'The Eikaiwa/ALT Black Hole. A Corpus Linguistic approach to analysis of NESTs' informal online discourse relevant to teacher development in Japan
Native English-Speaking Teachers (NESTs) in Japan are often employed by private language schools (known as eikaiwa) and work as Assistant Language Teachers (ALTs) in public schools. Teachers working, or seeking to work, in these contexts may use the Internet to exchange informal online communica...
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| Format: | Dissertation (University of Nottingham only) |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
2015
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| Online Access: | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/29475/ |
| Summary: | Native English-Speaking Teachers (NESTs) in Japan are often employed by
private language schools (known as eikaiwa) and work as Assistant
Language Teachers (ALTs) in public schools. Teachers working, or seeking to
work, in these contexts may use the Internet to exchange informal online
communications or view the communications of others.
This study suggests analysis of this online discourse can provide insights into
these teachers’ context specific knowledge, and these insights can
contribute to efforts to understand and improve NEST teacher development
in Japan. In attempting to develop a framework for this analysis, Internet
sites hosting large quantities of these informal communications were
identified and used to provide texts for a corpus of teachers’ informal online
discourse. Key words in this discourse were then identified using corpus
software and a larger reference corpus.
Subsequent analysis of these key words within Key Word In Context (KWIC)
lines identified frequent expressions of dissatisfaction with eikaiwa and ALT
work and a sense that working in these contexts impeded the development
of NESTs’ teaching identities and careers. The analysis also drew attention to
the importance of teachers’ knowledge of employment conditions as
exchanges of information required to enter and leave eikaiwa and ALT
featured prominently in teachers’ discourse.
The results of this analysis suggest that accessing informal online discourse
may help NESTs achieve their career and development goals, but they also
suggest that the employment prospects of NESTs seeking long-term
positions in Japan are becoming increasingly uncertain and subject to
increased competition. |
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