Relevance of Knowledge of Second Language Acquisition:
An in-depth case study of a non-native EFL teacher
A large number of non-native English speakers (NNSs) are enrolled in MA TESOL programs in the United States every year (Kamhi-Stein, 2000). According to Liu (1999), of the students admitted to the TESOL teacher education programs in North America, Britain, and Australia (NABA), approximately 40% were NNSs. In addition, the majority of these NNSs will return to their home countries to teach after they complete their MA TESOL programs (Liu, 1999).
However, several studies point out that MA TESOL programs have failed to accommodate NNSs’ perceived needs (e.g., England & Roberts, 1989; Polio, 1994; Kamhi-Stein, 1999, 2000; Liu, 1999; Lo, 2001a, 2001b; Johnston, 1994), including, in particular, their demand for more appropriate L2 acquisition theories for their FL context (Babcock, 1993; Burnaby & Sun, 1989; Carver, 1988; Heiman, 1994; Kubota, 1998; Li, 1998). For example, in Liu (1999)’s study of NNSs in an MA TESOL program, only 34% (20) considered the acquisition theories and teaching methodologies they had learned to be useful. Liu stated, “the dominant acquisition theories and teaching methodologies currently taught in NABA are based on data gathered from either immigrants or international students studying in NABA. Many L2 acquisition theories and teaching methodologies, without major adaptation, may be impractical or ineffective in non-NABA countries because of significant socioeconomic and cultural differences” (p. 200). In other words, to what extent can acquisition theories hold true in non-NABA countries, such as in English as a foreign language (EFL) contexts?
Second Language Acquisition (SLA) is one of the required core courses in the majority, if not all, of Master’s programs for teachers of English as a Second Language (MA TESOL) in the United States. Often, this is also one of the essential sites where MA TESOL students are introduced to the dominant acquisition theories of L2. This leads us to ask: How do non-native EFL teachers make sense of SLA while they are taking the course in NABA-based MA TESOL programs? What does the knowledge of SLA mean to non-native EFL teachers after they return to their home countries to teach?
Several gaps exist in response to the above questions. While quantitative studies have attempted to understand NNSs’ opinions of L2 acquisition theories (e.g., Liu, 1999), few studies have been conducted to understand NNSs’ processes of learning and understanding SLA (Bartels, 2002). Secondly, few studies have incorporated the perspective of SLA instructors to understand why the course is designed and delivered the way it is and what SLA instructors expect teacher-learners1 to do with the theories supported by the course. Lastly, few studies have examined the relevancy of SLA after NNSs return to their native countries.
This study was designed to bridge the gaps. The purpose of this in-depth case study was to document a NNS, Peiling’s (a pseudonym) process of developing an understanding of SLA from a course in a mid-western university in the United States, both inside and outside of her coursework, and her subsequent teaching practices upon returning to teach English in an elementary school in Taiwan.
The study aimed to answer the following questions:
1. What salient issues emerged for Peiling in the process of learning and making sense of SLA in an MA TESOL program in the US?
2. What was the impact of taking the SLA course on her subsequent EFL teaching practices in Taiwan?
3. How does an understanding of the salient issues in the process of learning and making sense of SLA and in subsequent teaching practices contribute to a new perspective on SLA?
1 In this study, “teacher-learners” refer to those who take the courses in MA TESOL programs. This term is particularly chosen, as opposed to others (e.g., teacher candidates, pre-service or in-service teachers) based on one premise: that is, teachers, with or without teaching experience, are required to “learn” in order to teach.
