| The perception that people have of nonnative English-speaking teachers appears to have a significant effect on their professional lives. The purpose of this research study was to investigate the perceptions ESL students have of their teachers who are nonnative English speakers. It looked specifically at what the students feel are the advantages or disadvantages of a nonnative English-speaking ESL teachers. The study also investigated in what areas students feel nonnative ESL teachers exhibit the most and the least expertise.; In order to obtain an understanding of the students' perceptions and opinions, the study involved a qualitative approach utilizing the research methods of content analysis and interviews. The research was conducted by analyzing the content of 43 essays and seven interviews with community college ESL students for emerging themes pertaining to the research questions.; Results of the data analysis showed that the general perception that the students have of their nonnative ESL teachers is that they are very knowledgeable and have considerable expertise in language content as well as teaching ability. Additionally, as the nonnative teachers are former second language learners and newcomers themselves, the students perceived them to be more understanding of their abilities, problems, and circumstances than native English-speaking teachers.; The findings of this research study appear to have significant congruence with the theses of major researchers in the field, establishing that nonnative teachers are advantaged as English teachers in terms of knowledge and teaching ability, experiential background, and affective factors. According to this study, students perceive their nonnative teachers to be just as capable as their native counterparts in many areas, and even more so in others, contradicting the often used hiring rationale that ESL students prefer native speaker teachers. |
