Intersecting global and local: The intercultural and intersubjective constructions of ‘expatriate’ and ‘local’ teachers in the search for the ‘x factor’

Abstract

In 1998, the government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region began a large-scale project to import quali?ed, experienced native-speaking teachers of English 10 into Hong Kong secondary schools. The Native-speaking English Teacher (NET) scheme later expanded to include Hong Kong primary schools. Currently, teachers from around the world are placed in local (Hong Kong) classrooms and staffrooms. This intersection of local and global teaching professionals is the site for the examination of interculturalist theories through interactionist methodologies. Data in the 15 form of a semi-structured interview with a Local English Teacher (LET) is analysed using Membership Categorization Analysis. The analysis addresses two key questions. First, how are intercultural categories and attributes talked into being? Second, how can examination of these categories lead to improved understanding of the intersubjective relations between local and expatriate teachers? Findings from analysis have 20 implications for teachers' professional development in cross-cultural contexts.