A case study on foreign English teachers' challenges in Taiwanese elementary schools

Cheryl Wei yu Chen*, Yuh show Cheng

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

28 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

With the spread of English as the global language, many people from English-speaking countries go to foreign land to work as English teachers. A review of the literature reveals that there is little research on these teachers' teaching-abroad experiences. The current study is an attempt to address this gap in the literature. Situated in an intercultural team-teaching program in Taiwan, this study documents the many challenges that three South African teachers faced. The data suggest that one common challenge is doubts on their accents. They also confronted various problems, including having to teach something they were not familiar with, managing misbehaved students, and teaching large classes. The study calls for a better preparation for foreign English teachers before they begin their teaching assignments.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)41-49
Number of pages9
JournalSystem
Volume38
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2010 Mar

Keywords

  • Foreign English teachers
  • Teaching-abroad experiences

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Language and Linguistics
  • Education
  • Linguistics and Language

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'A case study on foreign English teachers' challenges in Taiwanese elementary schools'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this