A Comparison between Native and Non-Native English Language Teachers Regarding Immediacy Behaviors in English Classrooms

Abstract

This study aimed to examine and compare the frequency of native English speaking teachers and non-native English speaking teachers and their communicative immediacy behaviors while teaching. There were 6 native English speaking teachers and 6 non-native English speaking teachers participating in this study. They were observed twice a week, and each time for an hour. The observation time for this study was about 2 months. Four trained observers were taking notes and marking teachers’ immediacy communicative behaviors on a prepared sheet. The result revealed that native English speaking teachers not only do not excel in all aspects but non-native English speaking teachers showed more communicative skills than most people had predicted. Overall, native English speaking teachers displayed more verbal immediacy behaviors than non-native English speaking teachers, whereas non-native English speaking teachers expressed more nonverbal communicative behaviors than native English speaking teachers. Both types of teachers also demonstrated some non-immediacy behaviors while teaching. The findings of this study could provide parents, students, and English teaching industries’ administrators a brand new concept to reevaluate whether native English speaking teachers excel over non-native English speaking teachers, by specifically examining their immediacy behaviors in English classroom. Detailed discussions and comparisons are addressed in this paper.