| Summary: | 碩士 === 國立高雄第一科技大學 === 應用英語所 === 95 === Many children in Taiwan are sent to language bushibans to further enhance their English ability in addition to their regular English classes in school. One of the reasons for parents to do so is because language bushibans usually hire foreign teachers who are native speakers of English and they claim that foreign teachers can help children develop more native-like English language ability and provide more opportunities for children to use English in communicating with them. Nevertheless, how foreign teachers manage Taiwanese children in the EFL (English as a foreign language) class has not yet been fully explored. Studies on Taiwanese children’s classroom problems in the EFL classes and foreign teachers’ management of these problems are sparse. Therefore, this study using a case study method aims to provide an in-depth analysis of young students’ common problems in the foreign teachers’ classroom and investigate how foreign teachers deal with these problems. Moreover, the study also explores factors affecting how foreign teachers manage their classes.
The participants of this study consisted of two foreign teachers who taught English to the same group of eight Taiwanese children aged 7 to 10 in a language bushiban. One teacher was from South Africa with two-year teaching experience in Taiwan and the other from Australia with no experience. The data were collected through four-month classroom observation (two months for each teacher) and a series of retrospective interviews with the two teachers. The study found that these children’s classroom misbehavior problems were related to the two foreign teachers’ arrangement of classroom setting, establishment and enforcement of classroom rules, students’ first language use in the classroom, types of classroom activities, ways of grouping students, ways of asking questions, distribution of students’ speaking rights, approaches to the noise problem, and management of class time. In addition, the two foreign teachers’ qualification and teaching experience, views on an ideal class, and views on L1 assistance were found to be the major factors affecting their classroom management approaches. This study further points out that successful classroom management depends on teachers’ well-structured lesson plans, consistency of classroom rules, and effective designs of classroom activities. Finally, pedagogical suggestions to the management of the Taiwanese children’s EFL class are provided at the end.
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