中外籍英語教師在教學行為與信念上的差異

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(1)國立屏東商業技術學院應用英語系(所) 碩士論文. 中外籍英語教師在教學行為與信念上的差異 Differences in the Teaching Behaviors and Beliefs Between Local and Foreign English Teachers. 指導教授:陳美貞研究生:楊雅惠. 中華民國一○二年七月.

(2) Differences in the Teaching Behaviors and Beliefs Between Local and Foreign English Teachers. Advisor： Dr. Mei-Chen Chen By： Ya-Hui Yang. A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate Program of Applied English In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of Master of Arts National Pingtung Institute of Commerce. Pingtung, Taiwan, R.O.C. July, 2013.

(3) 摘要先前研究指出，國籍與民族教育理念對教師的教學行為與信念可能有很大的影響。不幸的是，台灣至今對中、外籍教師教學行為上的不同仍少有深入研究，尤其在英語教學環境上；涉及深度訪談的研究更甚稀少。此研究主要探討在大學英語口說課程中，中、外籍英語教師在教學行為和理念上的不同；學生對中、外籍教師教學上的理解程度、優缺點、喜好；中、外籍教師的教學期望差異、評估方式差異、及教學時面臨的困難差異。本研究採用量化和質化的方式進行：兩百一十一位台灣大學生的問卷調查，十位外籍與十位本籍英語教師，及二十位學生的個別深度訪談。此研究結果發現： (一) 大學生認為外籍與本籍教師在英語教學行為上是有明顯的不同。透過相依樣本測試發現在學生問卷調查中，教學行為項目 (43 項中有 31 項)的回答有著百分之七十二的顯著差異；(二) 外籍教師提供多樣化的課堂活動、上課中以學生口語練習為主、教學方法活潑多變、課堂中常與學生互動、設計活潑有趣的學習情境、上課會運用多媒體輔助學習；(三) 本籍教師安排較多的測驗、注重文法學習、每堂課有一定的課程進度。上課以老師講解及教科書為主，且能提供能增進口語能力的方法；(四) 多數學生 (83%)喜歡外籍教師的口語課程，因為可以提升學生的學習動機及增加與外國人說話的機會。多數大學生認為，曾在英語系國家讀書或居住過的本籍英文教師即有資格教授英語課程 ; (五) 所有訪談過的大學生都較偏好中外師協同教學；(六) 在外籍教師課堂中，不僅學生有課程理解上的困難，外師與學生也會發生溝通障礙、較少糾正學生口語錯誤，協助學生取得英語證照方面的成效也不大；(七) 外籍教師們高 i.

(4) 度期許學生能自信與流利地說英語，並喜歡學習英語；本籍教師則期望學生在英語口說中準確使用語法和字彙；(八) 外籍教師透過團隊合作，戲劇表演，或是運用多元評量來評估學生的英文口說能力；相反地，大多數本籍教師較偏向以個人表現為主的評分方式；(九) 此研究發現外籍與本籍英語教師在教學過程上，面臨的困難也有所不同。最後，我們將根據研究結果提出教學建議、未來研究導向，以茲參考。. 關鍵字: 教學行為與信念，國籍、外籍英語教師、本籍英語教師. ii.

(5) Abstract Previous research has shown that nationality and the educational philosophy in that culture may have great impact on a teacher’s teaching behaviors and beliefs. To date, not much literature has been documented in probing how foreign and local Mandarin-speaking English teachers differ in their teaching practices, in particular, in the EFL context of Taiwan. The research with in-depth interviews on these teachers has unfortunately been scant. The purpose of the study was to explore the teaching behaviors and beliefs of foreign and local English teachers at college oral training classes. Specifically, the student perceptions of the instructions of foreign and local English teachers, strengths and weaknesses of those teachers’ teaching behaviors, student preferences for teachers in teaching such oral classes, and differences in the teaching expectations, assessments and difficulties for the two types of teachers were examined. It involved quantitative and qualitative methods: a questionnaire for 211 EFL college learners and in-depth individual interviews for both teachers (10 foreign English teachers and 10 Mandarin-speaking English teachers) and students (20 questionnaire takers). The important results were: (1) college students perceived great differences in the teaching behaviors of foreign and local English teachers; 72 % teaching behavior items (31 in 43) in the student questionnaires were found significant with the paired samples t-tests; (2) the most distinctive differences were found in providing various in-class activities, giving student-centered instruction, iii.

(6) using various teaching approaches, often interacting with students, creating learning contexts and using multimedia, all of which in favor of the foreign English teachers; (3) giving more tests, focusing on teaching grammar, having fixed teaching progress, giving teacher-centered instruction, spending most time lecturing textbooks, and teaching learning strategies to improve students’ oral skills characterized the perceived teaching behaviors of the local English teachers; (4) most of the participants (83%) reported their preferences for a foreign English teacher to teach an oral class chiefly due to the motivating instruction and opportunity to speak English with a foreign teacher; a local English teacher was considered as well in teaching English if he/she had lived or studied in the country where the English language was spoken; (5) when choices were given, all of the interviewed students would prefer to attend a class of mixed foreign and local English teacher teaching arrangement; (6) students’ having difficulty comprehending the lecture, the instructor’s having communication gap with students, seldom correcting student mistakes, and not helping students much on gaining English certificates were common problems reported by the interviewees in their experiences with a foreign English teacher’s class; (7) the interviewed foreign English teachers reported high student expectations in speaking English with confidence and fluency and meanwhile, being able to enjoy learning English; in contrast, the local English teachers expected their students to use grammar and vocabulary with precision and accuracy while delivering spoken English; (8) the foreign iv.

(7) English teachers reported their preferences to evaluate student performance through teamwork, role-play, or with other alternative assessments; in contrast, most of the local English teachers preferred evaluating individual performances to group performances; (9) differences were also found in the teaching difficulties reported by the foreign and the local English teachers. Pedagogical implications and suggestions for further research were given to conclude this study.. Key words: teaching behaviors and beliefs, nationality, native English speaking teachers (NEST), nonnative English speaking teachers (NNEST). v.

(8) Acknowledgements I would like to express my deepest appreciation to my advisor, Dr. Mei-Chen Chen (陳美貞), who guides me to do the research with tremendous patience and encouragement. She always gives me constructive ideas and relevant suggestions to improve my thesis study. More importantly, she understands my difficulty of writing and teaches me strategies to elevate my writing skill. In addition, my deepest gratitude goes to my committee members, Dr. Shih-Chung Lin (林世忠) and Dr. Li-Hung Chang (張理宏) for their full dedication and their valuable suggestions and advice to polish my study. Also, I greatly appreciate for the two professors at my former college, Dr. Jan. Z. Tiangco (田安克) and Dr. Fei-Hsuan, Kuo (郭斐絢), who assisted me to conduct the survey study and shared with me their experiences in teaching English without reservations. Finally, thanks for my family and friends who always support me, and the teachers and students who took part in my study. Without these people, my thesis would be impossible.. vi.

(9) Table of Contents Abstract (Chinese)…………………………………………………………………………. i Abstract (English)…………..………………………………………...……………………iii Acknowledgements………………………………………………………………………...vi Table of Contents…………………………………………………………………………vii Tables……………………………………………………………………………………….x CHAPTER 1………………………………………………………………………………1 Introduction……………………………………………………………………………1 Problem Statement ……………………………………………………………4 Purpose of the Study…………………………………………………………5 Research Questions……………………………………………………………....5 Definitions of Terms ……………………………………………………………..6 CHAPTER 2………………………………………………………………………………..8 Literature Review……………………………………………………………………...8 Cultural Backgrounds and Teaching Beliefs……………………………………..8 Previous Research on Teachers of Different Nationalities and Their Different Teaching Behaviors……………………………………………………………10 Strengths and Weaknesses of Foreign and Local English Teachers………….…15 Teacher Expectations and Teaching Difficulties……………………………….17 CHAPTER 3……………………………………………………………………………20 Methodology…………………………………………………………………………20 Subjects…………………………………………………………………………20. vii.

(10) Instruments…………………………………………………………………21 Procedures…………………………………………………………………...….24 Data Analyses………………………………………………………………...…26 CHAPTER 4………………………………………………………………………………27 Results………………………………………………………………………………27 Validity and Reliability………………………………………………………….27 Results…………………………………………..………………………………27 CHAPTER 5……………………………………………………………………………41 Conclusions…………………………………………………………………………41 Discussion on Major Findings…………………………………………………41 Teaching Behaviors of Foreign and Local English Teachers………………….41 Preferences for Foreign/Local English Teachers and Their Respective Strengths and Weaknesses…………….………………………………………………….44 Teacher Expectations and Teaching Difficulties………………………………46 Teacher Expectations……………………………………………………..46 Teaching Difficulties……………………………………………………..47 Pedagogical Implications……………………………………………………...48 Suggestions for Further Research……………………………………………...49 References………………………………………………………………………………51 viii.

(11) Appendix A: Questionnaire (English Version)…………………………………………….60 Appendix B: Questionnaire (Chinese Version)……………………………………………66 Appendix C: Interview Questions for Students (English Version)………………………...72 Appendix D: Interview Questions for Students (Chinese Version)………………………..73 Appendix E: Interview Questions for Teachers (English Version)……………………...74 Appendix F: Interview Questions for Teachers (Chinese Version)……………………...75. ix.

(12) Tables Table 1 Sample Questionnaire Items for the Teaching Behaviors of Foreign and Local English Teachers…………………………………………………………...……22 Table 2. Data Collection Procedures..……………………………………………………25. Table 3. Characteristics of Foreign English Teachers in Oral Teaching………….……...28. Table 4. Characteristics of Local English Teachers in Oral Teaching…………...………29. Table 5. The Top 20 Significant Differences in the Teaching Behaviors of Foreign and Local English Teachers………………………………………………………….31. Table 6. Students’ Preferences for Foreign English Teachers in Teaching Oral Classes....33. Table 7. Strengths and Weaknesses of Foreign English Teachers………………………..36. Table 8. Strengths and Weaknesses of Local English Teachers …………………………36. Table 9. Teaching Difficulties for Foreign English Teachers……………………………39. Table 10 Teaching Difficulties for Local English Teachers………………………………40. x.

(13) CHAPTER 1 Introduction Teachers of different cultural backgrounds possess different teaching beliefs (Li, 2010; Kim, 2005; Mason, 2007). Cultural background is a significant factor to influence a teacher’s instructional behaviors (Devim & Bayyurt, 2010). Foreign and local English teachers tend to have significantly different beliefs in teaching. These teacher beliefs may affect their teaching styles and actual teaching practices. In recent decades, the major research trends on behavioral differences between teachers of different nationalities include instructional approaches, teaching objectives, assessment, and perceived attitudes toward English teaching and learning (Grubbs, Jantarach, & Kettem, 2010; Lasagabaster & Sierra, 2005; Liu & Zang, 2007; Park, 2009). Native English speaking teachers (foreign English teachers) usually focus on fluency, meaning, and colloquial register; in contrast, nonnative English speaking teachers (local English teachers) are more likely to center on accuracy, form, and formal register (Benke & Medgyes, 2005). The effects of English teachers of different nationalities or cultural backgrounds on their teaching beliefs and behaviors in EFL classrooms are of great concern in the current study. The past literature has revealed that there are significant teaching differences between foreign English teachers and local English teachers (i.e., Lasagabaste & 1.

(14) Sierra, 2005; Lui & Meng, 2009; Meadows & Muramatsu, 2007; Tang, 1997; Ü stünlüoglu, 2007). Foreign English teachers tend to use a wide variety of materials in class, and local English teachers, single textbooks. The former implement more flexible teaching approaches, and the latter, more guided ones. Foreign English teachers primarily focus on pronunciation and communicative skills in language teaching, and local English teachers, reading and grammatical rules. Foreign English teachers tend to use alternative assessment, and local English teachers, paper-and-pencil tests (Bayyurt, 2006; Hertel & Sunderman, 2009; Todd & Pojanapunya, 2009). Patil (2008) reported that the local English teachers overemphasized syntax, punctuation, and use of the grammar in Indian classrooms. Accuracy was found more important than fluency for the local teachers in the Indian students’ English learning. English education in an EFL context like Taiwan also emphasizes the value of examinations rather than use of language (Wu & Wu, 2008). Likewise, local English teachers in Korea focus on the use of specific grammar, sentence structures, and organization, and native ones, content and fluency (Shi, 2001). To evaluate an EFL learner’s oral performances, foreign English teachers are more detailed in the accuracy of pronunciation and delivered information (Kim, 2009; Lee, 2009). The teaching behaviors of foreign English teachers and local English teachers have been found significantly different in the past literature. 2.

(15) With the effect of globalization that comes with an urgent need for better English education, a great number of foreign English teachers and local English teachers are in demand these years (Ellis, 2007). The government in Taiwan has dedicated to promoting the field of English teaching and learning. English programs have been introduced from Grade 3 of primary schooling. More than 80% of public elementary schools are even offering such programs to Grade 1. There are numerous foreign and local English teachers’ teaching in language institutes, primary, secondary schools, and universities of Asian countries including Taiwan, Korea, China, Hong Kong, and Japan (Han, 2005). According to Ellis (2007) and Huang (2004), ESL/EFL learners could acquire English quickly and have better language ability in these immersion settings, including private language schools and bilingual kindergartens in Taiwan. These two groups of English teachers play equally important roles in the EFL English teaching. In particular, student learning motivation and interest are highly linked to an instructor’s teaching behaviors, use of materials, assigned tasks, and his/her feedback to student performance (Dornyei, 1994; Park, 2009; Yang & Howard, 2007). The teaching behaviors of foreign English teachers and local English teachers are worth probing because they may influence a student’s attitudes toward learning English. In addition to teaching behaviors, cultural differences are likely to bring about different teacher expectations on student performances and different teaching 3.

(16) difficulties in an EFL context (Mason, 2007; Wong, 2012). Exploring the differences in the teaching expectations and teaching difficulties is another great concern in the current study. Problem Statement To date, a great number of studies on the different teaching behaviors of foreign and local English teachers in ESL/EFL contexts have been documented in the literature; unfortunately, very few of them have been conducted in Taiwan. Although the immersion setting (e.g., immersion camps, language schools, or bilingual kindergartens) incorporating foreign language teaching approaches has become a trend over the past half century (Wu, 2009), the behavior differences issue of foreign and local English teachers and Taiwanese college student preferences for them have not been thoroughly probed. In addition, comparisons between the two types of teachers in their expectations for the local student performances and their respective teaching difficulties in such EFL classrooms have rarely been made. According to the past literature, foreign English teachers with an innate advantage over their English pronunciation and proficiency are bound to enhance student speaking and communication skills. Ellis (2007) also indicated that learners’ motivation, preferences and competences would be influenced by instructional approach, objective, and the role of a teacher. The present study thus aimed to examine 4.

(17) Taiwanese students’ perceptions of and preferences for their foreign and local English teacher instructions at a speaking oriented classroom context. Purpose of the Study The purpose of the study was to compare the teaching behaviors and beliefs of foreign and local English teachers at oral classes in the universities of Southern Taiwan. The perceptions of EFL learners toward the instructional behaviors of foreign and local English teachers were probed. Exploring these college student preferences toward the foreign English teachers’ instruction was another focus of the present study. The respective strengths and weaknesses of the foreign and local English teachers’ instructions were also examined. The teaching expectations and teaching difficulties for the two types of teachers in such classrooms were further detected through individual teacher interviews. Research Questions The current study was set to seek answers for the following research questions: 1. How do college students perceive the instructions of foreign English teachers and those of local English teachers in EFL classrooms? 2. When the nationality of English teachers is concerned, are there any teacher preferences in such oral classrooms? 3. In the individual student interviews, what do the students think of the respective 5.

(18) strengths and weaknesses of foreign and local English teachers in teaching English? 4. How do the foreign and the local English teachers respond in the individual teacher interviews concerning how they handle their oral classes, their expectations on student performances and the difficulties they have encountered while teaching spoken English? Definitions of Terms Cultural Differences: It refers to differences in the cultural aspects of languages, values, beliefs, and behaviors that pervade every aspect of a person’s life. Local English Teachers: In the study, it refers to mandarin speaking English teachers in Taiwan. English is not their mother tongue. Foreign English Teachers: It refers to the English teachers who originally come from western or ESL countries. Teaching Beliefs: Mental acceptance of and conviction in the truth, actuality, or validity of teaching. Instructional Behaviors: It refers to a teacher’s teaching style including teaching skills, methods, materials, assessment, lecturing, and emphasis in teaching. Teacher Expectations: It refers to educators’ expectancy or hope on their student performances. 6.

(19) Teaching Difficulties: It refers to something not easily done, accomplished, comprehended, or solved in the process of teaching.. 7.

(20) CHAPTER 2 Literature Review The chapter reviews previous studies concerning foreign/local English teachers in the ESL/EFL classroom. There are four sections in the chapter. They are: 1) Cultural backgrounds and teaching beliefs, 2) previous research on teachers of different nationalities and their different teaching behaviors, 3) strengths and weaknesses of foreign and local English teachers, and 4) teacher expectations and teaching difficulties. Cultural Backgrounds and Teaching Beliefs Teachers of different nationalities or cultural backgrounds have different teaching beliefs. Western education has focused on critical thinking (Rysn & Louie, 2007). Various in-class activities and group discussions are often used by foreign English teachers to stimulate students’ thinking, learning, and finding solutions by themselves to a problem (An & Reigeluth, 2012). Equipping students with problem solving skills is one important objective in such educational system. In contrast, Chinese educational system, which is strongly influenced by the philosophy of Confucianism, has emphasized the values of studies and examinations. In a typical Chinese classroom, teachers commonly act as authorities and students are listeners who are expected to be respectful, obedient, and hard working (Li, 2010; Shin 2012; 8.

(21) Subtirelu, 2011). Generally speaking, in ESL/EFL classrooms, foreign English teachers tend to create a student-centered learning environment, and local English teachers, a teacher-centered atmosphere (Hayes, 2009). A language instructor’s cultural background is a significant factor to influence classroom learning contexts. The previous literature has indicated teacher cultural backgrounds affect their teaching styles and their student attitudes toward the instructions of foreign English teachers and local English teachers (e.g., Arva & Medgyes, 2000; Bayyurt, 2006; Benke & Medgyes, 2005; Butler, 2007; Dervim & Bayyurt, 2010; Hertel & Sunderman, 2009; Kasai, Lee & Kim, 2011; Lasagabaster & Sierra, 2005; Moussu & Llurda, 2008). Foreign English teachers tend to provide students with an English speaking environment to improve their communicative skill and oral proficiency, and local English teachers, focus on teaching English grammar and linguistic structures. The former tend to use various teaching materials, such as modern media, and the latter, assigned textbooks and additional handouts. In addition to teaching styles, teachers’ nationalities are a significant variable to influence students’ attitudes toward the two groups of teachers (Moussu, 2010). A preference for the instruction of foreign English teachers has been documented in the literature. ESL/EFL students like the instruction of foreign English teachers who could provide students with authentic and enjoyable English learning contexts, various teaching approaches, and interesting 9.

(22) in-class activities (Grubbs, Jantarach, & Kettem, 2010; Lasagabaster & Sierra, 2002; Ma, 2012; Meadows & Muramatsu, 2007; Park, 2009; Tang, 1997; Todd & Pojanapunaya, 2009). Generally, teachers’ different cultural backgrounds are likely to bring about different teaching and learning effects in a language learning classroom. Previous Research on Teachers of Different Nationalities and Their Teaching Behaviors. Teachers from different nationalities are likely to come to a language learning classroom with different teaching beliefs (Mason, 2007; Ryan & Louie, 2007). Recent ESL/EFL research has examined the differences between foreign English teachers and local English teachers’s teaching behaviors, in particular, in the domains of instructional approaches, objectives, materials, and assessment (Arva & Medgyes, 2000; Benke & Medgyes, 2005; Kim, 2009; Lin and Braine, 2007; Liu & Zhang, 2007; Ustunlugolu, 2007). Such behaviors have been found significantly different between both teachers in EFL/ESL classrooms. Benke and Medgyes (2005) explored the distinctive teaching features of foreign and local English teachers through a questionnaire research on 422 Hungarian English leaners of high schools and universities. The survey questionnaire included 46 items on foreign and local English teacher teaching behaviors, and open-ended questions asking the respective strengths and weaknesses of the two groups of instructors. The most distinctive characteristics of the foreign English teacher instructions were found 10.

(23) to be focusing on oral skill, willing to improvise lesson plans, providing cultural information, and interested in students’ opinions. In contrast, the local English teachers were characterized by assigning a lot of homework, designing and following their lesson plans thoroughly, correcting students’ mistakes consistently, and teaching effective learning strategies to the students. The foreign English teachers tended to use flexible and real-life approaches, and the local English teachers, fixed and examination-oriented teaching approaches. In the students’ opinions, the two groups of teachers played equally important roles in teaching them English. In a qualitatively oriented research, Arva and Medgyes (2000) compared the teaching behaviors of 5 foreign English teachers and 5 local English teachers of 9-11th graders in English-language bilingual schools of Hungary. Interviews on teachers and observations for their actual teaching behaviors were used to collect data. The instructors were asked to “teach as usual” in their English classes. The results indicated the foreign English teachers tended to use a wide range of materials and even design teaching materials on their own. They would teach oral skills, do practices on the self-developed teaching materials, arrange free in-class activities, and do group/pair work. However, the local English teachers would teach textbooks and prepare elaborate lesson plans well before the class. They emphasized on the printed words in the textbooks, stuck to instructional objectives, gave controlled in-class 11.

(24) activities, and asked frontal work or project presentation of their students. Both teachers were detected to have produced very different teaching behaviors and demands from their Hungarian students. There was another similar study in Turkey with 311 college students and 38 foreign and local English teachers participating in a survey research in Ustunlugolu (2007). The purpose of the study was to probe four instructional areas, including teaching roles, management roles, communication skills, and individual qualities in class. Speaking of in-class teaching roles, it was found that the local English teachers motivated students to learn at the beginning of class, adjusted the progress of teaching and materials to different ability levels of students, integrated previous lessons into the current one, taught effective learning strategies, corrected student mistakes, and were highly concerned about student performances. As for in-class management roles, the local English teachers were more able to manage the class and maintain classroom order than the foreign English teachers. In addition, the local English teachers were better at setting up lesson plans and were able to follow them through with fixed teaching progress. Regarding in-class communication skills, the foreign English teachers were good at interacting and communicating with the class, such as praising the students, using body language, and using humanistic approaches. In contrast, the local English teachers were strict and were into fixed teaching approaches. In terms of 12.

(25) individual qualities, the foreign English teachers were energetic, respectful, and tolerant. The local English teachers were disciplined, authoritative, and strict. As it was concluded, the four instructional areas were significantly different for the two groups of teachers. Furthermore, Lin and Braine (2007) examined 420 Chinese students’ perceptions of Chinese English teachers’ instructions. These students aged between 17 to 24. The study involved a survey questionnaire and in-depth interviews on 10 students. The interview questions probed the strengths and weaknesses of the local English teachers, and qualities of being a professional English teacher. The results indicated that the local English teachers taught English with their first language, so they were able to explain the materials clearly. Besides, they would give extra time teaching the students who did not follow their lectures, or so-called low-proficiency learners, after class. They would also teach English with fixed progress and show their students how to use learning strategies. In addition, these Chinese English teachers emphasized the importance of academic performances and would correct the students’ mistakes directly. Generally, these Chinese students thought highly of the Chinese English teachers’ instructions. Note that in another study with 65 Chinese college students on their perceptions of the two types of teachers, Liu and Zhang (2007) found the low-achievers had 13.

(26) problem learning English under the foreign English teachers. In the student views, the foreign English teachers tended to use various teaching materials, give flexible assessment, and interact with students frequently. The local English teachers were found better at using modern media, including internet, PowerPoint, and flash while teaching. They spent most time preparing teaching materials and were able to manage the class better than the foreign English teachers. Most of the students could follow the lectures of the local English teachers. However, in the foreign English teacher’s classes, the low-proficiency students felt stressful and had difficulty communicating with these teachers in class. In an interview study with ten universities students and twelve foreign and local English teachers, Kim (2009) probed how differently the two groups of teachers evaluated the students’ English oral performances in Korea. The results revealed that the foreign English teachers tended to assess student performances on pronunciation, vocabulary, and fluency, and the local English teachers, pronunciation, vocabulary, intelligibility, and overall language use. Particularly, the foreign English teachers were sensitive and strict in phonological accuracy, such as giving the comment of “some words are mispronounced”, and “the pronunciation is not clear”. They tended to provide more detailed comments on student speaking performances. On the other hand, Korean English teachers would look at overall oral performances of the students, 14.

(27) such as misuses of word stress, instead of specific sound articulating errors. Oral teachers’ criteria of evaluation were found different due to different cultural backgrounds. Strengths and Weaknesses of Foreign and Local English Teachers Foreign and local English teachers have their respective strengths and weaknesses in English teaching (Lasagabaster & Sierra, 2005; Ma, 2012; Park, 2009). Lasagabaster and Sierra (2005) compared the teaching behaviors of the foreign and local English teachers in Spain and found that foreign English teachers had better pronunciation, gave more cultural information, knowledge of idioms and vocabulary, and were capable of creating enjoyable classrooms. The Spanish students in that study reported that the foreign teachers built a whole English speaking environment which helped improve their English listening and speaking skills through ongoing oral practices in class. Even so, the foreign English teachers were also found to have problem explaining words or idioms in the students’ first language. Park (2009) further indicated that Korean students had difficulty comprehending foreign English teachers’ lectures or communicating with them, and the teachers lacked the knowledge of local culture and language. Consistent with what was reported in Lasagabaster and Sierra (2005), Shin (2008) pointed out the strengths of the local English teachers for their knowing student learning difficulties, needs, proficiency 15.

(28) level, and their being able to explain the grammatical rules in the mother tongue. The students reported better noticing the distinctive features between the first language and the target language through such explicit instruction. They could ask questions in the first language and understand the teachers’ lectures more easily and quickly. On top of this, local English teachers had rich English learning experiences so that they could provide their students with effective strategies to learn English (Avra & Medgyes, 2000; Braine, 2005; Ma, 2012; Mcneill, 2005). Regardless of all these instructional strengths, the local English teachers had difficulty providing sufficient cultural information regarding English-speaking countries, and it was well understood that their pronunciations were not as authentic as those of foreign English teachers. In contrast to the foreign English teachers, the local ones, as further confirmed in Park (2009), focused much on grammatical rules, depended on the textbooks, and used less colloquial expressions, applied more formal teaching in class, and were not as capable of building the whole English speaking environment as the foreign English teachers. Generally, it was concluded in Lasagabaster and Sierra (2005) that most of the English learners preferred learning pronunciation, culture, English listening, and oral skill with foreign English teachers, and learning English grammatical rules and learning strategies with local English teachers. Both teachers have their own strengths in teaching and these strengths complement each other. 16.

(29) Ma (2012) summarized the respective strengths and weaknesses of foreign and local English teachers instructions in Hong Kong. Foreign English teachers’ strengths were: 1) speaking fluent colloquial English with better accent, 2) having high language proficiency, 3) providing authentic English speaking classrooms, and 4) delivering rich cultural information. Their weaknesses were: 1) having difficulty communicating with low-proficiency students, 2) having difficulty building close relationship with students, and 3) being in lack of understanding students’ needs and their difficulties of learning English. In contrast, the strengths of local English teachers were: 1) understanding students’ learning needs, proficiency, and difficulties, 2) providing learning strategies to benefit on student exams, 3) monitoring the students’ assignment, 4) preparing students well for exams, and 5) having translation skill for better communication in class. Their weaknesses were: 1) not having natural pronunciation/accent as native English speakers, 2) overemphasizing academic results, and 3) insufficient knowledge of western cultures. Teacher Expectations and Teaching Difficulties Culture is a significant factor to influence an instructor’s teaching beliefs, their expectations for students, and teaching difficulties (Mason, 2007; Wang, 2012). Western educators tend to create a student-centered context in which students are expected to achieve the skills of learning through cooperation, problem solving, and 17.

(30) critical thinking. In addition, active learning activities, independent thinking, inquiring, and communication skills (Li, 2010; Mason, 2007) are highly commended in a western classroom with an aim to help develop student creativity and imagination through team work (Ma, 2012). However, Chinese educators tend to expect their students to achieve academically. These teachers would implement examination-oriented instructional approaches, teach effective learning strategies, give paper-and-pencil tests and abundant assignments to improve their students’ English proficiency and competition (Benke & Medgyes, 2005; Lin & Brain, 2007). Cultural differences reflected different teaching expectations from foreign English teachers and local English teachers in foreign language learning classrooms. Cultural difference is also an important factor to cause teaching difficulties in language classrooms. According to Han (2005), foreign English teachers had problem understanding the local Korean culture, language, educational system, and student learning needs and learning difficulties. Likewise, these teachers also had difficulty communicating with their students, knowing their proficiency level, or establishing relationship with them (Ma, 2012; Park, 2009). Note that local English teachers also have their teaching difficulties in an EFL classroom. As Ma (2012) reported, Hong Kong students were less motivated to speak English with local English teachers in class, and some of them even rejected to practice English speaking with their teachers. 18.

(31) Chen and Cheng (2010) conducted a research in Taiwan on three South African English instructors with an aim to explore their teaching difficulties in elementary schools. Interviews, questionnaires, and classroom observations were involved in the case study. The greatest difficulties that the foreign English teachers encountered were problems associated with their accents. The teachers felt stressed and challenged while teaching English pronunciation because they lacked knowledge and experience in teaching English phonics. Another difficulty was linked to the frustration of managing a large class size. These teachers had problem knowing each student’s learning background, and maintaining the order of the large class seemed to be an ongoing challenge in teaching. However, these foreign teachers still managed to design various activities, involve new ideas of teaching, and make use of body language frequently to promote their students’ interests in learning English.. 19.

(32) CHAPTER 3 Methodology The study attempted to compare differences in teaching behaviors and beliefs of foreign and local English teachers at oral classes in the universities of Southern Taiwan. The college students’ preferences for the instruction, the respective strengths and weaknesses of the instruction, teacher expectations for student performances, and teaching difficulties were also probed for the two groups of teachers. The present study involved both quantitative and qualitative approaches to collect data. A questionnaire was administered to 211 Taiwanese college learners to fill out. In-depth interviews on the two groups of teachers (N=20) and their surveyed students (N=20) were then conducted. The interview data were used to triangulate or complement what was found in the survey questionnaire. This chapter presents the design of the current research, participants, instruments, procedures, and finally data analyses. Subjects The participants of the research were 211 college students ranging from freshmen to seniors and studying in the department of applied foreign languages or applied English at four universities in Southern Taiwan. These learners currently registered in 8 oral classes in charge by 8 foreign English teachers. Besides these foreign instructors, two more foreign and 10 more local English teachers were invited 20.

(33) for the interviews. Eventually, 10 foreign, 10 local English teachers and 20 surveyed students were interviewed for the study. In particular, the 10 foreign English teachers were originally from America (5), Russia (2), Britain (1), Australia (1), and Philippines (1). The lengths of teaching English for these foreign teachers ranged from 2 to 12 years, with an average of 6.4 years of teaching experiences. Instruments Two instruments were involved: a survey questionnaire and two interview forms. The Chinese versions of the instruments were used to avoid misunderstandings or confusions derived from lack of English knowledge. The questionnaire was organized into three sections. The first section dealt with student demographic data. The second section probed how the students perceived of foreign and local English teacher’s language skills focus (items 1 to 4), instructional emphases (items 5 to 19), lecturing type (items 20 to 24), teaching materials and resources (items 25 to 27), classroom activities (items 28 to 34), assessment (items 35 to 40), and after class activities (items 41 to 43) (see Appendix A and B). Adapted from the questionnaires of the earlier studies (i.e., Benke & Medgyes, 2005; Meadows & Muramatsu, 2007; Park, 2009), these questionnaire items were reviewed by 3 experienced teachers specialized in English teaching and learning. A pilot study on 80 students was conducted and the questionnaire was revised before it was formally administered for 21.

(34) the study. Some sample items of the survey are shown in Table 1. The final section consisted of 7 items examining college students’ preferences for the foreign English teacher’s instruction. The items were completely drawn from the questionnaire developed by Meadows and Muramatsu (2007). All questionnaire items in the present study involved a 5-point Likert scale ranging from strongly agree (5 points), agree (4 points), uncertain (3 points), disagree (2 points) and strongly disagree (1 point). Note that item 3 “It does not matter whether my foreign language teacher is a native speaker or not.” were reversely scored on the Likert scale.. Table 1 Sample Questionnaire Items for the Teaching Behaviors of Foreign and Local English Teachers Categories. Items. 1. Language Skills Focus. 2. focusing on oral skill 3. focusing on reading skill. 2. Instructional Emphases. 9. focusing on vocabulary learning 10. focusing on teaching grammar. 3. Lecturing Type. 20. giving teacher-centered instruction 21. giving student-centered instruction. 4. Teaching Materials and. 26. providing supplementary materials. Resources. 27. using multimedia. 5. Classroom Activities. 28. providing various in-class activities 29. creating interesting learning contexts. 6. Assessment. 38. focusing on individual assessment 39. focusing on group assessment. 7. After Class Activities. 41. giving take-home assignment 42. reminding students to review what has been taught 22.

(35) The other instrument was interview questions for the instructors and the students respectively (see Appendixes C, D, E and F). The student interview questions were adapted from Park (2009) to probe their preferences and perceptions of the teaching behaviors of foreign and local English teachers. The respective strengths and weaknesses of both teachers were also asked. The teacher interviews focused on how these two types of teachers managed their oral classes, their expectations for student performances, and the difficulties they often encountered while teaching English. The student interview questions are listed as follows: 1.. Do you prefer a foreign or a local English teacher as your English speaking teacher?. 2.. What are the strengths and weaknesses of a foreign English teacher’s instructional behaviors?. 3.. What are the strengths and weaknesses of a local English teacher’s instructional behaviors?. 4.. If presented with three possible teacher arrangements in your oral classes, which group would you like to choose and why? 1. Foreign English teachers only 2. Local English teachers only 3. Local and Foreign English teachers 23.

(36) The teacher interview questions are listed as follows: 1.. How do you teach English speaking in class?. 2.. What do you expect students to learn from your oral class?. 3.. Have you encountered difficulties while teaching spoken English? If so, what are they? Procedures The data collection procedures involved administering the questionnaire and. conducting the individual interviews on the teachers and the students. One assistant was trained to assist the researcher to collect the survey data from the 8 engaged college English classes currently instructed by 8 foreign English teachers. Before administering the survey questionnaire in each class, the researcher briefly described the purpose of the study and the appropriate way to fill out the questionnaire. The students were reassured that their responses would not affect their grades on the course. When the questionnaire was completed and collected, the researcher and the assistant checked the questionnaire responses right away to ensure every item was filled out properly. A total of 20 students from the surveyed classes volunteered for the following individual interviews. Afterwards, the interviews for 10 foreign and 10 local English teachers took place in their respective college offices. In both interviews, the purpose for holding the interview was told in the first place. The researcher would 24.

(37) write down key words from the responses of the interviewees. The whole process in each interview was tape recorded. When the teachers and students interviews were finished, the recorded data were proceeded to be analyzed. The data collection procedures were shown in Table 2.. Table 2 Data Collection Procedures Step. Data Collection. Time (minute). 1. Recruit 8 English oral classes from 4 universities. 2. Contact the teachers by email and phone. 3. Give training to the assistant. 4 4.1. Conduct survey study on the students Give explanations for the study and the questionnaire. 4.2 4.3. Ask the students to fill out the questionnaire Check all the items in the collected questionnaires on the spot. 5 5.1. Interview 20 students Tell about the purpose of the interview. 5.2. Ask interview questions. 6 6.1. Interview 10 foreign English teachers and 10 local English teachers Tell about the purpose of the interview. 6.2. Ask interview questions. 7. Transcribe the recorded interview data. 3 25 3. 2 10-15. 2 10-15. 25.

(38) Data Analyses The collected quantitative data from the student questionnaires were analyzed by the SPSS statistics package. Paired-samples t-tests were conducted to determine whether the instructional behaviors of foreign and local English teachers were significantly different. In addition, the descriptive statistics of means, standard deviations, and percentages were reported for the student responses of their preferences for the foreign English teacher teaching. The qualitative data obtained from the teacher and student interviews were filtered, transcribed, segmented, coded, and sorted into relevant themes to detect the strengths and weaknesses of the instructions of both teacher groups. The foreign and local English teachers’ responses were further compared to reveal their similarities and differences in their expectations for student performances and their respective teaching difficulties.. 26.

(39) CHAPTER 4 Results The chapter primarily focuses on reporting the results of the present study. The validity and reliability of the questionnaire are presented, followed by the results of the questionnaire and interviews based on the sequence of the research questions. Validity and Reliability As mentioned in chapter three, all items in the survey questionnaire were carefully reviewed by three experienced English teachers to achieve the content validity of the survey. The Cronbach Alpha values of test item consistency of foreign English teachers and local English teachers were 0.82 and 0.88, respectively. These statistics suggested the questionnaire as a reliable instrument to explore the EFL learners’ perceptions of foreign and local English teachers in their relative teaching behaviors at the oral classes. Results Research question 1: How do college students perceive the instructions of foreign English teachers and those of local English teachers in EFL classrooms? The most distinctive and the least distinctive features for the overall teaching behaviors of the two types of teachers are listed in Table 3 and Table 4. The data are presented with descriptive statistics to show the specific characteristics of the foreign 27.

(40) English teachers and the local English teachers in teaching spoken English. The highest means for the most distinctive teaching behaviors of the foreign English teachers were found in: (1) emphasizing communicating and expressing skills (M=4.69), (2) focusing on speaking skill (M=4.64), (3) giving student-centered instruction (M=4.62), (4) often interacting with students (M=4.60), (5) providing various in-class activities (M=4.59), and (6) using multimedia (M=4.53). The least distinctive features with the lowest means were found in: (1) focusing on teaching grammar (M=2.49), (2) having fixed teaching progress (M=2.80), and (3) giving more tests (M=2.83). As for the local English teachers, the most distinctive features with the highest means were: (1) giving more tests (M= 4.67), (2) focusing on speaking skill (M=4.58), (3) teaching learning strategies to improve students’ oral skills (M=4.44), (4) focusing on teaching grammar (M=4.43), (5) having fixed teaching progress (M=4.40), and (6) giving test review (M=4.31). Whereas, the least distinctive features with the lowest means were: (1) using various teaching approaches (M=2.59), (2) creating interesting learning contexts (M=2.61), and (3) providing various in-class activities (M=2.81).. Table 3 Characteristics of Foreign English Teachers in Oral Teaching (N=211) 28.

(41) Statement. M. SD. Strongly. Neutral. Strongly. Agree/. Disagree/. Agree. Disagree. Foreign English Teachers 4.69. .53. 85%. 9%. 6%. 4.64. .48. 95%. 3%. 2%. 4.62. .53. 91%. 5%. 4%. 4.60. .55. 92%. 3%. 5%. 4.59. .66. 86%. 9%. 5%. Using multimedia. 4.53. .62. 87%. 7%. 6%. Least. Focusing on teaching. 2.49. .62. 5%. 48%. 47%. Distinctive. grammar. 2.80. .69. 15%. 46%. 39%. 2.83 1.00. 8%. 70%. 22%. Most. Emphasizing. Distinctive. communicating and expressing skills Focusing on speaking skill Giving student-centered instruction Often interacting with students Providing various in-class activities. Having fixed teaching progress Giving more tests. Table 4 Characteristics of Local English Teachers in Oral Teaching (N=211) Statement. M. SD. Strongly. Neutral. Strongly. Agree/. Disagree/. Agree. Disagree. Local English Teachers Most. Giving more tests. Distinctive. Focusing on speaking. 4.67 4.58. skill 29. .54 .63. 88% 66%. 8% 30%. 4% 4%.

(42) Teaching learning strategies to improve students’ oral skills. 4.44. .70. 85%. 10%. 5%. Focusing on teaching. 4.43. .68. 89%. 8%. 3%. 4.40. .72. 91%. 7%. 2%. Giving test review. 4.31. .76. 77%. 18%. 5%. Least. Using various teaching. 2.59. .78. 9%. 46%. 45%. Distinctive. approaches. 2.61. .74. 6%. 59%. 35%. 2.81. .79. 8%. 49%. 43%. grammar Having fixed teaching progress. Creating interesting learning contexts Providing various in-class activities. Moreover, paired-samples t-tests were conducted to compare the teaching behaviors of foreign English teachers and local English teachers, and 72% behavior items (31/43) were found significantly different (p < .05). The greatest differences in the teaching behaviors of the two types of teachers were: (1) giving more tests (t = -23.09, p =.000) in favor of local English teachers, (2) focusing on teaching grammar (t = -19.87, p =.000) in favor of local English teachers, (3) providing various in-class activities (t =18.07, p =.000) in favor of foreign English teachers, (4) giving student-centered instruction (t =15.89, p =.000) in favor of foreign English teachers, (5) using various teaching approaches (t =15.55, p =.000) in favor of foreign English teachers, (6) often interacting with students (t =15.46, p =.000) in favor of foreign English teachers, (7) creating interesting learning contexts (t = 14.22, p =.000) in 30.

(43) favor of foreign English teachers, (8) using multimedia (t =14.07, p =.000) in favor of foreign English teachers, (9) having fixed teaching progress (t = -13.44, p =.000) in favor of local English teachers, as indicated in Table 5.. Table 5 The Top 20 Significant Differences in the Teaching Behaviors of Foreign and Local English Teachers (N=211) Rank. Items. M. M. (Foreign English Teacher). (Local English Teacher). t. Sig.. 1. Giving more tests. 2.83. 4.67. -23.09 .000. 2. Focusing on teaching grammar. 2.49. 4.43. -19.87 .000. 3. Providing various in-class activities. 4.59. 2.81. 18.07. .000. 4. Giving student-centered. 4.33. 2.61. 15.89. .000. instruction 5. Using various teaching approaches. 4.62. 3.12. 15.55. .000. 6. Often interacting with students. 4.60. 3.09. 15.46. .000. 7. Creating interesting learning. 4.47. 2.59. 14.22. .000 .000. contexts 8. Using multimedia. 4.53. 3.29. 14.07. 9. Having fixed teaching progress. 2.80. 4.40. -13.44 .000. 10. Focusing on team work. 4.44. 3.30. 11.23. 11. Giving teacher-centered instruction. 3.00. 4.23. -11.15 .000. 12. Emphasizing communicating and expressing skills. 4.69. 3.53. 10.91. .000. 13. Providing positive feedback. 4.46. 3.20. 8.86. .000. .000. during practice 14. Emphasizing active learning. 4.40. 3.42. 9.67. .000. 15. Often asking students’ opinion. 4.27. 3.23. 9.49. .000. 31.

(44) 16. Spending most time lecturing textbooks. 2.93. 4.16. -9.40. .000. 17. Teaching learning strategies to. 3.41. 4.44. -8.86. .000. improve students’ oral skills 18. Giving test review. 3.46. 4.31. -8.20. .000. 19. Focusing on vocabulary learning. 3.42. 4.29. -7.13. .000. 20. Group assessment. 4.10. 3.22. 6.85. .000. Research Question 2: When the nationality of English teachers is concerned, are there any teacher preferences in such oral classrooms? Most of the participants (83%) showed their preferences for a native English speaking teacher to teach an oral class (M=4.30, SD=.80), as indicated in Table 6. Note that 60% agreed or strongly agreed that a local English teacher was also as qualified if he/she had lived or studied in the country where the language was spoken (M=3.76, SD=.92). In addition, 58% of the participants thought that a foreign English teachers could make a better teacher than a local English teachers (M=3.66, SD=1.01). Almost half of the participants (52%) preferred a native speaker because they could ask questions in English (M=3.58, SD=.92), and 56% also believed that the foreign English teachers could promote their English learning interests (M=3.61, SD=1.07). Nevertheless, more than half of the students (54%) did not care if their English teacher was a native speaker or not (M=3.55, SD=.98). In general, the students showed their preferences for the foreign English teachers in teaching oral classes.. 32.

(45) Table 6 Students’ Preferences for Foreign English Teachers in Teaching Oral Classes (N=211) Statements. M. SD. Strongly Neutral Strongly Agree/ Disagree/ Agree disagree. 1. I prefer a native speaker as my foreign language teacher.. 4.30. .80. 83%. 15%. 2%. 2. I think that a native speaker can make a better teacher than a nonnative speaker.. 3.66. 1.01. 58%. 26%. 16%. 3. It does not matter whether my English teacher is a native speaker or. 3.55. .98. 54%. 33%. 13%. 3.58. .92. 52%. 37%. 11%. 5. I would be disappointed if my foreign language teacher was not a native speaker.. 2.93. 1.02. 27%. 30%. 43%. 6. I think that a non-native speaker. 3.76. .92. 60%. 35%. 5%. 3.61. 1.07. 56%. 25%. 19%. not. 4. I prefer a native speaker because I can ask questions in English.. teacher is qualified if she/he has lived and/or studied in the country where the language is spoken. 7. A native speaker teacher makes me more interested in learning.. Research Question 3: In the individual student interviews, what do the students think of the respective strengths and weaknesses of foreign and local English teachers in teaching English? The results of individual interviews on 20 students for the strengths and weaknesses of the foreign and the local English teachers in teaching English are 33.

(46) displayed in Tables 7 and 8, respectively. Speaking of the strengths and weaknesses of the foreign English teacher instructions, a great majority of the respondents (85%) indicated that these teachers were good at building an interesting learning context to motivate their learning. As a female student said, “Foreign English teachers always make their teaching interesting and I enjoy the relaxing atmosphere of the class. (外籍老師把課程上的很有趣，我很喜歡這種輕鬆的氣氛。)”. A high percentage of the respondents (75%) also stated that the teachers spoke authentic English with clear pronunciation. A similar percentage (70%) believed that these teachers improved their oral skills in English through many classroom activities. Besides, the foreign English teachers used multimedia frequently in class to enhance English learning (50%). The students also learned to adapt themselves to different English accents which benefited their listening comprehension (45%). As for the weaknesses, most foreign English teachers spoke little Chinese, so the students had difficulty comprehending the lecture (70%). As stated by a male student, “Sometimes, I do not follow a foreign English teacher’s lecture, especially when he explains the meaning of a word, a phrase, or even the materials in the textbook. (有時候，我聽不懂外籍老師的講解，尤其是他解釋的單子，片語，還有教科書裡的內容。)”. Many interviewees (65%) also pointed out they sometimes had communication gap with the foreign English teachers. In addition, these teachers seldom corrected the students’ mistakes including their 34.

(47) pronunciation, use of words, grammar, and sentence structures in class (40%). Some (35%) even reported that most foreign English teachers were not aware of the importance of English tests in Taiwan; taking courses from these teachers wound not benefit much on their test performance in obtaining English certificates. As for the strengths and weaknesses of the local English teachers, most interviewees (85%) thought the local teachers focused on the instructions of English grammar and they taught it in a precise, explicit way. Most of the time, these teachers spoke both languages in class; they used grammar-translation method in their lecture to help students comprehend the materials in the textbook (65%). Moreover, the teachers would teach learning strategies to improve their students’ English proficiency and test performance (45%). As for the weaknesses, the local English teachers overemphasized the value of exams (75%). They gave far more tests than the foreign English teachers did. According to the interviewees, there were listening tests and vocabulary tests in the local English teachers oral classes. Some of them even felt that these tests would produce stress and negative feelings toward learning English. The fixed teaching approaches and materials coverage from the local English teachers even made the oral classes not as interesting as those of the foreign English teachers (65%). “My teacher always uses the same teaching approach and assessment in class. The mechanisms of explaining the topic, teaching grammar, and doing oral practices 35.

(48) through exercises from textbooks are not interesting at all”, said a male interviewee (我的老師使用一樣的教學和考試方式，固定的模式例如:文法解釋，著重文法教學，做課本裡的口語練習，讓我覺得這課程一點都不有趣。)”. Besides, the local English teacher pronunciations were not as authentic as those of the foreign English teachers (55%). Overemphasizing teaching textbooks (50%) and giving less chance to speak English in class (45%) were two other student responses for these teachers.. Table 7 Strengths and Weaknesses of Foreign English Teachers Strengths. Items. No. of Subjects. %. 17/20. 85. Speaking authentic English. 15/20. 75. Promoting students’ oral skills through activities. 14/20. 70. Using multimedia frequently. 10/20. 50. Help adjust to different English accents. 9/20. 45. Having difficulty comprehending the lecture. 14/20. 70. Having communication gap with students. 13/20. 65. Seldom correcting students’ mistakes. 8/20. 40. Not helping much on gaining English certificates. 7/20. 35. Creating a lively and interesting learning environment. Weaknesses. Table 8 Strengths and Weaknesses of Local English Teachers Strengths. Items. No. of 36. %.

(49) Subjects Teaching English grammar. 17/20. 85. Translating the materials into Mandarin Chinese. 13/20. 65. Teaching learning strategies to benefit students on exams. 9/20. 45. Overemphasizing exams. 15/20. 75. Using fixed teaching routines. 13/20. 65. Not having authentic English pronunciation. 11/20. 55. Lecturing textbooks. 10/20. 50. Giving less chance to speak English in class. 9/20. 45. Weaknesses. Research question 4: How do the foreign and the local English teachers respond in the individual teacher interviews concerning how they handle their oral classes, their expectations on student performances and the difficulties they have encountered while teaching spoken English? Individual interviews on 10 foreign and 10 local English teachers focused on three areas: teacher classroom management, their expectations for student performances, and teaching difficulties in the oral classes. In the foreign English teacher teaching, a great majority of foreign English teachers (9/10) would provide various in-class activities (e.g., role play or group discussion) underlying a student-centered instruction. The foreign English teachers (7/10) stated the importance of the learning atmosphere of classroom; they would give small talks to ease learning stress. Half of the interviewed foreign English teachers (5/10) would use 37.

(50) alternative assessment to evaluate student performances through team presentation, role play, etc. Only two foreign English teachers reported a preference for a paper-and-pencil test on English listening skill and recognition of vocabulary words. As for the local English teachers, a great majority (9/10) reported spending most of the class teaching textbooks. Additional handouts would be given to assist their oral teaching. A great majority (9/10) responded that they had fixed teaching progress with planned materials to cover for exams. In addition, the local English teachers (7/10) would correct their students’ oral mistakes directly. More than half (6/10) would use paper-and-pencil tests to assess the students’ listening skill and recognition of vocabulary words from the textbooks. Besides oral training, half of the local English teachers (5/10) believed teaching English grammar was important. Several local English teachers (3/10) showed their willingness to assist the low-proficiency students to learn after class. Regarding to teacher expectations for students, most of the interviewed foreign English teachers anticipated their students to: speak English with confidence (8/10), speak fluently and communicate well after taking their oral class (7/10), like studying English (6/10), and interact with them frequently to build a close teaching-and-leaning relationship (5/10), and be creative and ready for teamwork (3/10). In contrast, the interviewed local English teachers expected their students to ask questions actively 38.

(51) (6/10), use grammar and vocabulary words with accuracy while speaking English (6/10), and be enthusiastic and aggressive in studying English (5/10). As for teaching difficulties (see Table 9 and Table 10), the interviewed foreign English teachers reported having difficulty understanding student needs in learning English (5/10), lacking teacher-student interaction (5/10), having communication gap (3/10), and having low-achievers complaining about their particular accents (2/10). The local English teachers reported having difficulty creating a whole-English learning environment (6/10) as well as finding teaching materials to meet each student’s proficiency and needs (4/10), being emotionally affected by students’ negative learning attitudes (4/10), lacking teacher-student interaction (2/10), and having difficulty managing the class due to large class size (2/10).. Table 9 Teaching Difficulties for Foreign English Teachers (N=10) Foreign English. Items. Frequency. Percent. teachers 1.. Having difficulty understanding student needs in learning English. 5/10. 50%. 2.. Lacking teacher-student interaction. 5/10. 50%. 3.. Having Communication gap. 3/10. 30%. 4.. Having particular accent. 2/10. 20%. 39.

(52) Table 10 Teaching Difficulties for Local English Teachers (N=10) local English teachers. Items. Frequency. Percent. 1.. Having difficulty creating a whole-English learning environment Having difficulty finding teaching materials to meet each student’s proficiency and needs Being emotionally affected by students’ negative. 6/10. 60%. 4/10. 40%. 4/10. 40%. 2/10 2/10. 20% 20%. 2. 3. 4. 5.. learning attitudes Lacking teacher-student interaction Having difficulty managing the class due to large class size. 40.

(53) CHAPTER 5 Conclusions The purpose of the study was to probe the EFL learners’ perceptions of foreign and local English teachers’ instructional behaviors and teachers’ beliefs of English teaching at oral classes. This research involved four colleges in Southern Taiwan with a total of 211 students participating in the survey study. Twenty English teachers (10 foreign English teachers and 10 local English teachers) and twenty surveyed learners volunteered for the post-questionnaire interviews. Discussion on major research findings, pedagogical implications, and suggestions for further research are presented in this chapter to conclude this study. Discussion on Major Findings Teaching Behaviors of Foreign and Local English Teachers Consistent with the previous literature, the present study found that there were significantly different instructional behaviors for foreign and local English teachers in EFL classrooms (e.g., Park, 2009; Ma 2012). The most distinctive features of the foreign English teachers were found in providing various in-class activities, giving student-centered instruction, using various teaching approaches, interacting with students frequently, and creating interesting learning contexts. As for the local English teachers, the striking patterns of giving more tests, focusing on teaching grammar, 41.

(54) having fixed teaching progress, giving teacher-centered instruction, spending most time lecturing textbooks, and teaching learning strategies to improve students’ oral skills were identified. These big differences in teaching behaviors of foreign English teachers and local English teachers speak well for a notion that cultural factor plays a significant role in teaching English (Kim, 2005; Wang, 2011). Education in the West emphasizes the process of learning rather than the results. Teamwork, group learning, and social skill are well-commended in this system. Western teachers stress the importance of active learning, cooperative learning, communicative skill, and creativity through implementing various in-class activities and pair/team work (Kim, 2005; Mason, 2007; Ryan & Louie, 2007). The foreign English teachers in the questionnaire were found distinctive in giving different teaching approaches, enjoyable learning contexts, and teamwork exercises to promote students’ learning interests, which was in line with the past literature in Galloway (2008), and Ustunlugolu (2007). The interview results of the study also revealed these teachers were enthusiastic about various in-class activities and creating stress-free learning atmosphere while teaching. As noted by Hassan, Abiddin, and Anuar (2011), various classroom activities integrated with different teaching methods may inspire students’ learning. In addition, the present study found that the foreign English teachers were characterized by giving student-centered instruction and interacting 42.