Negotiating Voice and Authority in Co-Teaching: Foreign English Teachers’ Lived Experiences and Classroom Discourse Practices in Taiwan’s Bilingual 2030 Policy

Abstract

This phenomenological–descriptive qualitative study examined the lived experiences and classroom discourse practices of Filipino Foreign English Teachers (FETs) engaged in co-teaching arrangements under Taiwan’s Bilingual 2030 Policy. Grounded in Positioning Theory, Teacher Agency Theory, and Classroom Discourse Theory, the study explored how Filipino FETs negotiate professional voice, instructional authority, teacher agency, and discourse participation within bilingual co-teaching classrooms.
Findings revealed that Filipino FETs continuously negotiated professional identity, instructional authority, and classroom participation within institutionally structured and culturally mediated co-teaching environments. Participants frequently experienced asymmetrical instructional roles, with local teachers maintaining greater control over classroom management and curricular decisions while foreign teachers were often positioned as communicative facilitators. Classroom discourse practices such as turn-taking, questioning, feedback delivery, and instructional control reflected broader power dynamics and institutional expectations. The study further identified challenges related to role ambiguity, discourse inequity, and institutional constraints affecting teacher agency and collaboration.
In conclusion, the lived experiences of Foreign English Teachers in Taiwan's co-teaching classrooms are shaped by the continuous negotiation of instructional authority, professional identity, and discourse participation within institutionally structured environments. Classroom discourse practices such as turn-taking, questioning, feedback, and instructional control serve as important sites where authority and professional voice are enacted, negotiated, and at times constrained. Ultimately, the study demonstrates that effective co-teaching depends not only on pedagogical coordination but also on equitable professional recognition, collaborative structures, and institutional support systems that enable both teachers to participate meaningfully in bilingual instructional contexts.