Abstract
Although numerous research projects have examined the lives of general education teachers, relevant studies in ESL/EFL are rare. The present study intends to fill this research gap, focusing on Taiwanese EFL teachers’ perceptions of the impact of the political, economic, and educational contexts on their lives. Thirty-eight EFL teachers in Taiwan, from diverse backgrounds, were involved in the study. Results showed that political contexts, such as divergent ideologies, and Taiwan’s capricious cross-strait relations with China, had influenced teachers’ careers. Economic contexts such as the economic depression, the M-shaped income distribution, and the relocation of labor-intensive industries to China have caused certain English language teaching markets to shrink and have had an impact on the life stories of EFL teachers. Educational contexts including the boom in universities and teacher education programs have also altered EFL teachers’ career paths. Overall, this study demonstrates that external contexts significantly affect some EFL teachers’ lives. More research can be conducted in different countries to shed light on this issue.
Similar content being viewed by others
Notes
Excerpts of interviews conducted in English are italicized.
References
Atkinson, R. (2007). The life story interview as a bridge in narrative inquiry. In D. J. Clandinin (Ed.), Handbook of Narrative Inquiry (pp. 224–245). Thousand Oaks: Sage.
Ball, S. J., & Goodson, I. F. (Eds.). (1985). Teachers’ lives and careers. London: Falmer Press.
Breshears, S. (2008). Stories of unionization: Four teachers’ perspectives on collective bargaining in two Canadian private ESL schools. Unpublished master’s thesis. Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, Canada.
Center for British Teachers. (1989). Pilot study of the career paths of EFL teachers. Reading: Author.
Cowie, N. (2011). Emotions that experienced English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers feel about their students, their colleagues and their work. Teaching and Teacher Education, 27, 235–242.
Dikko, M. (2016). Establishing construct validity and reliability: Pilot testing of a qualitative interview for research in Takaful (Islamic insurance). Qualitative Report, 21, 521–528.
Dörnyei, Z. (2007). Research methods in applied linguistics. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Gale, T. (1999). Policy trajectories: Treading the discursive path of policy analysis. Discourse, 20, 393–407.
Johnston, B. (1997). Do EFL teachers have careers? TESOL Quarterly, 31, 681–712.
McKnight, A. (1992). ‘I loved the course, but…’ career aspirations and realities in adult TESOL. Prospect, 7(3), 20–31.
Miles, M. B., Huberman, A. M., & Saldaña, J. (2014). Qualitative data analysis: A methods sourcebook (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks: Sage.
Ministry of Education. (2016). 中華民國師資培育統計年報 [Yearbook of teacher education statistics Republic of China]. http://www.edu.tw/files/bulletin/B0036/96YEARBOOK.pdf
Ministry of Education. (n.d.). 大學聯招(指考)錄取率 [The admission rate of the Joint College Entrance Examination]. Retrieved September 6, 2010, from http://www.edu.tw/files/site_content/B0013/overview09.xls
Ohmae, K. (2006). M型社會[M-shaped society] (C.-H. Liu & Y.-C. Chiang, Trans.). Taipei, Taiwan: Business Weekly.
Phillipson, R. (1992). Linguistic imperialism. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Shih, C.-M., Morita, S. (2006). Life stories of EFL in Japan. In Paper presented at the International Conference on English Language Teaching and Learning, Hsinchu, Taiwan.
Squires, A. (2009). Methodological changes in cross-language qualitative research: A research review. International Journal of Nursing Studies, 46, 277–287.
Wang, R. (2008). 人口結構變遷下我國師資培育現況之分析 [An analysis of teacher education under demographic transitions]. National Taitung University Educational Research Journal, 19(2), 143–182.
Wang, T. Y., Chen, L.-H., & Keng, S. (2010). Symbolic politics, self-interests, and threat perceptions: An analysis of Taiwan citizen’s views on cross-strait economic exchanges. In W.-C. Lee (Ed.), Taiwan’s politics in the 21st century: Changes and challenges (pp. 159–184). Hackensack: World Scientific.
Wong, J. (2010). From imitator to innovator: The political economy of industrial upgrading in the 21st century. In W.-C. Lee (Ed.), Taiwan’s politics in the 21st century: Changes and challenges (pp. 131–156). Hackensack: World Scientific.
Acknowledgements
I thank the Ministry of Science and Technology for its funding in support of the completion of the research.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Shih, CM. Impact of the Political, Economic, and Educational Contexts on Life Stories of Taiwanese EFL Teachers. Asia-Pacific Edu Res 26, 249–257 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40299-017-0345-2
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40299-017-0345-2