Die Identität von Fremdsprachlehrenden und die problematischen Effekte der Dichotomie native speaker/non native speaker

The present paper aims to gain a better understanding of the language teachers’ identity in relation to their first language. Hybrid, poststructuralist concepts conflict with the still dominant figure of the native speaker, that represents an ideal whereby the identity of language teachers is categorized simply as either native speakers of a particular language, or non-native speakers (Braine 2010, Medgyes 1994, Moussu, Llurda 2008, Murti 2002). This dichotomic vision establishes a hierarchical relationship in which the identity of language teachers is determined exclusively by a connection between language and birth (‘native’), without necessarily considering the effective linguistic and didactic competence of the teachers, and other such factors relevant in teaching practice. Here, the concept of the ‘native speaker language teacher’ (NSLT) (Riordan 2018) is critically analyzed and discussed: In place of a dichotomic vision, I propose an interlanguage continuum (Selinker 1972) with ‘zero proficiency’ and ‘absolute proficiency’ at the two poles. Within this continuum, all language teachers, both native and non-native, may occupy a specific stage depending on their language proficiency. Furthermore, in contrast with the image of the native speaker, I present alternative perspectives based on the effective language use of the teacher, that also include other essential didactic aspects, such as multilingualism and intercultural competence

Self-perception of teachers with German L1 or LX concerning their teaching behaviour in GFL classes

n der Fremdsprachendidaktik war man lange der Ansicht, dass native speakers im Vergleich zu ihren nichtmuttersprachlichen Kollegen kompetentere Sprachlehrende sind. Allerdings setzt sich die LehrLern-Forschung mit genau dieser Diskussion erst seit den 1990er Jahren auseinander, und fast nur im EFL/ ESL-Bereich. In diesen ersten Studien zeigte sich eine Dichotomie zwischen native und non-native speakers, nach der die zwei «Gruppen» ihren persönlichen Einschätzungen zufolge anders unterrichteten (Medgyes 1994). Der vorliegende Beitrag untersucht die Selbstwahrnehmung von DaF-Lehrer*innen mit Deutsch L1 und LX hinsichtlich ihres Verhaltens im Unterricht, um herauszufinden, ob diese in verschiedenen Studien dargestellte Dichotomie ebenfalls im DaF-Bereich auftritt. 60 Lehrkräfte verschiedener Universitäten und GoetheInstitute in Spanien und Portugal haben an einer Umfrage teilgenommen, deren Auswertung die Ergebnisse anderer Studien der EFL/ESL-Didaktik teilweise bestätigt, allerdings nur als mögliche Tendenzen oder Präferenzen. In den meisten Fällen zeigen die Befragten abgesehen von ihrer Erstsprache nur sehr wenige Unterschiede.In foreign language didactics it was long thought that native speakers were more competent language teachers in comparison to their non-native speaking counterparts. Beginning in the 1990s language teaching and learning research examined this topic, almost exclusively in the EFL/ESL area. These initial studies showed a dichotomy between native and non-native speakers, which in turn exhibited different self-perception in terms of teaching attitudes (Medgyes 1994). The current study investigates the self-perception of native and non-native GFL teachers with respect to their teaching behaviour in order to determine if the aforementioned dichotomy is also present in the GFL area. 60 teachers from various universities and Goethe institutes in Spain and Portugal took part in a survey, whose results only partly supported other EFL/ESL didactics studies, as it was shown that the differences were little more than tendencies or preferences. Most of those surveyed showed very little differences relating to their first language

Die Identität von Fremdsprachlehrenden und die problematischen Effekte der Dichotomie native speaker/non native speaker

The present paper aims to gain a better understanding of the language teachers’ identity in relation to their first language. Hybrid, poststructuralist concepts conflict with the still dominant figure of the native speaker, that represents an ideal whereby the identity of language teachers is categorized simply as either native speakers of a particular language, or non-native speakers (Braine 2010, Medgyes 1994, Moussu, Llurda 2008, Murti 2002). This dichotomic vision establishes a hierarchical relationship in which the identity of language teachers is determined exclusively by a connection between language and birth (‘native’), without necessarily considering the effective linguistic and didactic competence of the teachers, and other such factors relevant in teaching practice. Here, the concept of the ‘native speaker language teacher’ (NSLT) (Riordan 2018) is critically analyzed and discussed: In place of a dichotomic vision, I propose an interlanguage continuum (Selinker 1972) with ‘zero proficiency’ and ‘absolute proficiency’ at the two poles. Within this continuum, all language teachers, both native and non-native, may occupy a specific stage depending on their language proficiency. Furthermore, in contrast with the image of the native speaker, I present alternative perspectives based on the effective language use of the teacher, that also include other essential didactic aspects, such as multilingualism and intercultural competence