Host Teachers' Evaluations of Nonnative-English-Speaking Teacher Trainees: A Perspective from the Classroom

Abstract

This article discusses the results of a survey conducted to explore how students and host teachers perceive the strengths of nonnative-English-speaking (NNES) teacher trainees based on their classroom practice. Responding to a questionnaire evaluating the NNES ESL teacher trainees in their classrooms, host teachers named the following as their strengths: teaching ability, professional skills, the grammaticality and idiomaticity of their English, and the multilingual and multicultural resources that they bring. Host teachers noted that NNES teacher trainees understood their students' learning problems and concerns, often served as role models for ESL students, and enriched the classroom experience. A small percentage of host teachers were dissatisfied with their trainee's performance because they felt the trainee had inadequate command of English. The results of the survey suggest that NNES teacher trainees are generally perceived as capable of delivering efficient instruction and treated as a welcome addition to the ESL practicum classroom.