Student proficiency in Spanish taught by native and nonnative Spanish instructors: A quantitative correlational study

Foreign language educators as well as educators from other disciplines agree that learning any foreign language improves student language skills and stimulates creative thinking and flexibility to use the language. The purpose of the current quantitative, correlational study was to examine the relationship between student proficiency in Spanish enrolled in elementary and intermediate level Spanish classes taught by native and nonnative Spanish instructors. An interview with adult students taught by native and nonnative Spanish instructors was conducted. The interview consisted of six questions in Spanish (see Appendix A) to determine student level of proficiency in Spanish. The findings provided support for Alternative Research Hypotheses 1 and 2. The recommendations that emerged from the study are imperative to students and instructors of foreign languages as well as administrators and future research. The results of the current study revealed that native Spanish instructors were recommended for the elementary level Spanish classes with students who do not possess any experience with the Spanish language.