Abstract
Addressing the perceptions and the preferences of the upper-secondary school students, teachers, parents and administrators of the native speaking (NS) and non-native speaking (NNS) English teachers as well as investigating the variables affecting these preferences and perceptions, this study explores whether or not the native speaker myth is still prevalent. Contrary to common assumptions with regard to student and parent preferences being in favour of NS English teachers, this study purports that English as a foreign language (EFL) students who have participated in this study which is conducted in the Turkish Cypriot context favour the English teachers with good teaching skills, regardless of their NS/NNS status. The students’ perceptions and preferences are compared with those of their parents, teachers and administrators. The data are collected from 185 students, 86 parents, 18 teachers and two administrators, and analysed adopting a mixed-methods research design, being predominantly quantitative. Overall, mother tongue and grade are found to be the two variables that influence the participants’ perceptions and preferences with regard to the NS and NNS English teachers. Significant differences are found between student and teacher responses and between parents’ and teachers’ perceptions and preferences. Keywords : administrators; English as a foreign language (EFL); native speaker dichotomy; parents; teacher preference
Highlights
Due to the fast progress of globalisation and the ever-growing role of English in trade and industry, English has become the lingua franca for most economic and industrial discourse
It is apparent that native speaking (NS) English teachers constitute a minority and cannot meet the growing demand for English as a foreign language (EFL)/English as a second language (ESL) teachers
Education policy makers can make some adjustments in the light of the needs of the EFL/ESL students and their parents included in this study
Summary
Due to the fast progress of globalisation and the ever-growing role of English in trade and industry, English has become the lingua franca for most economic and industrial discourse. The employability of the NNS English teachers is not any different in the United Kingdom (UK) (Clark & Paran, 2007) or in Canada (Derwing & Munro, 2005). It is apparent that NS English teachers constitute a minority and cannot meet the growing demand for EFL/English as a second language (ESL) teachers. For this reason, it may be wise to invest in NNS English teachers to avoid economic consequences. It may be wise to invest in NNS English teachers to avoid economic consequences In this respect, NNS English teachers can be regarded as emerging human resources in the education industry in most national economies.
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