台灣中、外英語教師教學專業研究與協同教學模式之探討

Abstract

英語教師若英語為母語(native)則通常會被認為比英語非母語 (non-native) 教師佔優勢。在英語教學領域，母語與非母語教師之差別一直存在，雖然是否真的與教學優劣相關尚無嚴謹的研究證實。近年來，由於全世界的英語學習熱潮以及非母語教師的人數眾多，此一議題受到極多的關注。許多研究(Braine, 1999; Cook, 2002; Liu, 1999; Medgyes, 1994; Samimy & Brutt-Griffler, 1999; Tang & Absalom, 1998)認為教師之母語與其教學專業並沒有太大關係，英語為母語或非母語教師都可以成為好的英語教師。但是英語為母語教師之優勢仍為各方所認定。本研究即在探討這兩組英語教師是否真的因母語不同而有差別？其差別是否反映於其教學中？是否與其教學專業相關？兩組老師同樣是英語教師，在同一個英語教學領域，是否有同一套認定之教學專業標準？若兩組教師確於教學方面因母語不同而有所差別，兩相互補的協同教學是否為一理想模式？然根據調查（Carless &Walker, 2005），亞洲地區許多協同教學都遭遇困難，成效不佳。究其原因，主要是因為兩組教師對專業角色認定不清、對英語教學專業沒有一套共同之教學專業標準，使協同教學無法真正落實。本研究將進行兩項研究：（1）英語教師之教學專業研究：認知與標準（2）協同教學研究。將以台灣小學英語為母語及非母語英語教師為對象，採問卷調查、訪談、及課室觀察方式，研究兩組教師之英語教學專業認知及專業標準認定，並將探究台灣宜蘭及新竹地區之小學協同教學模式，分析其優、缺點，並與研究結果（調查、訪談、及課室觀察）、及相關理論相互印證，期能建立適用英語為外語（English as a foreign language）的台灣英語教學情境中的英語教師教學專業標準，並提供協同教學之有效模式，對兩組英語教師之專業發展、協同教學模式、及台灣之英語教育應有重要啟發及影響。

A unique issue in the context of English language teaching (ELT) is the distinction between native versus non-native English-speaking teachers. There have been numerous arguments against the native vs. non-native dichotomy in terms of ELT professionalism (Braine, 1999; Cook, 2002; Liu, 1999; Medgyes, 1994; Samimy& Brutt-Griffler, 1999; Tang & Absalom, 1998), and most of them are legitimate on any ground. Professionalism in ELT obviously cuts across the line of nativeness, i.e., both NETs (English teachers who are native speakers of English) and NNETs (English teachers who are non-native speakers of English) can both be effective English teachers. However, the myth of native speakers being better English teachers persists and the distinction between NETs and NNETs is perceived as important by many. This research aims to investigate how NETs and NNETs are perceived in terms of their professionalism. If there is a perceived distinction between them, is it reflected in their teaching practices and their perception of professionalism? Is there a common set of standards/criteria for professional expertise shared by both NETs and NNETs? If there is a perceived difference between NETs and NNETs, collaborative teaching has generally been perceived as the best partnership of the two groups of teachers. However, collaborative teaching in East Asian classrooms has faced considerable problems (Carless &Walker, 2005). Although the problems are complex, a lack of a common set of professional values, ethics, and standard practices in the ELT profession seems to lie at the core of the issue. True collaboration between NETs and NNETs will not take place unless a professional common ground is shared. A study was designed to address the above questions regarding the professionalism of elementary school NETs and NNETs in Taiwan and its implications on collaborative teaching. Two high-profiled NEST/NNEST team teaching English programs in Taiwan’s Yilan and Hsinchu City were studied through questionnaires and face-to-face interviews to investigate these ELT teachers’ perception of and standards for professionalism. The main purpose of this research is twofold: (1) To establish a common set of professional standards/criteria for professional expertise of ELT teachers in the EFL context of Taiwan (2) To inform curricular initiatives in designing effective and sustainable collaborative teaching English programs/models at the elementary school level in Taiwan.