Previous research has amply examined the effects of co-teaching between native-English-speaker (NES) teachers and non-native-English-speaking (NNES) teachers on students’ learning of English as a foreign language (EFL). However, the research on the impacts of co-teaching on a particular English course is rarely reported. Even rarer is a documentation of co-teaching by NES teachers and NNES teachers in an English writing course. To address this gap, this study explored how NES and NNES teachers collaborated to improve students’ English writing proficiency in a Chinese context. One hundred and twenty-eight sophomore students in a university participated in this study. They were equally divided into four classes, with two co-taught by a NES teacher and a NNES teacher and the other two taught individually by one teacher. By comparing the scores of pre-test and post-test for experimental classes and control classes, the study found that the students in the experimental classes made more gains in English writing proficiency than those in the control classes. The findings from an open-ended questionnaire showed that three major benefits in co-teaching contributed to the success of this experiment: mixed teaching behaviors, complementary assessment criteria and ideal cultural atmosphere.
AmiryousefiM. (2017). The differential effects of collaborative vs. individual prewriting planning on computer-mediated L2 writing: Transferability of task-based linguistic skills in focus. Computer Assisted Language Learning, 30, 766–786.
2.
ArkoudisS. (2006). Negotiating the rough ground between ESL and mainstream teachers. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 9, 415–433.
3.
BarahonaM. (2017). Exploring models of team teaching in initial foreign/second language teacher education: A study in situated collaboration. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 42, 144–161.
4.
BauwenJ.HourcadeJ.J. (1995). Cooperative teaching: Rebuilding the school house for all students. PROED.
5.
BuckleyF.J. (1999). Team teaching: What, why and how?Sage.
CarlessD.WalkerE. (2006). Effective team teaching between local and native-speaking English teachers. Language and Education, 20, 463–475.
8.
ChunS.Y. (2014). EFL learners’ beliefs about native and non-native English-speaking teachers: Perceived strengths, weaknesses, and preferences. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 35, 563–579.
9.
CookL.FriendM. (1995). Co-teaching: Guidelines for creating effective practices. Focus on Exceptional Children, 28, 1–16.
10.
CoplandF.DavisM.GartonS.MannS. (2016). Investigating NEST schemes around the world: Supporting NEST/LET collaborative practices. The British Council.
11.
CoplandF.MannS.GartonS. (2020). Native-English-speaking teachers: Disconnections between theory, research, and practice. TESOL Quarterly, 54, 348–374.
12.
DoveM.HonigsfeldA. (2010). ESL co-teaching and collaboration: Opportunities to develop teacher leadership and enhance student learning. TESOL Journal, 1, 3–22.
13.
DoveM.HonigsfeldA. (2017). Co-teaching for English learners: A guide to collaborative planning, instruction, assessment, and reflection. Corwin Press.
14.
EickhoffL.De CostaP. (2018). Collaborative teaching refection: Insights into a globalized partnership. ELT Journal, 72, 121–130.
15.
FriendM.CookL.Hurley-ChamberlainD.ShambergerC. (2010). Co-teaching: An illustration of the complexity of collaboration in special education. Journal of Educational and Psychological Consultation, 20, 9–27.
16.
GeenA.G. (1985). Team teaching in the secondary schools of England and Wales. Educational Review, 37, 29–38.
17.
Hamp-LyonsL. (1995). Rating nonnative writing: The trouble with holistic scoring. TESOL Quarterly, 29, 759–762.
18.
HargreavesA. (2019). Teacher collaboration: 30 years of research on its nature, forms, limitations and effects. Teachers and Teaching, 25, 603–621.
19.
HiramatsuS. (2015). Contexts and policy reform: A case study of EFL teaching in a high school in Japan. In TedickD.J. (Ed.), Second language education: International perspectives (pp. 113–134). Lawrence Erlbaum.
20.
HonigsfeldA.DoveM. (2016). Co-teaching ELLs: Riding a tandem bike. Educational Leadership, 73, 56–60.
21.
HylandK.AnanE. (2006). Teachers’ perceptions of error: The effects of first language and experience. System, 34, 509–519.
22.
JeonI.J. (2010). Exploring the co-teaching practice of native and non-native English teachers in Korea. English Teaching, 65, 43–67.
23.
JeonM. (2020). Native-English speaking teachers’ experiences in East-Asian language programs. System, 88, 102–178.
24.
JohannesA.A. (2012). Team teaching in Japan from the perspectives of the ALTs, the JTEs, and the students. TEFLIN Journal, 23, 165–182.
25.
JohnsonM.D.MercadoL.AcevedoA. (2012). The effect of planning sub-processes on L2 writing fluency, grammatical complexity, and lexical complexity. Journal of Second Language Writing, 21, 264–282.
26.
KimM. (2010). How do native English-speaking teachers perceive co-teaching?Korea Journal of Applied Linguistics, 26, 213–249.
27.
KimS.Y. (2016). Native teachers’ perspectives on co-teaching with Korean English teachers in an EFL context. In CoplandF.GartonS.MannS. (Eds.), LETS and NESTS: Voices, views and vignettes (pp. 125–140). British Council.
28.
KimS.Y.MoodieI. (2023). The models of co-teaching and a spectrum for assessing collaboration: Examining English language co-teaching practices in South Korea. Language Teaching Research. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/13621688231218816
29.
LuoW.H. (2014). An exploration of professional development programs for teachers of collaborative teaching of EFL in Taiwan: A case study. Asia Pacific Education Researcher, 23, 403–412.
30.
MaL.P.F. (2012). Advantages and disadvantages of native and nonnative English-speaking teachers: Student perceptions in Hong Kong. TESOL Quarterly, 46, 280–305.
MilesM.HubermanA.M. (1994). Qualitative data analysis. Sage.
33.
MoodieI. (2019). How motivations for teaching in South Korean primary schools are mediated by the local context. KEDI Journal of Educational Policy, 16, 67–86.
34.
MoodieI. (2023). Primary school English teacher education in South Korea: Challenges and future directions. In ZeinS.ButlerY.G. (Eds.), English for young learners in Asia (pp. 16–31). Routledge.
35.
MouraoS. (2021). English as a foreign language in ECE: Itinerant teachers of English and collaborative practices for an integrated approach. European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 29, 455–471.
36.
NgM.L. (2015). Difficulties with team teaching in Hong Kong kindergartens. ELT Journal, 69, 188–196.
37.
NguyenL.M.NguyenN.B.PhiM.P. (2019). An action research of co-teaching practices at the school of foreign languages, Thai Nguyen University. The Journal of Asian TEFL, 16, 1385–1395.
38.
OngJ. (2014). How do planning time and task conditions affect metacognitive processes of L2 writers?Journal of Second Language Writing, 23, 17–30.
39.
RahimiM.ZhangL. (2018). Effects of task complexity and planning conditions on L2 argumentative writing production. Discourse Processes, 55, 726–742.
40.
RaoZ.ChenH. (2020). Teachers’ perceptions of difficulties in team teaching between local- and native-English-speaking teachers in EFL teaching. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 41, 333–347.
41.
RaoZ.LiuF. (2020). An investigation into native and non-native teachers’ assessment of Chinese students’ English writing. Southern African Linguistics and Applied Language Studies, 38, 152–166.
42.
RaoZ.YuH. (2021). Enhancing students’ English proficiency by co-teaching between native and non-native teachers in an EFL context. Language Teaching Research, 25, 778–797.
43.
SandholtzJ.H. (2000). Interdisciplinary team teaching as a form of professional development. Teacher Education Quarterly, 27, 39–50.
44.
SuW. (2019). Exploring native English teachers’ and native Chinese teachers’ assessment of interpreting. Language and Education, 6, 577–594.
45.
SuW. (2022). Two heads better than one? Exploring the co-teaching of intercultural competence by NES and NNS teachers. Asia-Pacific Education Researcher, 31, 297–306.
46.
SuW.ShangX. (2020). NNS and NES teachers’ co-teaching of interpretation class: A case study. Asia-Pacific Education Researcher, 29, 353–364.
47.
TajinoA.WalkerL. (1998). Perspectives on team teaching by students and teachers: Exploring foundations for team learning. Language, Culture and Curriculum, 11, 113–129.
48.
VanG.D.StormontM.GoelN. (2012). Collaboration between general and special educators and student outcomes: A need for more research. Psychology in the Schools, 49, 483–497.
49.
WangL.Y.LinT.B. (2013). The representation of professionalism in native English-speaking teachers’ recruitment policies: A comparative study of Hong Kong, Japan, Korea and Taiwan. English Teaching: Practice and Critique, 12, 5–22.
50.
WarwickD. (1971). Team teaching. University of London.
51.
WetteR. (2017). Using mind maps to reveal and develop genre knowledge in a graduate writing course. Journal of Second Language Writing, 38, 58–71.
52.
WuA.C. (2024). Toward an ideal model of teacher collaboration: A focus on listening instruction of 5th grade classes in Taiwan. English Teaching and Learning, 48, 319–345.
53.
YimS.Y.HwangK. (2019). Expatriate ELT teachers in Korea: Participation and sense of belonging. ELT Journal, 73, 72–81.
