Induction programme for Teachers newly employed under the Native-speaking English

Teacher (NET) Scheme in Primary Schools 2005-2006

The real encounter: teaching real kids in Hong Kong primary

schools

Dr Peter StoreyThe Open University of Hong Kong

What I intend to talk about

• The PNET scheme in its societal context

• Why I am here - my interest in the scheme

• Chinese learners in Hong Kong primary schools: preconceptions and perceptions

• Some final advice

The PNET scheme in its societal context

• HK was a British colony up to 1996. Naturally, there was a lot of involvement of expatriate Brits in the education system.

• In the early days, these were missionaries

• In the late 19 and early 20th Centuries, expatriate Brits established a large number of schools locally many with religious affiliation.

• By the 1980s, however, education had been localised, as noted by an external review panel:

• We consider the ‘localisation of staffing’ policy ought to be amended so that children in their first years of schooling might be exposed to native English speakers, engaged as ancillary staff either on a contract basis or accepted as helpers (e.g. the non-working spouses of British expatriates or other suitable English speakers).

(Recommendations of the Visiting Panel, 1982 III.1.9)

Expatriate involvement in school English teaching in the 80s & 90s

• Introduction of compulsory basic education in which English was a core subject at both primary and secondary level meant that the “ancillary staff” recommended by the Visiting Panel were soon insufficient to meet demand.

• In the early 80s, more than 70% of English teachers in local primary schools were untrained and/or non-subject trained. A very small minority were degree holders. Standards of English were of growing concern.

• Larger scale recruitment of native-speakers of English was therefore considered.

Large scale centralised recruitment of expatriate English teachers.

• 1987 The Expatriate English Language Teachers Pilot Scheme (EELTPS) – 30 teachers

• 1989 The Expatriate English Language Teachers Modified Scheme (EELTMS) – 19 schools 33 EELTs (1st year) – 14 schools 23 EELTs (2nd year)

• 1998 The Native Speaking English Teacher Scheme 1998 – 440 teachers

• 2002 The Primary Native-speaking English Teacher Scheme– 600 schools by 2006

The PNET scheme in its societal context

• There is increasing involvement of NETs in the school system but control over the teaching of English is managed by local teachers of English.

• NETs are perceived to have an important role to play in supporting local teachers and exposing children to more authentic models of the language and its culture.

• Evaluation of the involvement of NETs has not found significant gains in language proficiency – perhaps because the time span allowed for the evaluation was not sufficient.

• Gains have been shown in attitudes towards English and these are likely to have long term benefits.

Evaluation of Secondary NET scheme

• Different perceptions of the role of NETs in the schools were identified – a mismatch inevitably leading to problems.

• Evaluation recommended that rationale underlying roles and duties of local and NET teachers be widely discussed to achieve a consensus acceptable to both parties.

• Deployment of a NET in the schools was most effective when the NET had a unique role to play, distinct from that played by a local English teacher.

• To be most effective, each role should be clearly defined, mutually understood and complementary to the other in a situation where both local teachers and NETs collaborate in the contribution they make to the development of student language proficiency.

Support for a primary scheme

• Evidence gathered in the evaluation of the secondary scheme suggested that primary schools offered an excellent context for a unique NET role to be successfully realised because, in the primary school, public exam pressure was absent and English content was oriented more towards social interaction.

• In addition, students developed more positive attitudes to English and performed better in oral skills when they were taught by a combination of NETs and local teachers (LETs).

• The benefit of partnership between NETs and LETs was most apparent in younger, lower ability students.

• It was suggested that younger, lower ability students might not be ready to benefit from being taught exclusively by a NET.

• This was influential in the decision to engineer collaboration between NETs and LETs in the design of the PNET scheme.

Why I am here - my interest in the scheme

• Apart from being involved in the evaluation of the secondary scheme and now the PNET scheme, I was myself a P-NET (prototype NET).

• In 1987-88 recruitment of expatriate lecturers to Colleges of Education was introduced as one means to address the declining standards of English and school English teaching. I was one.

• I joined in February 1988 and was asked to report on observations conducted during the TP period.

• “21 Observations” was the resulting report submitted to the College.

Findings of the 21 Observations

• The report aimed to identify areas of focus for the College curriculum and therefore focussed on weaknesses, and ignored strengths.

• Three types of weakness were identified:

1. Language problems

2. Teaching problems

3. Educational problems

Why are the findings of interest to new NETs?

• The report looked at student teachers, not teachers, and was produced 18 years ago. Is it still relevant?

• Yes, because:• It was a set of initial impressions gained by an outsider

with a fresh eye, unfettered by familiarity.• The 21 student teachers will now be serving primary

teachers, possibly senior teachers in the schools. It is likely that many of their specific problems have persisted.

• The problems identified are largely the same as those one can identify today, although huge improvements have been made in the quality of teachers, the resources available to them and to their PD opportunities.

Language problems -1

• All the documented “common errors” of Cantonese speakers pronunciation were observed. For example, just looking at consonants:

• /p/, /t/ and /k/ were not ‘released’ at the end of words: ‘group’ ‘grou’, ‘route’ ‘rou’, ‘book’ ‘boo’.

• /v/ /f/ or /w/ ( ‘ferry good’ or ‘wery good’)• /z/ /s/ (‘sip’ instead of ‘zip’)• ‘th’ /f/ or /d/• ‘sh’ /s/• /l/ and /n/, /l/ and /r/, /r/ and /w/ were in free variation.

Language problems - 2• Many of the documented “common errors” of Cantonese speakers use of Eng

lish grammar were observed. For example:• Overgeneralisation of plural marker:• five children five childrens • I’ll give each one of you a worksheet … a worksheets

• Subject-verb agreement:• Donald and Rita have… Donald and Rita has• I have I has• The Duck wants The Duck want

• Inversion problems:• Do you know who X is? … who is X• I want you to find out where the children are … where are the children

• Tense problems:• The lesson started 15 minutes ago … had started for 15 minutes.• were shot down were shoot down

Teaching problems

• Setting and checking of objectives

• Lack of a motivating opening

• Presentation of a multiplicity of examples with little opportunity for pupils to create own examples

• Group and pair work as the climax of the lesson – usually overly complex and difficult to manage

• Choral repetition as “chanting” with no attention to stress, intonation or pronunciation of sounds

• Absence of correction techniques for pronunciation

• Lack of actual teaching of reading or listening

• Lack of emphasis on essential meaning of language forms

Educational problems• Dependence on the written form even in oral lessons: How do

you read this word?• Understanding of the rationale for exposure to English

(pitching the language at the right level for effective acquisition)

• Treating English as a subject in the school curriculum• Teacher-centred, classroom-fronted teaching• Failure to promote creativity in language use• Exam preparation syndrome• Dictation• The textbook• The parents• The language of the corridor – difficulty of maintaining

English

Implications

• The problems of the 21 student teachers are typical of the teachers you will come across as SETs or LETs in the schools today.

• Although many more teachers now are subject trained to teach English, subject-training can be obtained without attention to systemic language errors.

• Your PD role in the schools should take account of this. How?

Taking account of language quality

• Obviously it would be inappropriate for you to correct your fellow teachers’ English

• For pupils, your role is to counterbalance the effects of exposure to a poor model and maximise exposure to a good model.

• For local colleagues, sincere professional and social engagement with them will have a productive effect on the quality of their English.

A word of caution

• We need to avoid imposing western perceptions of learning effectiveness on an Asian model.

• Read:

1. Watkins and Biggs (1996) The Chinese Learner: Cultural, psychological and contextual influences

2. Watkins and Biggs (2001) Teaching the Chinese Learner: Psychological and pedagogical perspectives

Contradictions between Western and CHC traditions.

• Watkins and Biggs note that the conditions for effective learning accepted as default in the West, did not seem to apply in the East.

• CHC = Confucian Heritage Culture

Western perceptions of environments for good learning

• Varied teaching methods, emphasizing student activity, self-regulation and student-centredness, with much cooperative and other group work;

• Content is presented in a meaningful context;• Classes are small;• There is a warm classroom climate; • High cognitive level outcomes are expected and addressed in

assessments;• Assessment is classroom-based and conducted in a non-

threatening atmosphere.Biggs and Moore (1993)

Environments perceived to be common to Asian classrooms

• Teacher-centred methods emphasizing control and conformity with little apparent cooperative or other group work;

• Content is presented in a meaningless context;

• Classes are large;

• Cool classroom climate;

• Low cognitive level outcomes expected and addressed in assessments;

• Assessment by examination conducted in a controlled atmosphere.

• Students docile, passive and compliant

A challenge to western research

• CHC classrooms should be conducive to low-quality outcomes: rote learning and low achievement;

• CHC students are perceived as using low-level, rote-based strategies;

• BUT

• CHC students have significantly higher levels of achievement than those of western students;

• CHC students report a preference for high-level, meaning-based learning strategies.

Biggs 1996

A challenge to western preconceptions

• Chinese students trained in the ‘mimetic’ tradition were able to draw novel subjects extremely competently. Chinese believe in skill development first, which typically involves repetitive (but not rote) learning after which there is something to be creative with. Gardner 1989

• A common western stereotype is that the Asian teacher is an authoritarian purveyor of information, one who expects students to listen and memorize correct answers and procedures rather than construct knowledge themselves. This does not describe the dozens of elementary school teachers that we observed. Stigler and Stevenson 1991

A challenge to western preconceptions

• Japanese children have less need to be motivated to learn because they are already predisposed to do those things that are required of them by teachers. In the western system, on the other hand, there is more of a mismatch with children being socialised one way out of school and another way in school.

Hess and Azuma 1991

• Despite large classes, external examinations, seemingly cold learning climates, and expository teaching there are things going on in the fine grain that are clearly adaptive: predispositions to put in effort and to seek meaning; to persist in the event of boredom or failure; and to foster the kind of interaction between teacher and student, and student and student, that engages higher rather than lower cognitive processes.Biggs 1996

A final word

• As a NET be aware of your role.• Make sure that those you work with share

your perception of your role.• Be aware of the cultural baggage you

bring with you and how it may influence your perceptions of what happens in local school.

• Remember there is more than one way to peel an orange.