Australian TESOL Teachers' Cultural Perceptions of Students

Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 530 Walnut Street Suite 850, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Tel: 215-625-8900; Fax: 215-207-0050; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals

Y

15

English (Second Language); Second Language Learning; Second Language Instruction; Language Teachers; Foreign Countries; Qualitative Research; Cultural Background; Stereotypes; Student Behavior; Correlation; Interviews; Teacher Attitudes; Critical Thinking; Intercultural Communication; Plagiarism; Peer Relationship; Teacher Student Relationship; Cultural Differences

10.1080/15348458.2017.1350824

1534-8458

Over the last decade, research in the field of Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) has increasingly focused on the relationship between culture and learning. Researchers such as Kumaravadivelu (2003) have been vocal in their opposition to the practice of cultural stereotyping. In the current study, Holliday's (2005) model of "Culturism" was used as a theoretical basis. Six Australian TESOL teachers were interviewed to determine the nature and extent of the cultural stereotypes that they held, particularly as they pertained to specific learning-related behaviours. A qualitative analysis of the data revealed that teachers most often grouped students in terms of national or regional cultures and believed that cultural background strongly influenced student learning behaviour, resulting in the formation of a number of stereotypes. Despite this, the findings also demonstrated that teachers were self-aware of the pitfalls of cultural stereotyping and took other factors influencing student behaviour into consideration.

As Provided

36

2017

EJ1155969