Research into Teachers’ (Dis)Respect for Learners: A Cross-Cultural Study of English Language Teachers’ and Learners’ Perceptions

A safe learning context begins with teachers-students respectful interaction. This qualitative study drawing on the premises of grounded theory (GT) examined native and nonnative English language teachers’ and learners’ (n = 114) perceptions of teachers’ (dis)respect for learners. Content analysis of focus groups and online interviews revealed three overarching themes: (1) teachers’ interpersonal characteristics, (2) teachers’ insightfulness, and (3) teachers’ occupational attributes. Overall, 14 subthemes emerged. An important finding was that politeness, learners’ self-esteem, and care were the most recurrent subthemes, respectively, raised by all four groups of nonnative teachers (NNTs), nonnative learners (NNLs), native teachers (NTs), and native learners (NLs). Moreover, politeness, care, learners’ self-esteem, dedication, and interest were the five culture-general components of teachers’ (dis)respect for learners because they were mentioned by both natives and nonnatives. Conversely, other subthemes could be considered as culture-specific components because they were raised by either natives (fairness, encouragement, appreciativeness, kindness, punctuality, and learners’ freedom) or nonnatives (helpfulness, patience, and learners’ individuality). Furthermore, the three above-mentioned themes were common to all participants. Therefore, given this diversity within universality, we proposed a cross-cultural model of teachers’ (dis)respect. The pedagogical implications are discussed.

Collaborative Teacher-Students Talks on the Identity of Native vs. Nonnative English Teachers

The rise of English as an international language and English globalization has rekindled the debate over native vs.nonnative teachers’ identity in terms of their strengths and weaknesses in foreign language education. To contributeto the debate, this study explored EFL learners’ and teachers’ perceptions of native and nonnative teachers’ identity.Six nonnative teachers and their students (N=40) participated in collaborative talks to construct teacher identity inseparate discussion sessions. The conversations were transcribed to extract the main themes through content analysis.The findings showed that, from the students’ point of view, nonnative teachers enjoy bilingual advantage, have abetter understanding of learners’ culture, and are more capable in establishing rapport with learners. Regardingnative teachers, the students believed that they enjoy linguistic advantage and transfer L2 culture more competentlythan non-native teachers. The teachers had similar opinions about linguistic advantage, advanced/elementary levelinstruction, and art of teaching. However, they did not fully agree with nonnanative teachers’ bilingual advantage.The findings indicated that EFL learners and teachers prefer native and nonnative teachers in different respects andthat nativeness is not the sole determining factor in teacher identity.

The teaching of pragmatics by native and nonnative language teachers: What they know and what they report doing

The paper focuses on how nonnative teachers of a target language (NNTs) deal with pragmatics in their classes. It starts with a discussion of what pragmatics entails. Next, issues relating to the teaching of pragmatics are identified, such as the language background of the teacher, comparisons between second- (L2) and foreign-language (FL) instruction, and the potential role of digital media and other means in providing models for pragmatic behavior. Then, an international survey is presented which probed into the experiences of NNTs of various languages while teaching the pragmatics of their language of instruction. A total of 113 teachers were asked to indicate what they taught with regard to pragmatics, 30 native-language teachers (NTs) and 83 NNTs. They were also asked to report on their experience as teachers of L2 and FL pragmatics (e.g., if they encountered classroom moments when they did not feel like an authority on some aspect of pragmatics, what they did about it). Since pragmatics is a meeting of language and culture, the teacher respondents were asked to assess their knowledge regarding pragmalinguistics (i.e., the language forms) and sociopragmatics (sociocultural knowledge). In addition, they were asked to give their opinion regarding similarities and differences between the teaching of FL as opposed to L2 pragmatics, as this traditional dichotomy gives way to a more hybrid reality in an increasingly globalized world. Similarly, they were asked about their methods for teaching pragmatics (e.g., their use of digital media and their handling of dialect differences). Finally, they were asked to suggest areas in which they would like to see research conducted that would inform the teaching of pragmatics. The paper reports the findings from the study, including statistical differences in reported teaching of criticism, sarcasm, and cursing, as well as in the use of digital media and in having students gather data on pragmatics.