Students' expectations and attitudes towards nonnative-English-speaking teachers in ESL and EFL settings: Teachers' and students' own perspectives

The number of nonnative-English-speaking English teachers (non-NESTs) has been increasing tremendously both in EFL and in ESL settings and so has the number of language learners who are taught by these professionals. As a result, the interest among researchers in the field in investigating the characteristics of this group of language professionals as well as the challenges that they have been facing in the world of second/foreign language teaching has increased. The present study investigated ESL and EFL students' expectations and attitudes towards their native and nonnative-English-speaking teachers regarding their teaching styles, attitudes in class, and advantages and disadvantages as language teachers through questionnaires, interviews, and class observations. The findings revealed that language learners in both instructional settings appreciate both groups of teachers for what they can do best in the classroom. However, such findings were insufficient to determine whether or not ESL and EFL students definitely prefer to be taught by a certain group of teachers. In addition, the study also examined native and nonnative-English-speaking teachers' perspectives concerning students' potential expectations and attitudes towards them. Similar issues, such as teachers' knowledge of grammar and pronunciation, were identified by the teachers in both settings regarding their students' expectations, but a comparison in terms of nativeness was not possible due to conflicting results. Further research is needed in order to address the issue of preference, since the field lacks studies that confirm whether or not students prefer NESTs to non-NESTs or vice-versa.