Exploring the Added Outcomes of the Teaching of Native English Speakers in EFL Context

【Abstract】This study aims to explore the added outcome of the speaking course of native English-speaking teachers perceived by Chinese EFL students. The data was collected from 100 university students via a questionnaire. The added outcomes reported by the students would lead us to reexamine the overall value of the teaching of Native English-speaking Teachers （NESTs） in EFL context， and help the teachers to reexamine their teaching in the future so as to benefit their students to the ultimate extent.

【Key words】by-products； Native English-speaking Teachers （NESTs）； EFL

【作者簡介】边文洁，厦门市思明区观音山音乐学校。

I.Introduction

As English has progressively become a global language， many native English speakers go to ESL/EFL countries to work as English teachers. A review of the literature indicates that the large number of research on NESTs are mainly about the teaching practices of the native English-speaking teachers and the outcomes of their class.

The outcomes emerged from previous studies was mainly related to students improvement in language skills， like pronunciation， communicative competence， listening skills ect. Whereas， some researchers pointed out that apart from cognitive outcomes， teaching process would generate some unpredicted affective and social outcomes， along with potentials to change students lives beyond the borders of classroom and academic success （Nunan， 1999）. These outcomes are considered to be particularly worth being studied because they are related to the long-term value of lifelong learning （Rawson， 2000）. However， the added outcomes of NESTs speaking class， generating along with students cognitive outcomes， have not been adequately studied. Therefore， the current study attempts to explore the added outcomes of NESTs speaking class perceived by EFL students in China.

II. Literature Review

Brophy and Good （1986） pointed out that teaching effectiveness included success in socializing students and promoting their affective and personal development in addition to fostering their mastery of formal curricula. This kind of unexpected outcomes along with the development of academic outcomes in classroom were defined as ‘‘by-products by Perpignan， Rubin and Katznelson in their studies （2001）.

Perpignan， Rubin and Katznelson （2001） carried out a study with 72 students on their perceptions toward the outcomes of the Academic writing courses they enrolled. They collected data through an open-ended questionnaire and in-depth interviews. The students expressed that the courses generated many additional outcomes for them apart from improving their writing skills， such as the improvement of reading， speaking and thinking skills. Moreover， many affective changes happened to the students after the writing courses as well as changes in listening to others， awareness of the meaning of learning and students knowledge base.

The three researchers revisited the issue in 2007 by administrating an open-ended questionnaire to 210 university students in Israel. Some research findings were consistent with that of the previous study in 2001. Nine categories of additional outcomes of the writing courses were generated in this study， with other skills ranking the top， following by thinking skills， affective factors， awareness of the meaning of writing， broadening of knowledge base， behavior in professional context， learning the meaning of learning， social interaction and creativity. The researchers concluded that examining the additional outcomes of a course could help us know what teaching and learning really mean better. Plus， a greater awareness of the added outcomes of a course and an understanding of how they might produce and enhance may advance the development of tertiary education in more ways （Perpignan， Rubin， & Katznelson， 2007）.

III.Findings and Discussion

As we can see， an increasing number of native English speakers are being hired to teach in schools in China， especially in universities. The participants in this study are 100 non-English majors from two universities in Fujian， China. In order to get an in-depth understanding of the additional outcomes of NESTs classes， a questionnaire were administered to the students， which consisted of two open-ended questions stated in English：

What areas of English do you feel you have made progress in？

Have you awared of any other outcomes related to your participation in this course （aside from your development in speaking in English）？ Whatever you response， please explain.

According to the data of the questionnaire， a majority of the respondents （92.8%）

reported that they made progress in their pronunciation and vocabulary in the speaking class. And some students said that their grammar knowledge expanded after the speaking class. Regarding the question “Have you aware of any other outcomes related to your participation in this course”， 95.9% of the students answered “yes”. After analyzing the responses of the follow-up part of the question： “Whatever your response， please explain”， a total of 230 response units unrelated to speaking skill yielded.

According to the data， almost all the students received added outcomes from the native teachers class， except for improvement in English speaking. The added outcomes reported can be clustered into five categories， which were affective factors， other language skills， cooperation skills， broadening of knowledge base and thinking skills.

The largest category was affective factors （58 response units， 54% of the students）. The perceived affective outcomes included self-confidence， motivation and interest in English learning. The majority mentioned that they were more confident in speaking English and their motivation in learning English enhanced after NESTs class. It was probably due to that the students were given many opportunities to talk in class and the native teachers always encouraged them to speak. The results are in accord with the findings of Chens study in 2005， revealing that native teachers succeed in enhancing students motivation and willingness to study the language.

Another predominant category reported by students was other language skills （ 54 response units， 51% of the participants）. Half participants mentioned that their listening skills improved after NESTs class. It is a also main merit of native teachers teaching as found by many other researchers （Lu， 2008； Rao， 2010）. Unexpectedly， though the NESTs did not teach reading in class， some mentioned that their reading skills improved after the class as well. It may because that the students increase of motivation in studying English， furthermore， has stimulated them to read more out of the class.

Another category of the added values was the improvement of cooperation skills， perceived by 45% of the participants with 44 response units. Some mentioned that： “By doing group activities， I have learned how to cooperate with our teammates.”； “The teacher usually asks us to discuss in groups. It enhances my cooperation ability.”

Broadening of knowledge base was another significant category of additional outcomes （37% of the students）. As reported by the students， they knew more about some topics and learned more about western culture from the class. The finding was obtained by other researcher as well （Avra & Medgyes； 2005； Lu， 2008）， who pointed out that NESTs were often appreciated by students because of the cultural knowledge they provided in class.

21% of the participants mentioned that they got improvement in their thinking after taking the class of the native speaker English teachers. This were probably benefited from the activities the teachers implemented in class， which gave the students much freedom to think.

However， we should also notice that apart from the positive outcomes revealed by the students， a small amount of the participants said they learned little from their NESTs class. They said， “I did not learn much from the class. The teacher is not responsible in the class”； “I learned nothing in the class. The class is just to play”.

Summary

The present study focuses on the added value of the teaching of native English speaking teachers in China from the perspectives of students. The added outcomes revealed by students in this study can shed light on what the NESTs teaching really means for learners in EFL context. The findings would also add our understanding of native speakers EFL teaching and raise our awareness of added outcomes of a course， which is an important part along with cognitive mastery in learning process.

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