A Study of Native English Teachers' Perception of English Teaching: Exploring Intercultural Awareness vs. Practice in Teaching English as a Foreign Language.

摘要

Intercultural awareness as part of English language learning is pivotal because English is currently the most-studied foreign language in many countries in the world. The use of English to bring understanding as well as social and economic exchange between countries is well recognized and is the reason for its importance in the compulsory education of many non-English-speaking countries. In Japan, English-as-a-foreign language is an important part of the educational process, and the cross-cultural aspect of English learning is recognized among language educators in Japan. The Ministry of Education in Japan promotes the learning of other cultures and English language competency in order to be able to communicate with people of different cultures. However, although there is recognition by educators on all levels, the actual practice of integrating issues and awareness of different cultures is left to each individual teacher. This qualitative multiple-case study was designed to identify the discrepancies between the perceptions of English-as-a-foreign language (EFL) education with a world view multi-cultural focus and the instructional behavior among the native-English-speaking university teachers in Japan. In-depth interview with the native-English-speaking university teachers, focus group interview with students and course syllabi were analyzed. Twenty-five native-English-speaking university teachers from different universities were the main participants for the in-depth interview. Focus group interview with the students of the participants' institutions and the syllabi used in their classes were studied to evaluate the gap between the main participants' perceptions and their actual class instruction. Six themes were revealed, providing evidence for the perceived need for incorporation of a worldview in EFL instruction in Japan, the potential benefits of greater levels of inclusion of cultural awareness, and English as a global language in teaching materials and texts. Results of the study suggest that teacher preparation and professional development as well as more culturally based instructional materials, reflective of this need, should be incorporated into the EFL instruction in Japanese universities, aligning with government recommendations. This study catalyzes teachers of EFL globally to review and align their own perceptions of EFL teaching with their instructional behavior.