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‘Me, (my) French and I’: exploring native speakerism in French as an additional language (FAL) teaching in the United Kingdom

Abstract:
In the last two decades, research on language teacher identity has become an important topic of inquiry in the applied linguistics community. Language teacher identity is a critical aspect of second language teaching, the classroom teachers around the world are the connections between different cultures and peoples and it is paramount stakeholders such as policymakers, teacher educators and teachers themselves understand how one’s identity impacts their decisions and practices. Similarly, the labels ‘native’ and ‘non-native’ teachers have been ascribed to teachers around the globe often without questioning their origins but most importantly the implications on teachers’ identities as users and teachers of the languages they were born into or had to learn. Labelling being a political act, power dynamics in language teaching are influenced by these labels and there is often a misconception that ‘native’ teachers are better teachers than ‘non-natives’ due to their superior linguistic abilities and authentic cultural knowledge. This preference is called native-speakerism.

Research has been conducted mainly on teachers of English around the world due to its international reach, but little has been done to study other languages such as French. This research being motivated by personal experiences and a need to address the hyperfocus on knowledge being produced in English about English, this study sought to investigate the extent to which teachers of French in the United Kingdom are affected by native-speakerism, specifically how their identities and practices are defined by or in-spite of the preference for native-speakers. To seek out answers, an initial survey was shared online asking teachers of French (n = 91) to report demographic informational, beliefs about their linguistic and cultural knowledge of French and French-speaking world, information about their professional situation and how they taught French. This was followed by semi-structured interviews (n = 11) conducted online to explore in depth the topics of identity, language teaching in the United Kingdom and the labels of ‘native’ & ‘non-native’ teachers of French. Qualitative and quantitative data sets collected in the process were analysed and data triangulation was conducted to offer new perspectives on this research topic.

The study’s findings indicate that teachers, regardless of their labels, do not operate differently and share a wide range of beliefs. Their practices are modulated by external pressures rather than their ‘native’ status. Nonetheless, native-speakerist ideologies remain pervasive in language teaching in the UK and native-speakerism manifest itself in shapes more intricate and dynamic that go beyond the preference for ‘native’ speakers. Still, most interviewed teachers show predispositions to move beyond simple dichotomies and harmful labels. The implications for future research, theory and pedagogy are discussed at the end of the dissertation.

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Institution:
University of Oxford
Division:
SSD
Department:
Education
Oxford college:
St Hugh's College
Role:
Author

Contributors

Institution:
University of Oxford
Division:
SSD
Department:
Education
Role:
Supervisor
ORCID:
0000-0003-2522-6615

DOI:
Type of award:
MSc taught course
Level of award:
Masters
Awarding institution:
University of Oxford

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