore defined below.
Acculturation: means integration into a culture which is not one’s native culture.
American Exchange Foundation (AEF): is the name given to the American quasi-governmental foundation that co-organizes the AEP in Taiwan. The true name has not been used by request of the foundation.
American Exchange Program (AEP): a one-year program which brings 16 young NESTs annually to co-teach in over 30 elementary schools in a Taiwanese county.
Advisory Panel (AP): a committee consisting of one visiting professor of TESOL and three local education officials responsible for managing the AEP.
Co-school: an elementary school that is a partial participant in the AEP, hosting a NEST for four weeks per semester.
Co-teaching: a form of teaching in which two teachers take responsibility for planning, instructing, managing and assessing the same group of students at the same time and in the same classroom; it is used in this sense in this study, unless it is specified that another form of co-teaching is being used, such as parallel teaching (see below).
County: County refers to the county in Taiwan where this study took place. The county education bureau is the partner in organizing the AEP. At the request of the bureau, the name of the county has been withheld.
Cross-cultural awareness: understanding of similarities and differences in cultural patterns of other than native culture; in this study, sometimes shortened to cultural
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awareness.
Homeroom teacher: teachers in Taiwanese elementary schools who are responsible for teaching and pastoral care of a class. They normally teach them most subjects, but in this study, not English.
Main school: an elementary school that is a full participant in the American exchange program hosting an American English teacher for one school year.
NEST: Native English speaker teacher. In this study, recent college graduates of American nationality, recruited in the U.S. who come to Taiwan to teach on the AEP.
NNEST: Non-native English speaker teacher. In this study, Taiwanese nationals locally qualified to teach English in elementary schools where they are known as specialist English teachers.
Parallel teaching: a model of co-teaching where one teacher takes a small group of students away from the main class for a time and gives them separate instruction.
Team teaching: when used in this study, it is to emphasize that the teachers are using a model of co-teaching whereby both of them are in the classroom at the same time.
Thirdness: refers to new perspective on oneself or one’s culture achieved by reaching out to understand another person or culture.
Overview of the dissertation
Chapter 1 introduces the background to the study, issues related to research in this field and the research questions. It also presents the theoretical framework and explains the significance of the research. It also explains the way terms are used in the study. Chapter 2 is the literature review covering native and non-native teachers, co-teaching, co-teaching schemes in East Asia and teacher knowledge. The theoretical framework of the study including concepts such as socio-cultural theory, situated learning, community of practice, distributed knowledge and thirdness are introduced and reviewed. Chapter 3 is divided in two parts, quantitative and qualitative, and
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describes the research design, participants, data collection instruments, methods and procedures and data analysis. Chapter 4, 5 and 6 are case studies of the three teaching pairs together with discussion of the findings. Chapter 7 is the quantitative analysis and discussion of results of the experimental study with students. Chapter 8 presents the quantitative and qualitative findings in the light of the research questions, draws the conclusions, discusses their implications and makes recommendations for further research.
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Chapter 2