Nonnative Teachers Teaching at the Advanced Level: Challenges and Opportunities

Beyond the Classroom: Maintaining and Improving Teachers' Language Proficiency

“…Similarly, the results from my investigation indicate that in the Spanish teaching profession in the county where the study took place, at least at the high school level, NSTs typically have the most experience teaching upper-level courses, which may suggest a higher language authority of native speaker teachers in teaching the language. Byrnes et al (2002) referred to the NS model that nonnative teachers need to face as the ''rarely acknowledged credibility deficit'' when they asserted: Byrnes et al (2002) referred to the NS model that nonnative teachers need to face as the ''rarely acknowledged credibility deficit'' when they asserted:…”

“…Amin (2001) explained that teacher educators should help nonnative language teachers build foreign language pedagogies from their nonnative teachers' identities rather than trying to follow the native speaker norm. Byrnes et al (2002) stated, ''Taking up the well-known dictum that one comes to know and understand what one is challenged to teach, we suggest exploring the opportunities for advanced L2 learning that the teaching of upper-level [. Both native and nonnative foreign language teachers need to be aware of the Native Speaker Model present in foreign language education and learn to problematize it.…”

“…We need a pedagogy that builds upon nonnative foreign language teachers' strengths and that does not diminish their nonnative status. Perhaps a rotation system similar to the one proposed by Byrnes et al (2002) in which teachers alternate in the teaching of lower-and upper-level classes would ensure that more NNSTs have the opportunity to practice with the language. Train (2003) stated, ''A comprehensive training program should prepare future educators for the realities and the ideologies attached to the standard language, such as linguistic (in)security and (in)correctness, that students will encounter throughout their professional lives'' (p. 24).…”

“…Liskin-Gasparro (1999) denounced the fact that ''in foreign language education, we seem to have struck an unspoken agreement that the acquisition of content knowledge is the province of the language and literature departments'' (p. 286). Our current proficiency-oriented language field cannot successfully prepare highly qualified teachers if this divide continues to exist (Byrnes, Crane, & Sprang, 2002).…”

“…As Murti (2002) suggested, it is the image of the native speaker as a master of a language with the absolute authority to teach upper-level classes that teacher education programs need to deconstruct in order to lead to a greater recognition of nonnatives as teachers. Byrnes et al (2002) referred to the NS model that nonnative teachers need to face as the ''rarely acknowledged credibility deficit'' when they asserted:…”