Where to Start Teaching English Through English - Based on Perceived Effectiveness of Teachers’ English Use

Where to Start Teaching English Through English

  What makes TETE overwhelming even to teachers with advanced English ability is the assumption that TETE should be an instant and complete switch from Korean to English. As an alternative approach to TETE, this paper proposes that teachers start using English where maximal effects can be expected from teachers" English use, increasing its scope as their English proficiency improves. The effectiveness of teachers" English use was measured based on teachers" and students" perceptions. 152 English teachers and 250 students were asked to rank on a scale of 1-5 the effectiveness of teachers" English use for each of 33 tasks that teachers typically perform in secondary school English classes. The data showed that (a) the perceived effectiveness of teachers" English use varied widely depending on the tasks, indicating that some tasks are better suited for TETE than others; (b) high school teachers perceived the effectiveness of English use for a wider range of tasks than middle school teachers; and (c) there were substantial discrepancies between teachers" and students" perceptions about the effectiveness of teachers" English use. The findings are discussed with regard to a more feasible and more effective way of implementing TETE in EFL contexts.