Cho, Eun & Oh, Sun-Young. (2023). “Representation of Native English Teachers and Korean English Teachers in Korean English Newspapers: A Corpus-based Critical Discourse Analysis”. The Sociolinguistic Journal of Korea, 31(2). 95-123. Native-speakerism, a pervasive issue in the field of English Language Teaching, is observed globally and prevalent in Korea. This ideology negatively affects both Native English Teachers (NETs) and Non-native English teachers like Korean English Teachers (KETs) for some reasons. This study utilizes corpus-based critical discourse analysis to examine the linguistic patterns and referential expressions used in Korean English newspapers to represent NETs and KETs. The analysis reveals significant disparities in their positions and authority within Korean English classrooms. Specifically, NETs are labeled as “assistants,” implying a subordinate role with limited authority, while KETs are referred to as “co-teachers,” signifying a more secure status. Moreover, the study highlights the challenges faced by KETs in demonstrating their English proficiency and sheds light on the discrimination faced by NETs who possess commodified linguistic capital and are of Caucasian descent. These findings emphasize the importance of raising awareness of native-speakerism in Korean newspapers.

This study was aimed at finding pedagogical answers to the question of ‘what are the qualities of native English speakers at a Korean middle school’. In this study, research results were derived using phenomenological methods from seven native English teachers at a middle school. The results of the study are as follows; 1) native English teachers should teach English effectively, 2) native English teachers should be able to adapt to their positions in Korea, 3) native teachers are ‘new information providers’ and ‘introducers of new cultures’. Korean society has focused on the external conditions and specifications of native speakers. However, it is now necessary to clearly define the qualities that native teachers should have and use them for recruitment and education of native teachers. Also, native teachers who want to work in Korea need to be trained according to the cultural and educational situation in Korea. Through this study,it is critical to consider measures to improve the legal status of native English teachers.

Considering critical roles of teachers in education, an increasing number of studies have investigated language teacher identity. Although many studies have reported nonnative English-speaking teachers’ identity, few studies have explored native English-speaking teachers’ (NESTs’) professional identity. Taking poststructural approaches towards identity, the present study investigated how two NESTs working in Korean universities perceived themselves professionally and how their identities were realized in class. Data were collected through interviews, class observations, and material collections. Findings showed that the NESTs constructed multiple identities differently shaped by various factors, such as previous experiences and college majors. One NEST had identities of a role model for foreign language learning and a caretaker, while the other showed weak identities as a teacher with identities of a writer and a babysitter. Despite such differences, the NESTs commonly manifested an overarching identity as a guide who desired to create safe and comfortable learning environments. These findings confirm close connections between teachers’ professional identity and practices.

As emphasis has increased on English as an international language and on the globalized image of universities, the number of native English speaker teachers (NETs) has also increased in Korean universities. From the poststructuralist view, teacher identity is constructed through participation in valued activities of the community of practice, and it is not fixed but constantly negotiated through the interaction of the context (Wenger, 1998). While previous studies focused on nonnative English speaker teachers’ identity construction, little attention has been paid to NETs in the EFL context. Considering the need to explore teacher identity from recent theoretical perspectives, the present study investigates how NETs negotiate conflicting identities and construct their teacher identities in the Korean university context. The findings show the NETs constructed multiple identities of an English educator, a collaborative volunteer, a non-tenured instructor, and a cultural and linguistic outsider, and they legitimize their professor identity through their participation in the present and imagined community of competent teachers. The findings support the claim that teacher identity is embedded in the sociocultural context that interacts with the individual agency in making sense of who they are. Implications and suggestions of the study are addressed based on the findings.

This study compares native English teachers (NETs) and non-native English teachers (NNETs) in their perceptions of errors as well as their actual feedback. Studies comparing NETs and NNETs have focused on actual feedback practice (Green & Hecht, 1985; T. Kobayashi, 1992), with very few studies relating this feedback to their actual perceptions of error correction (Hyland & Anan, 2006; Kim, 2007). In order to better understand this phenomenon, 26 NETs and 24 NNETs completed a questionnaire and provided feedback on a sample academic essay. The results reveal that while both groups showed differing degrees of perceptions, they did not significantly differ from each other in actual feedback, except that NETs preferred coded feedback than NNETs by explaining errors. This study implies that NNETs are as reliable as NETs in correcting errors, but that they differ in how they give feedback.

The issue of text appropriation is rarely explored in EFL classrooms where the teachers are native speakers of English. In this study we highlight how the ideology of NESTs influences students’ feedback practices. Two Korean EFL students seemingly welcomed teacher comments into their texts to make their revision process more manageable. By relinquishing their control, they welcome the appropriative behavior the teacher brings as the native English speaker. They believe that appropriating the behavior of the native English-speaking teacher is not only beneficial, but necessary in shaping their English discourse. Nonetheless, the students struggled in the feedback and revision cycles to negotiate between their hegemonic beliefs and the expectations of their native English-speaking teacher. In this sense, EFL students’ writing is always in foreclosure from the native English-speaking teachers, as EFL students are overshadowed by the ideology of NESTs.

Little research exists on expatriate language teachers’ experiences and attitudes toward their students and teaching contexts, particularly venues with younger learners, in an L2 setting. Thus, this study investigated native English-speaking teachers’ (NESTs) experiences of and attitudes toward teaching and interacting with Korean elementary school children in the Korean elementary school context. Data were collected through in-depth interviews with five NESTs who have worked, and are still working, in various areas of Korea. Findings indicated that the NESTs of the current study were holding relatively positive attitudes toward Korean children as well as teaching them English. The NESTs viewed Korean children as engaging and responsive learners, but stressed the importance of their own roles in creating an environment for the children’s better engagement. The NESTs’ experiences varied whether they had upper and lower grade elementary school children and whether they taught main classes or after-school classes, etc. Finally, the NESTs experienced challenges when dealing with children with extremely different levels of English in one classroom and with managing disorderly behaviors of after-school classes. Based on the findings of the study, practical implications for both NESTs and Korean teachers are provided.

A body of research has reported that nonnative English-speaking teachers experience low professional self-esteem (Kamhi-Stein, 1999, 2000; Medgyes, 1994; Reves & Medgyes, 1994; Samimy & Brutt-Griffler, 1999). However, in the prior literature, the identities of nonnative English teachers enrolled in U.S. English teacher education programs remain relatively unexamined, especially in relation to native speakerism. In this study, the author investigates how nonnative English teachers see themselves as EFL teachers by employing critical theory and identity theory. The combination of these two theories provides lenses to examine how nonnative English teachers’ identities are affected by the native-speaker ideology within the intersections of power, language, culture, and race. These qualitative case studies show that nonnative English teachers are influenced by the ideology of native speakerism, leading to low professional self-esteem.

The purposes of the study arc to explore difficulties that native English speaking teachers (NESTs) experienced while co-teaching and to investigate their suggestions for better co-teaching. This study collected data from nine NESTs working at secondary schools in Korea through interviews. Regarding difficulties, the NESTs pointed out the hardships in relation to a lack of clear guidelines of co-teaching or role expectations, less active participation in class by Korean English teachers (KETs), and working with too many KETs for co-teaching. The NESTs made several suggestions for future co-teaching, such as provision of clearer guidelines to follow, decrease in the number of KETs to co-teach with, practical help in the format of co-teaching training and class observations, more interaction with KETs, and a new curriculum for co-teaching. Based on the findings, this study offers practical suggestions for better co-teaching.

This study examined native-speaking English teachers’ pedagogical knowledge through the analysis of transcriptions of videotaped lessons and interviews with six novice English teachers teaching at middle schools. The goal was to discover what pedagogical knowledge these teachers have and how the knowledge was represented in the form of instructional actions. The dominant categories of the teachers’ instructional actions were repetition of input and instructions. Hence, there were a lot of repetitions of input which seem to come from behavioristic perspectives of language learning and teaching. Also, there were lots of teacher-initiated questions and directives to elicit responses from the students. The primary way of clearing the meaning of the text was translation. The findings indicated that the native-speaking teachers’ pedagogical thought are mostly pertinent to general educational knowledge not about language learning and teaching. In addition, the novice teachers’ pedagogical knowledge deduced from pedagogical thoughts leaned towards heavily to ‘Handling language items’ while experienced teachers in Gatbonton’s (2000) study displayed no dominant category. Implications for teacher training were discussed.

The present study investigated native speaker teachers’ beliefs about learning and teaching English in the Korean university setting. Despite the great influx of native speaker teachers into the Korean English education system, relatively little research has been carried out on teachers’ perspectives on learning and teaching. Considering the significant impact of teachers’ beliefs in the classroom, this study investigated the sources of teachers’ beliefs, their beliefs about learning and teaching, and their beliefs about teacher roles in the second language classroom. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with eight native English speakers who were teaching at the same university. The findings showed that the teachers believed students’ active participation was the key to successful second language learning. It was shown that the teachers’ beliefs were closely associated with their prior learning experiences and that differences in the learning experiences between the teacher and students may cause difficulty in the second language classroom. These findings suggest the importance of teachers’ awareness of students’ learning experiences and the need to negotiate within the given teaching context without completely giving up teachers’ own beliefs about learning and teaching a second language.

The purpose of this study was to explore the co-teaching experiences between native and non-native English teachers in the Korean elementary and secondary school context. Research data included classroom observations and teachers’ interviews collected over one school semester. A constant comparative data analysis method was employed to provide an in-depth description of the co-teachers’ teaching practice, the aspects of their interactions, and their professional development in a classroom setting. The findings of this study revealed that the co-teaching styles and role distributions in the co-teaching process were different depending on the non-native teachers’ English proficiency and their professional relationships. It also suggested that the successful implementation of collaborative team work was deeply related to the participating teachers’ willingness to cooperate and conceptions created by the dynamics of interaction between the two teachers in and outside of the classroom. Given the research result that both native and non-native teachers benefitted from their co-teaching experiences, some pedagogical implications on the improvement of co-teaching English in Korean classrooms are proposed.

This study aims to investigate the current status regarding the utilization of native English teachers in elementary schools focusing on its benefits and problems and to explore better ways of utilizing them for elementary English education. The participants of this study were 1024 elementary school students, 80 Korean elementary English teachers, and 56 native teachers of English. The data were collected through questionnaires and interviews. Through the analysis of data the followings were revealed: 1) the native teachers of English considered that their working conditions including wages and the amount of teaching time were appropriate, but the pre-training program was not satisfactory; 2) the Korean English teachers felt that their workload related to native teachers of English was too heavy; 3) the students perceived that studying English with native teachers of English had positive effects on their English abilities in terms of cognitive and affective aspects; 4) in most schools team teaching between native teachers of English and Korean teachers were being performed and both teachers were satisfied with it; 5) however, several issues such as the role relationship between the Korean English teachers and the native teachers of English, the quality of pre-training, and reconstruction of teaching materials should be resolved in order to improve English program of utilizing native English-speaking teachers in elementary schools.