Examining Early Childhood Teachers’ Perspectives of Collaborative Teaching with English Language Teachers

Abstract

Because of the strong demand for English language teachers (ELTs) at different educational levels in Asian countries, many kindergartens are hiring ELTs to teach English courses as part of regular early childhood curricula. Collaboration between classroom early childhood teachers (ECTs) and ELTs significantly affects children’s English learning. Via observations and interviews, this study examined seven Taiwanese ECTs’ perspectives on and experiences of collaborative teaching with ELTs and analyzed the factors influencing this collaboration. The results showed that most participants collaborated minimally with ELTs and usually followed a “one teach, one assist” approach. Organizational, interpersonal, and personal factors affected collaboration. Specifically, this study’s findings suggest that traditional Chinese values, with their emphasis on harmony, may prevent ECTs from offering advice, co-planning curricula, or sharing their expertise with ELTs. Although most ECTs performed secondary roles and viewed English lessons as a break from their duties, they acknowledged their own contribution to children’s education. Finally, an individual case revealed that raising teachers’ pedagogical awareness led to greater engagement in English instruction. The implications of this study and future research directions are discussed.