Parental Perceptions of the Ideal Foreign Language Teacher : Voices from Eight Countries

15.9.2020 Parental Perceptions of the Ideal Foreign Language Teacher: Voices from Eight Countries — Suomi https://www.kieliverkosto.fi/fi/journals/kieli-koulutus-ja-yhteiskunta-syyskuu-2020/parental-perceptions-of-the-ideal-foreign-language-teacher-voice… 1/7 (https://www.kieliverkosto.fi/fi) Parental Perceptions of the Ideal Foreign Language Teacher: Voices from Eight Countries Early language education has become a global trendas parents from around the world increasingly enroll their children in language classes at preschool or prepreschool ages.The younger the FL learners are, thegreaterthe parents’role in theirchildren’slearning process – and the more they maybemotivated to beinvolved intheir children’sschoolwork,learning aims, and the way they are being instructed.But what do they wantfrom FL teacherswhen their children are just beginning their language studies? This topicbroughttogether 14 students from different parts of the world.Students from Canada,China, Colombia, Japan, Russia, South Korea, Spain, Turkey, and Vietnamenrolled in theResearch in Early Language Educationcourse attheUniversity of Eastern Finlandcompleted a studyasking the above-mentioned question.This articlediscusses the findingsfrom said study. Julkaistu: 9. syyskuuta 2020 | Kirjoittanut:Simon Wojtyczka, Mehmet Berent Bozkurt, María Calderón, Ezgi Dogan, Isabel Guzmán, Minju Kang, Yeyoung Koh, Megumi Matsuoka, Elena Mitina, Tinh Nguyen, Rikako Ogawa, Valentina Reina, Thi Minh Tu Tran, Xiaotong Yang ja Ritva Kantelinen Defining the qualities of the “ideal” teacher What qualities define an effective teacher? As noted byPlavšićandDiković(2016), it really depends on who you ask sincestudents,teachers, andparentsprioritize different qualities when defining the ideal teacher.The majority ofstudiesinto the desired characteristics of teachers focus onthestudent’s perspective andhave found students to value,for example,a teacher’s personality, teaching ability, and social skills (Alkan, 2013; Bakx et al, 2015;Raufelderet al, 2016).Meanwhile,studies from the teacher’s perspective have found teachersto regardpositive personality traits and teaching abilitiesas the most desirable qualities in their peers.(Murphy, Delli&Edwards, 2004;Stronge, Ward&Grant, 2011). 15.9.2020 Parental Perceptions of the Ideal Foreign Language Teacher: Voices from Eight Countries — Suomi https://www.kieliverkosto.fi/fi/journals/kieli-koulutus-ja-yhteiskunta-syyskuu-2020/parental-perceptions-of-the-ideal-foreign-language-teacher-voice… 2/7 Studies on parental definitions of the ideal teacher, however, are surprisinglyuncommon. Most notably, TatarandHorenczyk (2000), studiedthe expectations of831Israeliparents toward the teachers of their adolescent teensandfoundparents toprioritizeteacherhelp above other factors.Interestingly, mothersappeared to have higherteacherexpectationsthan fathers,andparents’ expectations appeared to differ based upon the sex of the child, i.e. parents of girls expected their child(ren) to receive more help from teachers thanthe parents ofboys.On the other hand,PlavšićandDiković’s(2016:121)study of 148Croatianparents found the characteristics of patience and calmness as the most desired traits in teachers. While the above-mentioned studieslooked at desirable qualities within the teaching profession, they did notdistinguish between teachers of various subjects.Furthermore,there is a significant lack of researchthat examines parentalexpectationstoward the teachersof young learners.As such,by interviewing parents from eight different countries,this study seeks to answer the question:“How do parents of young learners define their ideal language teacher?” What is known about parents’ perceptions of foreign language teachers? Existing literatureontheteaching practicesparentsdesireinlanguage teachersismostlyderived from studiesbasedonparentalbeliefsaboutearly second language acquisition.For example, in Tekin’s (2015:39–40) study of parental attitudes toward their children’s English education in Oman, the researchers foundthat parentsstress the importance ofincorporating technology in EFL lessons along with prioritizingreading, dramatic play, and roleplayduring language instruction.Likewise,Huynh (2019:80–84), found Vietnamese parentstovalue ‘fun’ elements in language lessons at the primary level, such as songs, games,andplay-based learningwithmore listening exercises and less focus on grammar. The two studiescited abovemainlyfocus on the curriculum and methodology employed by teachers in the language classroominstead of listingthe ideal language teacher’s attributes. Furthermore,thesestudiesare limited to specificgeographical regions.The present study attempts to build upon these localized findingsto create a more international picture ofwhat parents want. Morerecently,a study conducted byBozsóandNagy (2018)identifiedthatpronunciation and native-like speakingabilityof language teacherswasimportantto parents of young learners.More specifically, the researchersdiscoveredthatthe lower the parents’selfreportedlevel ofEnglish, the more importance they placedon the language teacher’spronunciation.Additionally, the researchers concludedthat parents who enrolled their children in languageclassprior topre-school age“attributed less importance to [pronunciation] as compared to parents opting for a start in or after preschool” (Bozsó & Nagy, 2018: 35).Theseconclusionsdo not offera deeper explanationas to whythe participants in the study feelnative-like pronunciation isso important.Therefore, the authors of thisstudy haverecognized the need to exploretheunderlying factorsthat govern parental attitudes; factors that can only beexplored througha qualitative approach to data collectionand analysis. 15.9.2020 Parental Perceptions of the Ideal Foreign Language Teacher: Voices from Eight Countries — Suomi https://www.kieliverkosto.fi/fi/journals/kieli-koulutus-ja-yhteiskunta-syyskuu-2020/parental-perceptions-of-the-ideal-foreign-language-teacher-voice… 3/7 What was studied and how? This study utilized “parent interviews” to obtain rich qualitative data from the participants.The qualitative approach was selecteddue toitsprevalent usein interpretinghow participants construct their own realities(Maxwell,2012).Furthermore, theinductive nature ofthequalitativemethod(Taylor, Bogdan & DeVault, 2015)allowed the researchers to identifyseveralprevailing themesfrom thedata obtained from theinterviews. These themes were then analyzed to formthe basisofthisarticle. Sixteen parentswereselectedto take part in the studybasedonconveniencesampling.Participantswere required to meet the followingtwocriteriato be considered eligible for the study: (1)They must havehad at least one child,between the ages2–13enrolledina foreignlanguage classin the previous year. (2) They mustagree to arecorded interview viaavideo-conferencing platform. In keeping with the stipulations mentioned above,the sixteen interviewsconsisted of twoseparateparticipantinterviewsfromthe followingeight countries:China, Colombia,Japan,Russia,South Korea,Spain,Turkey,andVietnam.These countries were selected because they represented the nationalities of one or more researcher involved in the study. Besides collecting demographic data, the interview consisted of thefollowingopenendedquestions: (1)Describe your ideal language teacher in primary school. (2)What do you hope of your own child(ren)’s teacher in primary school? Reason your perspectives, ideas, wishes, etc.(3)If you had the power and opportunity, how would you change your child(ren)’s language learning at school? The interviews were conductedinSpring2020. All interviews were conductedin the participant’s mother tongue to avoidmisunderstandingsbetween the researcher and interviewee.Relevant data wasthen transcribedinto Englishandanalysedusing content analysis.Once the data was collected, the researcherscodified the data in line withestablishedcontent analysis practisestodiscover severalemergentthemespresent intheresponses of parents (Taylor, Bogdan & DeVault, 2015).These themes will be discussed in theproceeding section of the article. How parents define ideal foreign language teachers  Empathyand Socio-emotional Skills Overwhelmingly, the data from the interviewsindicated parents hoped their child(ren)’s languageteacherto be fair, empathetic, and teachingsocio-emotional skillsin tandem withtraditional language skills (e.g., listening, reading, writing and speaking).For example,a Chinese mothercommented, “The teacher should be more adaptive and give equal chances to every pupil, so that pupils who ‘fall behind’ can improve.”An ideal languageteacher should activelyprovidelearningopportunities tostudents whomay beless assertiveor at a lower level 15.9.2020 Parental Perceptions of the Ideal Foreign Language Teacher: Voices from Eight Countries — Suomi https://www.kieliverkosto.fi/fi/journals/kieli-koulutus-ja-yhteiskunta-syyskuu-2020/parental-perceptions-of-the-ideal-foreign-language-teacher-voice… 4/7 academicallythan their peers.LikeTatar andHorenczyk’s(2000) study,which found fairness to be the most important character traitin teachers, the above-mentioned parents also shared thissentiment.Thiscanalsobe seen in this quote froma SouthKorean motherregarding the relationship between teachers and students:“It has to be very transversal, connecting with the children so that they can talk a lot, share and do things.”As such,thedata indicated parental wants for language teachers to go beyond the teaching of the language by coupling language skills with socio-emotional skills in lessons. Additionally,being sensitive toward student needs and making the students feel as comfortable as possiblein the classroomwas aprevalent concernamongst participants.Parents from multiplecountries felt an ideallanguageteacher would be able to“getdown to thechildren’s level” (South Koreanmother)instead ofthe authoritarian-type teachers theyhadencounteredin theirownlanguage classroomsduring their primary school years.Perhapsa Japanese mothersaidit best when she commented“teachers should think of giving an interesting and practical lesson to students, and teachers should not make students feel uncomfortable with English.”  Play-based Learning The presence ofplay-based learningin the language classroomwas another shared concernamongstmostrespondents.Participants fromSouthKorea and Russia stressed the importanceof conductinglanguageactivities that mimicked real-life situationsand takingthe learning experience outsideof theschool. For example,a SouthKorean mothercommented,“They can go out for field trips and learn languages in real life.”Likewise,a Russian mothermirrored this sentiment as evidenced in the following quote: “Meaningful communication should be practiced through the games…I want my child toroleplaybeing at thesupermarkettopractice vocabulary.”Similar feelings toward play-based learning were found in Omani parents of young learners as describedbyTekin (2015:39). Interestingly, parents in the present study did not specifically comment on theimportance ofincorporatingtechnologyin language classes.Instead, they recognized the importance ofoffering a variety ofactivitiesto students.For example,a Colombian motherstated,“I hope the teacher can include lots of games and songs in the second language to make it appealing.”Theideaof entertaining language was important toparents.OneVietnamesemother even suggested gamestobreak upthe monotonyassociated withtraditionalvocabulary repetitionexercises:“Learning has to be fun and encouraging with repetitions of basic vocab through games or different activities.”The overall sentiment present in parents’ comments can be summarized by arejection oftraditionallyteacher-centredaudio-lingualandgrammar translation teaching methodologiesin favor of more student-centredand play-based approaches.  Pronunciationin Target Language 15.9.2020 Parental Perceptions of the Ideal Foreign Language Teacher: Voices from Eight Countries — Suomi https://www.kieliverkosto.fi/fi/journals/kieli-koulutus-ja-yhteiskunta-syyskuu-2020/parental-perceptions-of-the-ideal-foreign-language-teacher-voice… 5/7 Most parents stressed the importance of clear pronunciation, however,a Turkish motherrecognized thatextensive knowledge of the target language (e.g., proper syntax, idioms, etc.)isequally important:“A foreign language teacher should speak the language like a nativespeakerand he/she should have enough knowledge about the foreign language as much as a native speaker has.”Interestingly, this viewsupposes that native speakers of a languageare intrinsically aware ofthe complexitiesand grammar rulesof their mother tongues(and capable of teaching them to young learners).What qualifies a person as a native speakerin the first place? Do they need to be born inthecountrywhere they speak the said language or simply have lived there for an extendedperiod?This sentiment is echoed in this quotation bya SouthKoreanmother: “The ideal for me is that the teacher should be a native speaker. If this is not possible because it is a more difficult requirement to achieve, it should be someone who has been living in that country for at least a year.” Other parentsplaced importance on the quality ofinputstheir childrenwereexposed to in the language classroom, especially when the language teacherdid notpossess a native-like accent. This belief is evident in thefollowing quoteby one Vietnamese mother: “In my opinion, it is both fine for me if my kids are taught by either native teachers or Vietnamese teachers at school as long as they have access to learning inputs that are quality and provide the voices of English native speakers.”Furthermore, some parents felt teachers could be provided additional trainingto improve theirpronunciationas evidenced in the quote bya Colombian father:“I would recommend the school to give all of the teachers more frequent workshops with strategies for teaching a second language; emphasizing on pronunciation. Because when I have seen my daughter facing native English speakers, she seems a bit confused.”Finally, it is interesting to note one Korean mother’sviews regarding the importance ofexposing her children tonative spoken English at a young age.She commented, “I do think that it is important to have contact with native English teachers. In fact, the younger the better because of listening comprehension.”Thissentiment was confirmed inBozsóandNagy’s (2018) research,which concluded parentsof young learners placed a greater importance on pronunciation. Summary of findings Thepresent study has found universal similarities in parental definitions of ideal language teachers. Despite different cultural backgrounds, first languages, and geographical locations,mostparents involved in the study wanted an empathetic language teacher who utilized play-based learning and possessed native-like pronunciationin the classroom.  SimonWojtyczka, Early Language Education for Intercultural Communication (ELEIC) Master’s student, University of Eastern Finland (UEF) Mehmet BerentBozkurt, ELEIC Master’s student, UEF MaríaCalderón, Primary Education exchange student, UEF EzgiDogan, ELEIC Master’s student, UEF 15.9.2020 Parental Perceptions of the Ideal Foreign Language Teacher: Voices from Eight Countries — Suomi https://www.kieliverkosto.fi/fi/journals/kieli-koulutus-ja-yhteiskunta-syyskuu-2020/parental-perceptions-of-the-ideal-foreign-language-teacher-voice… 6/7 IsabelGuzmán, Primary Education exchange student, UEF MinjuKang, ELEIC Master's student, UEF YeyoungKoh, ELEIC Master’s student, UEF MegumiMatsuoka, Educational Sciences and Psychology exchange student, UEF ElenaMitina, ELEIC Master’s student, UEF TinhNguyen, ELEIC Master’s student, UEF RikakoOgawa, Geography and Human Geography exchange student, UEF ValentinaReina, ELEIC Master’s student, UEF ThiMinh TuTran, ELEIC Master’s student, UEF XiaotongYang, ELEIC Master’s student, UEF RitvaKantelinen,professor, UEF; School of Applied Educational Science and Teacher Education  References Alkan, V. 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Artikkeliin viittaaminen Wojtyczka, S., Bozkurt, M., Calderón, M., Dogan, E., Guzmán, I., Kang, M., Koh, Y., Matsuoka, M., Mitina, E., Nguyen, T., Ogawa, R., Reina, V., Tran, T., Yang, X. & Kantelinen, R. (2020).Parental Perceptions oftheIdealForeignLanguage Teacher:Voices from EightCountries.Kieli, koulutus ja yhteiskunta, 11(5). Saatavilla:https://www.kieliverkosto.fi/fi/journals/kieli-koulutus-ja-yhteiskunta-syyskuu-2020/parentalperceptions-of-the-ideal-foreign-language-teacher-voices-from-eight-countries (https://www.kieliverkosto.fi/fi/journals/kieli-koulutus-ja-yhteiskunta-syyskuu-2020/parental-perceptionsof-the-ideal-foreign-language-teacher-voices-from-eight-countries) 