Abstract
This study examines how four teacher educators challenged native speakerist assumptions through two externally funded elementary school English in-service teacher training workshops for 39 teachers and educational administrators in Japan. The training sessions were designed to prepare them for the 2020 English Education Reform Plan Corresponding to Globalization initiated by the Japanese Ministry of Education. Specifically, this study examined (1) the participants’ perceptions of their preparedness to implement the reform plan, (2) the participants’ perceptions of their self-image as non-native English-speaking (NNES) educators in the wake of such reforms, and (3) the overall degree to which the program model succeeded in challenging native speakerism. Data collection for the study is based on qualitative and quantitative data analysed from an online post-program survey. Results found that the program participants realized their emerging roles as key players in the implementation of the reforms, however not without some anxieties. Also, while native speakerist beliefs regarding native speaker models of English were indeed prevalent, evidence shows that a number of participants embraced a new, emancipated role identity as NNES educators, which was to some degree influenced by the program design. The results suggest that, despite several challenges, second language teacher education and professional development (SLTE/PD) can indeed be an instrumental force in enabling trainees to reimagine their identities and re-assert their professional legitimacy, thereby serving as a countervailing force against the self-marginalizing effects of native speakerism.
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Glasgow, G.P., Ng, P.C.L., Matikainen, T., Machida, T. (2020). Challenging and Interrogating Native Speakerism in an Elementary School Professional Development Programme in Japan. In: Houghton, S.A., Bouchard, J. (eds) Native-Speakerism. Intercultural Communication and Language Education. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-5671-5_9
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