EFL Learners Setting Foot on American Land for the First Time Presenter: Wan-Ching Chiou 邱婉菁 Instructor: Dr. Pi-Ying Hsu Date: March 30, 2009

2 Chen, A. (2008). EFL learners setting foot on American land for the first time. The International Journal of Language Society and Culture, 26,

3 Content I. Introduction II. Methodology III. Findings IV. Conclusion V. Reflection

4 Introduction  Purpose -to realize how EFL learners, who went to the U.S. for the first time to tutor American students in Chinese, gained cross-cultural awareness. -to examine to what extent they improved their English competency after immersing themselves in the target culture physically.

5  Research question 1 How did Taiwanese students interpret the way of life of Americans? Introduction Culture events occur in our lives naturally.

6  Research question 2 What extent did the Taiwanese students improve their English? Introduction The participants became more confident on their language performance.

7  Research question 3 How did the Taiwanese students perceive American students’ attitudes on language learning? Introduction Similarities with Taiwanese Ss Being shy, chatting, and not asking question. Differences from Taiwanese Ss More active, practicing Chinese repeatedly in public, attend to the class on time and not afraid of making mistakes.

8 The experience of teaching in another culture gave preservice teachers more confidence in working with English as Second Language students. (Henry, 2007) Introduction

9 One month In the U.S.A. 3 college female students who majored in English To teach American students Chinese. Methodology Participants Venue Main task Duration

10 Methodology Pre-survey questionnaire Participant observation Interview Written report Post-survey questionnaire

11 Findings  Language adjustment  The speed of conversation The participants made great progress on their English. The participants could not catch up with the native speakers.

12 Findings  Less fluent speaking ability  Enjoy staying with people from similar culture backgrounds The participants had unhappy experiences when interacting with American people. The participants would like to be with Asian people rather than talk to American students actively.

13 Conclusion It is necessary to request the native English teachers to offer the normal speed English teaching while they are working with students in Taiwan. Teachers can build a supportive classroom atmosphere to help students get rid of their barriers. English teachers need to integrate the cultural knowledge into the language class whenever necessary. ˇ ˇ ˇ

14 Reflection  For culture  Chinese course in the U.S.A. Native English teachers should take a Chinese cultural lesson before they start to teach a foreign language in Taiwan It is worthwhile for government to support students to teach abroad and gain English competence.

15 Thank you for your listening.