Language learning
No TL;DR found
Abstract
Little has been published about the attrition rates of foreign language (FL) teachers. Most extant research quantifies demographic information, such as gender or age, but not the reasons teachers leave. The purpose of this article is to describe attrition of FL teachers primarily as the result of disparity between professional expectations and workplace realities. The 14 respondents in the study collectively represent male and female classroom teachers ranging widely in terms of background, type and years of experience. Analysis of their comments reveals that they leave the classroom if they are unable to cope with unexpected workplace realities, often as a result of having spent little time in the field prior to full-time teaching. Attrition is often precipitated by an inability to reconcile personal expectations with workplace realities. One of those realities is that FL instruction may not be highly esteemed. Another is that there are marked differences in the importance of various types of languages and language programmes. One way to reduce attrition may be through discussion of these realities with prospective and novice teachers. The findings also suggest that retention can be enhanced when novice FL teachers have ongoing mentoring relationships with workplace colleagues.