Secciones Cónicas

Naiara Araújo

Phd Ufma - - Avenida Dep Eduardo Magalhães; Cond JArdins, Andaluzia, Córdoba, apt 1002

Abstract

The present study aims to reflect on the impact of the presence of the native English speaker in classrooms of the language center at the Federal University of Maranhão. In this sense, it is taken into account the relationship between the mediating action of the ETAs (English Teaching Assistant) and their influence on the English language learning process of the students of English Without Borders program, in order to bring the various reflections that this experience can provide. In this discussion, we will bring up the studies of Almeida Filho (2006), Claire Kramsch (2000), Gardner & Lambert (1972), among others. The results show that the presence of a native speaker motivates students since it generates situations of contextualized communicative exchange, in which culture and language interlace forming a whole in the learning process.

Keywords: Culture; Identity; Language Teaching; Native speaker Introduction

Culture and Identity are key elements in order to understand the obstacles encountered by a student in the learning process of a foreign language (FL). The use of cultural and identitary elements as a way of making the target language more tangible can impact in the student’s success or failure since the impressions induced by this proximity relationship can interfere considerably in the way the student sees the native speaker and their language.

According to Almeida Filho, “A foreign language is equivalent to another language, in another culture of another country, by which we develop an institutionalized interest in learning it”1 _{(ALMEIDA FILHO, 2006,}

p. 66). In other words, learning a foreign language is not limited to the compression of its linguistic structure or, specifically, its phonological, morphological and syntactic structure, but it extends to a number of cultural experiences in which this language functions as a mean of communication, interaction and exchange between individuals that make up the speaking community. Therefore, it is inseparable of the place that the individual occupies in the discourse and of the power relationships established between the speakers.

It is in this scenario that we will situate this study, we will investigate to what extent the presence of native speakers is relevant in English classes, by means of observations made in the classrooms that had the presence of an English Teaching Assistant – ETA. We will assess here the relationship between the mediating action of the ETAs and their influence on the English language learning process of the students of the program Inglês Sem Fronteiras (English Without Borders) of the Federal University of Maranhão, in order to bring the numerous considerations that this experience has provided.

Culture, Identity, And Teaching

Nowadays, the challenges faced concerning the teaching of foreign languages are many and diverse. Over time, different methods and proposals emerged to assist in this process, one of these methods is precisely the one that does not disassociate the language from the sociocultural issues of the speaker.

The significance of learning an FL is unquestionable because, through communication, a people have the possibility of expressing themselves and to make themselves understood in a particular language. To speak a language is not only to learn its lexicon or its grammatical rules, but it is also necessary to understand the social issues surrounding the language and its people. The use of a certain language goes beyond the establishment of social connections, it is also useful to disseminate ideas and thoughts, in which emerge attitudes and behavior patterns that identify the customs of a group. Thus, it not only can insert individuals

1 _{Translation of: “Uma língua estrangeira equivale a outra língua, em outra cultura de outro país, pela qual se}

desenvolve um interesse institucionalizado em conhecê-la”

Modern Journal of Language Teaching Methods ISSN: 2251-6204

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in a group, but it can also clarify certain social, political and ideological contexts, in addition, to assign an identity to its speakers.

Therefore, language, culture, and identity are three interconnected elements. Language is a product of a culture; however, culture would not exist if humankind was not capable of developing an articulated system of communication. Consequently, cultural identity, language, and communication are interrelated. Language has as its main function the communicative act and it is built inside a specific cultural environment. Thus, the teaching of an FL must necessarily go through the knowledge of a particular culture and through the contact of the natives with the FL interfering directly in this process.

Cultural Identity And The Teaching Of A Language

There are many concepts and definitions that surround the term culture over its development in the social sciences, thus, analyzing cultural approaches is not an easy task. There are numerous anthropological, sociological, philosophical and linguistic meanings, which interfere in the cultural factors that are directly related to the learning of a language. In this way, it is necessary to reflect upon what we mean by culture and what we intend with this word in the space of teaching and learning FLs.

Since there are so many concepts, we will use here two concepts to define the term culture. According to Paraquett (2000), culture is a set of traditions, lifestyles, ways of thinking, feeling and acting of a people. For Blackburn (1997), culture is the way of life of a people, in which it can be included attitudes, values, beliefs, art, science, modes of perception and habits of thought and action. With these two concepts in mind, we can conceive that the culture is directly linked with the customs and traditions of a community, its moral values, and its language, that is, it is the production set of a people. The culture distinguishes the social groups and, at the same time, can unify these groups by means of the interaction associated with the social processes, the teaching of idioms, the tourism, the work etc.

We can perceive the importance of the culture in the teaching-learning process of an FL in the moment that we observe in our students the lack of information and knowledge about other peoples and, mainly, about the culture of the target language. Thus, learning a FL does not mean only the transmission of linguistic habits or the mere acquisition of grammatical structures; for the students to position themselves, recognizing the historical, geographical and cultural situation of the country and, above all, respect the cultural differences, it is necessary to understand and comprehend the standards that regulate the social interactions of the country whose language is being studied. Thereby, the student will have a sharp and critical view, changing their views about the other and themselves.

Since language and culture are interconnected, we cannot separate them without loss of significance for both, since the culture establishes a model of personal and social existence. While the culture provides parameters for the identifications, the language is the place where the meaning and subjectivity are built, since through the language the individuals can build and negotiate their identities. According to Kramsch,

The language can be studied in its social context, but the language itself is seen as a system of arbitrary signs or symbols to which social existence is given through its reference to a context that is outside the language1

(KRAMSCH, 2000, p. 133).

Thus, all discursive acts are directed to someone and all discursive practice is situated in a social, historical and cultural world in which it happens, that is, it does not happen in a social vacuum.

The student of a second language puts not only two languages in contact with each other, but two cultures, and, thus, learn a second culture along with a second language. As is pointed out by Brown,

Culture learning is a process of creating shared meaning between cultural representatives. It is experiential, a process that continues over years of language learning, and penetrates deeply into one’s patterns of thinking, feeling, and acting. Second language learning [...] involves the acquisition of a second identity (BROWN, 2000, p. 182)

Therefore, learning a new language is a process of signification and of construction of identity. It is also relevant for the student to learn the usage rules of a language, as well as to learn what is considered the

1 _{Translation of: a língua pode ser estudada no seu contexto social, mas a língua em si é vista como um}

sistema de signos ou símbolos arbitrários aos quais é dada existência social através de sua referência a um contexto que está fora da língua (KRAMSCH, 2000, p. 133).

Modern Journal of Language Teaching Methods ISSN: 2251-6204

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appropriate use of the language in accordance with the endless power relationships between the speakers, because they are organizing and reorganizing a sense of who they are and how they relate to the social world. Therefore, knowing the culture of the target language is also investing in identity aspects, as these can change constantly through time and space. In this regard, the researches Rosane Rocha Pessoa e Maria José Hoelzle (2017) emphasize that the focus on identitary constructions and the questioning of cultural, professional, political and religious tradition can promote autonomy, criticality and maturity and, consequently, can impact fundamentally in the professional formation of the learner.

In this sense, addressing issues relevant to the cultural and identitary universe of the student favors the expansion of the linguistic contents to be explored in the teaching-learning process. It is through the language that the speakers are constantly undergoing a process of reformulation, or more broadly, of cultural redefinition. Therefore, in the teaching-learning process of an FL, it is necessary that there a link between, language, culture, and identity, because through this link the learning will be more meaningful1_{. Thus, the}

languages’ student will always be an individual in formation, and not anymore a mere receiver, because they will able to perceive the cultural differences as essential to their linguistic identity. Therefore, the language needs to be studied within a sociocultural context and not only in a structural view.

Therefore, to emphasize the relationship between the sociocultural factor and language learning, we investigated the impact of the presence of native speakers in English classes of the program Inglês Sem Fronteiras - ISF (English Without Borders).

The Presence Of The Native Speakers In The Classroom

Twenty-seven students from the English classes of the ISF from levels 2 and 3 participated as collaborators of this study. They have been in the classes with the ETAs and responded the questionnaire. Based on the answers to the questions in the questionnaire, we highlight a few topics such as: (I) experiences and impressions about the interaction with native speakers of the language and (II) the influence and signs of the action of the ETAs on the motivation of the students in this learning process. Based on these themes and the observations of the participating teacher, the data analysis sought to describe the perceptions of the 27 students about the experience of interacting with the two ETAs during the second semester of 2016 of the ISF classes. The analysis of the data is organized below in accordance with the recurrence of the topics covered.

Experiences and impressions about the interaction with native speakers of the language

About the question number 1 of the questionnaire – “Have you ever attended an English class which had the presence of native speakers?” – the results shown that among the 27 participants, twenty-one never had a previous experience of interaction with natives, six of the participants stated that they already experienced such a thing. The answers to the second question – “During the English classes, we had the presence of Americans from the program English Teaching Assistant – ETA, could you tell us about your experience?” – showed positive reactions regarding the contact with the ETAs. The following excerpts show the students' enthusiasm for the experience:

Participant 1: It was nice because he was very friendly and also told us stories of his country very spontaneously.

Participant 4: The experience was enriching. It is important to have this kind of contact in order to expand our vocabulary.

Participant 5: It was a great experience, [...] the interaction with the assistant teacher moving and exciting. I wanted to express myself and try to communicate with him2_.

1 _{Meaningful learning is a central concept of Ausubel's theory of learning (2000), which, according to the}

author, is supported by the new knowledge that the student acquires, relating to the previous knowledge that they already have.

2 _{Free translation of: Participante 1: Foi muito legal, porque ele era muito simpático, além de nos contar} algumas histórias do país de onde ele veio com muita espontaneidade.

Participante 4: A experiência foi muito enriquecedora. É importante que tenhamos esse contato para expandir nosso vocabulário.

Participante 5: Foi uma ótima experiência, [...] a interação com o professor assistente foi emocionante, estimulante. Tive muita vontade de me expressar e tentar estabelecer comunicação com ele.

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The answers showed that all the students evaluate the experience as “enriching”, “great” or “very cool”, thus, there was a very positive reaction regarding the contact with the ETAs, since, for some, it seemed to be a unique experience. Some answers also show how the notion of a native speaker (NS) inhabit the students’ imaginary, reinforcing the notoriety attributed to the native teacher.

Participant 2: It was interesting, especially because we could observe the English language spoken in a more light and natural way, and it became understandable to me when I listened to Hank carefully.

Participant 18: It was interesting because we could observe the native pronunciation, among other things like the way they talk and the speed.

Participant 7: It was a good experience because we had contact with English’s orality in its native form and with its own accents.1

These statements showed the credit and the superiority of the native teacher from the point of view of these students, which strengthens the view that many people have of natives as the ones who know their language perfectly. Although the most current conceptions emphasize that "competence", not origin, should be evaluated as a prerequisite for the completion of teaching staff of the ELT³ (ANCHIMBE, 2006, p.12), some companies still put the native origin as a requirement for hiring teachers, seeing in the native a marketing opportunity, because the general public believes that the native’s presence makes all the difference, as it can be confirmed below.

Participant 13: I think it was a positive aspect of the course’s status. […] this implementation was a very positive aspect that needs to be always conducted2_.

We realized, however, that although many studies have already highlighted the Nativity myth, we still have to deal with the idealization and glorification of the figure of the NS, which puts them above the non-native speakers in the context of FL classrooms. In addition to adding values to the NS, we can also perceive that the students assigned to the assistant teachers metalinguistic and pedagogical skills and opportunities of contact with the culture.

Participant 21: It was very important because learning to speak another language requires a more constant practice, which contributes to the teaching-learning process. (Sic)

Participant 22: It was a good opportunity to get to know expressions, words and slangs, hardly addressed during a regular English course. It was also great for practicing the listening.3

If, on one hand, there is all this admiration for the NS, motivating the learning of that language, on the other hand, the resistance to the other, that is also the language holder, is a constant, especially regarding the linguistic performance of students. This process of an encounter with the other may cause rejection or attraction, which determines the student’s success or failure in the acquisition process of this language. Participant 24: There is an impact when you interact with a person you know is native. This happens because there is this fear of not being able to communicate with them. However, since the ETAs are there precisely to facilitate this interaction, we gain self-confidence and the communication begins to flow naturally.4

1 _{Free translation of: Participante 2: Foi interessante, principalmente porque foi possível observar a língua}

inglesa falada de modo mais natural, leve e tornou-se compreensível pra mim ao ouvir o Hank com atenção. Participante 18: Foi interessante porque pôde-se observar a pronúncia nativa, entre outras coisas como o jeito que falam, a rapidez.

Participante 7: Foi boa a experiência, porque tivemos contato com a oralidade do inglês em sua forma nativa e com sotaques próprios.

2 _{Free translation of: Participante 13: [...] eu creio que foi um ponto positivo ao status do curso. [...] essa} implementação foi um aspecto muito positivo que precisa ser desenvolvido sempre.

3 _{Free translation of: Participante 21: Foi muito importante, pois aprender falar uma outra língua requer uma}

prática mais constante, o qual contribui no processo de ensino-aprendizagem. (Sic)

Participante 22: Foi uma boa oportunidade para conhecer expressões, palavras, gírias pouco abordadas durante um curso regular de inglês. Também foi ótimo para praticar o listening.

4 _{Free translation of: Participante 24: Há um impacto quando você interage com uma pessoa que você sabe que}

é nativa. Isso ocorre porque existe um receio de não conseguir comunicar-se. No entanto, como os ETAs estão naquele momento justamente para facilitar essa interação, acabamos ganhando autoconfiança e a comunicação começa a fluir naturalmente.

Modern Journal of Language Teaching Methods ISSN: 2251-6204

Vol. 9, Issue 1, January2019

Page 105

During the classes with the ETAs in the ISF, two students resisted the participation in the English Classes and stayed only as observers, in the following classes with the ETAs they did not attend and one of them gave up the regular classes. This encounter may cause fear, as well as attraction, however, it is of utmost importance since it destabilizes us as a singular unit.

The conception of culture is seen in an integral scope in the teaching of languages, never inseparable, since to reflect on the teaching of LE is to integrate the culture as well. It is possible to notice the great interest of the students in knowing the culture of the country of origin of the ETAs.

Participant 12: [...] in addition to making us learn about their customs and a little bit about their culture.