Decoding the Myths of the Native and Non-Native English Speakers Teachers (NESTs & NNESTs) on Saudi EFL Tertiary Students (original) (raw)
Related papers
2012
The present paper addresses the debate comparing the traits of native English speaker teachers (NESTs) and non-native English speaker teachers (NNESTs). It reports on the design and outcomes of a study carried out in Qassim University with 169 Saudi Preparatory Year Program (PYP) students to obtain a deeper insight into their perceptions of the influence of native and nonnative teachers on the English language classroom. A triangulation technique was used to collect the quantitative and qualitative data in two stages by means of students' questionnaires and interviews in addition to classroom visits to both groups of teachers. The results indicated strong significant differences between native and nonnative teachers in teaching specific skill areas, with a significant increasing preference for NESTs over NNESTs as Saudi students move from pre-university to university level. The study concluded that the debate can be discussed only in terms of professionalism rather than nativene...
Arab World English Journal
The issue of native English-speaking teachers (NESTs) and non-native English speaking teachers (NNESTs) has been controversial in debates by all the stakeholders. There is a variation in the imparting of knowledge and working style by these two different groups of teachers due to their educational and cultural backgrounds. The main aim of the study is to investigate the students' positive or negative perceptions related to the learning of English by their NESTs & NNESTs at King Khalid University. Also, it does stand to answer the main question of this study that to whom do the learners in Saudi Arabia perceive as their ideal group of English language teachers among their NESTs & NNESTS at various levels? The study is significant specifically to investigate the Saudi EFL learners' preferences about the teaching performance of their teachers regarding content knowledge, teaching methodology, interaction with learners as well as personal characteristics of native English speaking, non-native Arabic speaking English teachers and nonnative Asian English teachers. The research method included the quantitative approach. The data was collected through a questionnaire from a sample of 136 participants at the department of English, KKU. The findings indicated that NESTs & NNESTs have a number of strengths and weaknesses. However, the findings recommended that the collaborative model of NESTs & NNESTs can be more successful for teaching of English as a foreign language in Saudi context.
2018
The main aims of this study are to investigate the attitudes of Libyan students towards Native and Non-native English language teachers in an EFL context, teachers' self-perceptions in relation to their teaching abilities, and institutional regulations related to hiring both teachers. In order to achieve the aims of this study adequately and precisely, a mixed methods research was implemented where qualitative and quantitative research instruments were used. Data was gathered from two language training centres at two different oil companies in Tripoli the capital of Libya in a period of five months through the distribution of questionnaires and conducting interviews. The results of this research showed that both teachers have their own advantages and disadvantages particularly when teaching in an EFL context. Most of the participants agreed that qualifications and experience are the key factors to judge teachers. However, there were other points to consider as the study showed on one hand that NESTs are better language speakers as they are fluent and accurate. They also have an original pronunciation. On the other hand, NNESTs are good grammar teachers as they went through the educational process. They are more sympathetic than NESTs and also they speak their students L1. Although everyone in the literature and in the study explicitly says that NESTs and NNESTs are equal but different, still there seems to be an implicit preference for NESTs in the comments and responses. For example, the valuing of fluency and proficiency and the focus on pronunciation are indirect ways of preferring NESTs over NNESTs. So, in a world where the concept of the native speaker has been challenged and where it may be unacceptable to express a blanket preference for native speaker teachers, certain attributes (e.g. pronunciation, fluency) become indirect ways of perpetuating the idea that the NEST is inherently better and for maintaining their advantage in the job market.
Journal of Language Teaching and Resewarch, 2022
This study tries to investigate the perception of Saudi students at Jazan University about native English-speaking teachers (NEST) and non-native English-speaking teachers based on their teaching the language skills and grammar. The perception of 50 native English-speaking teachers and 50 non-native English teachers was collected from the students taught by these teachers. The findings show that native English-speaking teachers are outstanding at teaching reading, listening and speaking. In contrast, non-native English-speaking teachers are very good at teaching grammar, reading and writing skills. This study will help the Saudi government employ and hire teachers from other countries where the native language is English and countries where English is the second language. This study will also support the university authorities, educationists, and syllabus designers assigning teachers to teach different language skills based on native and non-native English-speaking teachers.
2017
Since non-native English speaking teachers (NNESTs) are always compared with native English speaking teachers (NESTs) on linguistic grounds, their similarities and differences are worthy of investigation. This paper reports on a mixed method study which examines the potential similarities and differences of NNESTs and NESTs’ teaching performance through the perceptions of students and teachers at the American Language Center (ALC) in Fez. For the purpose of data triangulation, data were collected through the use of a questionnaire completed by 40 students studying at the ALC in Fez. Semi-structured Interviews were conducted with NESTs and NNESTs teaching at the ALC. Findings show that NNESTs and NESTs are perceived to have distinctive linguistic, socio-cultural and pedagogical similarities and differences. An interesting finding is that some of the perceived similarities and differences are complementary. This paper has theoretical implications for conducting more research on this issue within the Moroccan context, and some pedagogical implications for NESTs and NNESTs’ collaboration.
English Review: Journal of English Education
In the field of TESOL, the perception that Native English Speaking Teachers (NESTs) are better than Non-Native English Speaking Teachers (NNESTs) has influenced language schools, recruitment policies and institutional leadership practices. The tendency to recruit more NESTs and achieve improved learning outcomes can be seen in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) and English as a Second Language (ESL) contexts. This paper aims to investigate whether NESTs or NNESTs have any impact on the EFL learners� language proficiency in Saudi EFL context. This quantitative study adopts pretest-posttest experimental and ex post facto designs to determine students� achievement in two language skills, namely speaking and listening. The two groups of participants are EFL students in a foundation year program at a Saudi Arabian University. One group was taught by a NEST and the other by a NNEST. The quantitative data were analyzed by using SPSS. The findings indicated that teachers� nativeness and ba...
This study aims at investigating the perceptions of Saudi preparatory year programme (PYP) students, who are taught by native English teacher (NETs) as well as non-native English teachers (NNETs), towards teaching effectiveness of NETs and NNETs in the intensive English language PYP at Taif University. The study investigated 132 Saudi PYP students through a self-developed 2-point questionnaire. Descriptive statistics were run for data analyses. It has been found out that the participants of this study have exhibited positive attitudes towards their NETs and NNETs.
2015
This study aims at investigating the perception and preferences of EFL university students in Saudi Arabia towards NTs and NNTs and to identify whom they prefer in teaching them each language skill. A modified copy of Baniabdelrahman's (2012) translated copy of a questionnaire which was built by Lasagabaster & Sierra (2005) was used to collect the needed data. The participants in the study consisted of Saudi first year university students (the preparatory year students at King Saud University, Kind Fahid University, and King Khalid University) in the first semester of the academic year 2013/2014. The cluster sampling method was used in choosing the students. The class was the unit of choice. The results of the study showed that there were significant interaction between the students' gender and their language level of proficiency. They also showed that there were no significant interaction between the students gender and the location of their university; there were no signif...
Native-speakerism in ELT in Morocco: A Study of Students' Attitudes and Teachers' Self-perceptions
Mustapha Mourchid, Mohamed Bouaissane and Hind Brigui, 2023
The purpose of this study is threefold. First, it aims to discuss the concept of native-speakerism in English language teaching and how such an ideology is still manifested in the discriminatory practices between native English-speaking teachers (NESTs) and non-native English-speaking teachers (non-NESTs). Second, the study seeks to explore Moroccan EFL students' (MEFLSs) attitudes towards NESTs and non-NESTs. Finally, the study endeavours to measure Moroccan EFL teachers' (MEFLTs) self-perceptions regarding their own proficiency and their level of comfort teaching different skills, language components and levels, along with their beliefs about and perceptions of other non-NESTs. To this end, a total of 119 participants took part in the present study (76 MEFLSs and 43 MEFLTs). The findings of the study show that MEFLSs' attitudes towards NESTs and non-NESTs are positive and MEFLTs' self-perceptions about their own proficiency or level of comfort teaching different skills or levels are high.
The present study aimed at investigating the effect of the native English language teachers in comparison with nonnative English language teachers on students' achievement in speaking skills. The subjects of the study were six native English teachers (NESTs) and six non-native English teachers (NNESTs), and their 196 grade ten students in the Institute of Applied Technology in the UAE. The instrument of the study was a speaking test implemented at the end of term one of the academic year 2008/2009. The findings revealed that there was no significant difference among students' overall speaking achievement test scores amongst 10 th graders at (ά = 0.05) due to the native-ness of the teacher. However, the indepth analysis showed that there was a significant correlation between native-ness and pronunciation in favor of the NESTs and a significant correlation between accuracy and nativeness in favor of the NNESTs. (