The purpose of this article is to explore students’, parents’, and teachers’ attitudes and opinions towards native and non-native teachers of Basque, to examine whether the widespread ideology native speakerism is present in this minority language.
Methodology:
Data were gathered from 473 secondary and high-school students, parents, and teachers using questionnaires and focus groups, where education stakeholders were enquired about their teacher preferences in four categories: assessment and support, attitudes and motivation, culture, and perceived linguistic abilities.
Data and analysis:
The quantitative data were statistically analysed using independent-samples t-tests and analyses of variance (ANOVAs). The qualitative data were examined using thematic analysis, an instrument that allows a systematic study of patterns of meaning within qualitative data sets.
Findings:
Results suggest that although students, parents, and teachers support team-teaching approaches, there is an overall preference for native-speaking teachers, specially at advanced levels. Furthermore, participants reflect clear-cut trends in specific items and categories.
Originality:
The binary classification of speakers established by the assignment of the ‘native speaker’ and ‘non-native speaker’ labels has been thoroughly studied in the English language, analysing the positive and negative characteristics linked to each type of speaker, but the nativeness topic has only been researched in language survival terms in minority language contexts. To our knowledge, no previous study has examined attitudes towards native and non-native teachers in minority language teaching contexts.
Implications:
Education stakeholders’ preferences for Basque native-speaking teachers may entail negative effects on the legitimacy of non-native speakers and teachers, a group whose Basque use is paramount for the maintenance and survival of the minority language.
Basque Government. (2019). Sixth Sociolinguistic Survey 2016. Servicio central de Publicacionesdel Gobierno Vasco.
4.
BierA.LasagabasterD. (2022). What has changed over 18 years? Future teachers’ language use and attitudes towards multilingualism in the Basque Autonomous Community. Language and Education, DOI: 10.1080/09500782.2022.2121611
5.
BraunV.ClarkeV. (2012). Thematic analysis. In CooperH.CamicP.LongD.PanterA.RindskopfD.SherK. (Eds.), APA handbook of research methods in psychology (pp. 57–71). American Psychology Association.
6.
CenozJ. (2009). Towards multilingual education: Basque educational research from an international perspective. Multilingual Matters.
7.
CenozJ. (2013). The influence of bilingualism on third language acquisition: Focus on multilingualism. Language Teaching, 46, 71–86.
8.
CenozJ.GorterD. (2019). Minority languages, national state languages, and English in Europe. Multilingual education on the Basque Country and Friesland. Journal of Multilingual Education Research, 9(1), 61–77.
9.
CirizaM. (2012). Basque natives vs. Basque learners: The construction of the Basque speaker through satire. Discourse, Context & Media, 1, 173–182.
10.
CirizaM. (2019). Bringing parents together: An innovative approach for parental involvement in an immersion school in the Basque Autonomous Community. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 40(1), 50–63.
11.
ClarkE.ParanA. (2007). The employability of non-native-speaker teachers of EFL: A UK Survey. System, 35, 407–430.
12.
ClarkR. (1981). Language and politics in Spain’s Basque Provinces. West European Politics, 4, 85–103.
13.
ColmeneroK.LasagabasterD. (2020). Enclosing native speakerism: students’, parents’ and teachers’ perceptions of language teachers. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development. DOI: 10.1080/01434632.2020.1865384
14.
ColmeneroK.LasagabasterD. (2022). The native/non-native teacher debate: insights into variables at play. Language Awareness. DOI: 10.1080/09658416.2022.21102
15.
CrystalD. (2003). English as a global language. Cambridge University Press.
16.
De AngelisJ. (2007). Third or additional language acquisition. Multilingual Matters.
17.
DörnyeiZ. (2007). Research methods in applied linguistics, quantitative, qualitative and mixed methodologies. Oxford University Press.
18.
EcheverriaB. (2000). Basque schooling: What is it good for? [PhD Dissertation, University of California, San Diego, CA].
19.
EcheverriaB. (2007). Learning and working in Basque. In SchusterK.WitkoskyD. (Eds.), Language of the land: Policy, politics, identity (pp. 179–194). UC Riverside.
20.
EllisM. (2004). The invisible multilingual teacher: The contribution of language background to Australian ESL teachers’ professional knowledge and beliefs. International Journal of Multilingualism, 1, 90–108.
21.
Eustat (2010). Eustat: Alumnado de enseñanzas de régimen general no universitario por territorio histórico, nivel, modelo de enseñanza bilingüe y titularidad. [Eustat: Students in the General Non-University Education System by historic territory, level, bilingual education model and ownership.] Avance e datos 2009/2010. Retrieved from http://www.eustat.es
22.
GarciaO. (2007). Multilingual language awareness and teacher education. In CenozJ.HornbergerN. H. (Eds.), Encyclopedia of language and education (Knowledge about Language, Vol. 6, pp. 2130–2145). Springer.
23.
GarciaO.OtheguyR. (2020). Plurilingualism and translanguaging: Commonalities and divergencies. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 23(1), 17–35.
24.
GartziarenaM.VillabonaN. (2022). Teachers’ beliefs on multilingualism in the Basque Country: Basque at the core of multilingual education. System, 105, 102749.
IdiazabalI. (1986). Prólogo. In Gobierno Vasco, E.I.F.E.: La Enseñanza del Euskera: Influencia de los Factores. [Prologue. In Basque Government, E.I.F.E.: The teaching of Basqe: influence of factors.] Servicio de publicaciones del Gobierno Vasco.
28.
KiczkowiakM.LoweR. (2021). Native-speakerism in English language teaching: “native speakers” more likely to be invited as conference plenary speakers. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development. Advanced online publication, 1-16. https://doi.org/10.1080/01434632.2021.1974464
29.
LasagabasterD.SierraJ.M. (2005). The nativenesss factor: an analysis of students’ preferences. International Journal of Applied Linguistics147, 21-43.
30.
LasagabasterD. (2017). Language Learning Motivation and Language Attitudes in Multilingual Spain From an International Perspective. Modern Language Journal101(3), 583-596.
31.
LlurdaE.HuguetA. (2003). Self-awareness in NNS EFL primary and secondary school teachers. Language Awareness, 12, 1–14.
32.
MadridD.Pérez CañadoM. L. (2004). Teacher and student preferences of native and non-native foreign language teachers. Porta Linguarum, 2, 125–138.
33.
Mercator. (2020). Basque. The Basque language in education in Spain. Mercator European Research Centre on Multilingualism and Language Learning.
34.
MoussuL. (2010). Influence of teacher-contact time and other variables on ESL students’ attitudes towards native – and nonnative-English-speaking teachers. TESOL Quarterly, 44(4), 746–768.
35.
MuguruzaB.BereziartuaG. (2021). Dragon Ball on the Basque public TV: Influence on viewers’ language attitudes and practices. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/01434632.2021.1946547
36.
O’RourkeB.RamalloF. (2011). The native-non-native dichotomy in minority language contexts. Language Problems and Language Planning, 35(2), 139–159.
37.
O’RourkeB.PujolarJ.RamalloF. (2015). New speakers of minority languages: The challenging opportunity – Foreword. International Journal of the Sociology of Language, 231, 1–20.
38.
OrtegaA.GoirigolzarriJ.AmorrortuE. (2021). Participatory action research to promote linguistic Mudas among new speakers of Basque: Design and benefits. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 43, 55–67.
39.
OrtegaA.UrlaJ.AmorrortuE.GoirigolzarriJ.UrangaB. (2015). Linguistic identity among new speakers of Basque. International Journal of the Sociology of Language, 231, 85–105.
40.
PaciorkowskiT. (2022). Native speakerism. Peter Lang Verlag.
41.
RoseH.McKinleyJ.GallowayN. (2020). Global Englishes and language teaching: A review of pedagogical research. Language Teaching, 54, 1–33.
42.
SiJ. (2020). An analysis of business English coursebooks from an ELF perspective. ELT Journal, 74(2), 156–165.
43.
SyrbeM.RoseH. (2018). An evaluation of the global orientation of English textbooks in Germany. Innovation in Language Learning and Teaching, 12(2), 152–163.
44.
ToddR.PojanapunyaP. (2020). Shifting attitudes towards native speaker and local English teachers: An elaborative replication. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 43(2), 111–121.
45.
UrlaJ.AmorrortuE.OrtegaA.GoirigolzarriJ. (2018). Basque standardization and the new speaker: Political Praxis and the shifting dynamics of authority and value. In LaneP.CostaJ.De KorneH. (Eds.), Standardizing minority languages: Competing ideologies of authority and authenticity in the global periphery (pp. 24–46). Routledge.
46.
WalkinshawI.OanhD. (2014). Native and Non-Native English Language Teachers: Student Perceptions in Vietnam and Japan. SAGE Journals, 1–9.
WilliamsM.CooperS. (2021). Adult new speakers of Welsh: Accent, pronunciation and language experience in South Wales. Languages, 6(86), 1–20.
49.
ZalbideM.CenozJ. (2008). Bilingual Education in the Basque Autonomous Community: Achievements and challenges. Language, Culture and Curriculum, 21, 5–10.
50.
ZuazoK. (2013). The Dialects of Basque. Center for Basque Studies.
