ESL Students' Perceptions of Linguistically Diverse English Language Teachers in English-Speaking Countries

Abstract

The majority of English language teachers worldwide are non-native English professionals who are linguistically diverse and speak different varieties of English. However, in the English language teaching profession, it is commonly believed that native English-speaking instructors are ideal teachers based solely on the fact that English is their mother tongue. This preconceived assumption, prevalent among ESL students who come to the United States to learn English, leads to the marginalization of qualified and competent non-native English language teachers, with resulting effects on their self-image. Although previous publications explore the phenomenon of student dispositions of linguistically diverse ESL instructors, they do not adequately address how teachers can deal with negative student perceptions proactively. This chapter fills that gap by contributing to the existing teacher-related scholarship through a new theory intended to empower teachers and realign students' negative beliefs and which also includes a lesson unit showcasing an implementation of that theory.