Abstract
This paper reports the outcome of a study carried out in Qassim University with 169 Saudi male novice university students to obtain a deeper insight into their perceptions of their native English speaker teachers (NESTs) and non-native English speaker teachers (NNESTs) in the English language classroom. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected in two stages by means of students’ questionnaires and interviews. The results reveal statistical significant difference in the respondents' perceptions in favor of NESTs. Students showed more preference for NESTs as they go to higher levels. Students previous learning experiences may affect their general preference for NESTs since they were taught by both types of teachers. Subjects also exhibited an explicit preference for NESTs in relation to the teaching strategies adopted. However, the respondents showed moderately favorable attitudes towards NNESTs who provide a serious learning environment and a favorable response to learners' needs.
Highlights
1.1 Context of the ProblemResearch on non-native English speaking teachers (NNESTs) is a fairly recent phenomenon as issues relating to them used to be politically incorrect to be studied and discussed openly (Al-Issa, 2005; Zughoul, 2003)
This paper reports the outcome of a study carried out in Qassim University with 169 Saudi male novice university students to obtain a deeper insight into their perceptions of their native English speaker teachers (NESTs) and non-native English speaker teachers (NNESTs) in the English language classroom
The finding of the present study provides an answer to the second research question "Do university students show a significant difference in their perception of either NESTs or NNESTs?" and it disproves the validity of the third research hypothesis "In general, Saudi university students will not show positive perceptions of either NESTs or NNESTs over the other. " as shown in Table 4 below
Summary
Research on non-native English speaking teachers (NNESTs) is a fairly recent phenomenon as issues relating to them used to be politically incorrect to be studied and discussed openly (Al-Issa, 2005; Zughoul, 2003). The place of nonnative speakers as English teachers has probably been an issue as long as English has been taught internationally. The majority of students worldwide learn English in foreign language contexts, and, most English teachers work in such contexts too (Cook, 1999). Medgyes’s work in the early 1990s (1992, 1994) has laid emphasis on issues relating to NNESTs in the area of teachers' self-perceptions as well as learners’ perceptions of their EFL teachers whether they are native or nonnative. Issues relating to NNESTs and NESTs have been studied by many researchers (see for example McDonald and McRae, 2010; Widdowson, 1994 and Xiaoru, 2008)
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