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An Investigation Into University Students' Attitudes Towards Native And Non-Native English Teachers

Posted on:2019-10-12Degree:MasterType:Thesis
Country:ChinaCandidate:L W DengFull Text:PDF
GTID:2415330545971469Subject:Second Language Acquisition
Abstract/Summary:PDF Full Text Request
In recent decades,more and more native-English-speaking teachers have been employed in China,and they have been playing an important role in EFL teaching in our country.In order to improve the teaching efficiency of this group of teachers,researchers have conducted numerous studies to explore how they teach and compare how they differ from Chinese EFL teachers in classroom teaching.However,most of these studies have focused on examining teachers' opinions and attitudes towards native teachers' EFL teaching,and little research has been conducted from students' perspective.Therefore,it is necessary to conduct further research on students' attitudes towards NESTs and NNESTs in EFL teaching.This study investigated the students' attitudes towards native English teachers and non-native English teachers in a Chinese EFL teaching context.One hundred and fifty university students from a Chinese university participated in this study.A quantitative questionnaire designed by Ustunluoglu(2007)and a qualitative interview were used as instruments.The goals of study were to find out how native English teachers differed from non-native English teachers in such aspects as classroom teaching roles,in-class management roles and in-class communication roles.It also examines whether there are any significant differences in individual qualities between native and non-native teachers of English.The statistics of the questionnaire were analyzed by using SPSS 22.0,and paired t-tests were conducted to determine whether there were significant differences in EFL teaching between NESTs and NNESTs.The research has revealed the following findings:On the whole,the students in this study show no obvious preference toward the NESTs or the NNESTs in EFL teaching,because both groups of teachers have their own advantages and disadvantages.As for in-classroom teaching roles,the NNESTs are more preferred by the students because they can understand the students' needs and difficulties better than the NESTs.However,the NESTs are more appreciated for their speaking,pronunciation,cultural knowledge and vocabulary competence.In terms of in-class management roles,the NNESTs are more punctual,better prepared,and able to maintain order and discipline in class,but the NESTs are more skilled in creating relaxing atmospheres and organizing communicative activities.As far as in-class communication roles are concerned,the students prefer the NESTs,because they offer students praise more often,make lesson enjoyable,use body language and treat students with respect.In comparison,the NNESTs are more precautious,serious,praise students sparingly and distance themselves to stay authoritative.Finally,there also exist some differences in individual qualities of the two groups of teachers.The NESTs are more easygoing,cheerful,friendly,energetic,and more inclined to motivate students by using body language,but the NNESTs are more authoritative and strict with students in English teaching.Based on the findings above,several implications can be offered for English teachers,English teacher education program and English Teaching Administrators.First,since both NESTs and NESTs have their own strengths in different aspects of language teaching,co-teaching should be considered for better teaching effect.Next,both NESTs and NNESTs should be provided with more teacher education programs,in which they can exchange teaching experience,learn from each other in various English teaching skills and gain mutual understanding.For English Teaching Administrators,they should be more equal in hiring EFL teachers.They should base the hiring standards by teacher's competence and qualification rather than the native/non-native difference.
Keywords/Search Tags:NESTs, NNESTs, difference, student ratings
PDF Full Text Request
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