Teachers’ Perceptions of Teaching English as an International Language (TEIL)

Abstract

This article reports on a study that explored teachers’ perceptions of teaching English as an international language (TEIL) vis-à-vis their reported classroom practices. It is a small scale exploratory study which is based on an open-ended questionnaire adapted from McKay’s (2012) TEIL principles. It was conducted during summer of 2013 and spring of 2014 at the foundation program of Qatar University. Following a standard qualitative coding technique and cross-case analysis, the findings revealed that although the teachers were aware of and incorporate some principles of TEIL, such as the use of the first language (L1) and promoting multiculturalism, they still follow native speaker models of teaching mainly due to the teachers’ personal beliefs as well as the influence of the course books they use. These findings are not meant to be generalizable because of obvious study limitations such as the lack of prolonged engagement and data triangulation.