Self-awareness in NNS EFL Primary and Secondary School Teachers

Abstract

The characteristics and particular problems faced by non-native speaking (NNS) teachers of foreign languages are being increasingly addressed. NNSs currently constitute the majority of language teachers in the world, but they have different needs and concerns from native speakers (NSs). Research is being conducted to uncover these needs and provide better teaching conditions for this group of teachers. This paper presents the results of a questionnaire distributed to NNS EFL teachers working in all the primary and secondary education schools in the mid-size Catalan city of Lleida. The questionnaire focused on their self-perception as NNS teachers, with particular attention to three aspects: language proficiency, teaching views, and the NS-NNS debate. Results indicate that primary and secondary teachers clearly differ in their self-awareness regarding each of the above three aspects.

Keywords:

• NON-NATIVE
• TEACHERS
• METHODOLOGY
• ENGLISH AS AN INTERNATIONAL LANGUAGE
• EFL
• LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY