Mother-tongue diversity in the foreign language classroom: Perspectives on the experiences of non-native speakers of English studying foreign languages in an English-medium university

Abstract

This paper considers the position of university language students whose mother tongue is other than the medium of instruction. Specifically, it investigates the attitudes and experiences of non-native English speakers studying either German or Japanese as foreign languages at an English-medium university. The findings indicate that the non-native speakers (NNSs) of English consider themselves to be at an advantage over the native speakers (NSs) of English in the study of German and Japanese as Foreign Languages, despite the fact that the medium of instruction is English, at least in the early stages of the language module. This is primarily owing to the fact that the non-native English speakers are already experienced language learners with an extensive linguistic repertoire. This view is supported by the NSs of English. Some concerns are expressed by non-native speakers of English in relation to an assumed knowledge of culture and society of the host country. The implications of these findings are discussed. Diverging from previous studies, this research focuses on learners of languages other than English and contributes to recent discussions on the increase in linguistic and cultural diversity and its impact within the foreign language classroom.