NATIVE ENGLISH SPEAKERS VERSUS NON-NATIVE ENGLISH SPEAKERS: THE IMPACT OF LANGUAGE TEACHERS ON EFL LEARNER'S ENGLISH PROFICIENCY

Abstract

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 backgrounds have no significant effects on the Saudi EFL learners’ speaking and listening skills. Here, Saudi EFL learners can equally perform in classes taught by NESTs or NNESTs. In the light of the findings, the study suggests that recruitment policy should not be influenced by the employers’ belief that NESTs possess better teaching skills than NNESTs.

Keywords

• EFL learners
• experimental research
• ex post facto design
• language proficiency
• NESTs
• NNESTs