With the mushrooming use of English and number of non-native speakers, the issue of teaching English in non-English contexts has been brought to the fore in discussions and empirical research. The question, who makes better language teachers of English, has received considerable attention in the literature on native English-speaking teachers (NESTs) and non-native English-speaking teachers (NNESTs). The current study examines the contributions of native and non-native teachers to an English Language Teaching (ELT) program in Ukraine. It contends that, in spite of a recent upsurge in writing on non-native English-speaking teachers (NNESTs) in the global discourse of English language teaching (ELT), the experiences of NNESTSs working within their own state educational systems remain seriously under-investigated. The purpose of the study is to explore the general perceptions of university students of NESTs and NNESTs in Ukraine. It also aims to find out with whom Ukrainian university students believe they learn more: with native or with non-native EFL teachers. This paper reports on the results of the study conducted at Oles Honchar National University with 158 undergraduate students majoring in German, French, Ukrainian Philology as well as International Relations to assess 2 male native English-speaking (NEST) and 10 non-native English teachers. A self-developed anonymous questionnaire is applied to seek their views about NESTs and NNESTs on rating scales relating to language skills, grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, learning strategies, culture and civilization, attitudes and assessment. The study also views how these teachers are able to teach certain language skills and areas. Descriptive statistics were run for data analyses. It has been found out that the participants of this study have exhibited positive attitudes towards their NETs and NNETs. Though the results have shown an overall preference for NETs but it seems that the respondents also believe that NNETs effectively contribute by virtue of their own experiences as English language learners and their experience as teachers. It may be concluded that Ukrainian EFL learners represented by the participants of this survey believe that NETs are more successful in creating richer classroom environment, teaching/assessing speaking skills, listening skills, vocabulary and reading skills better. The findings reveal that NNETs use innovative strategies and explain lessons more clearly to make their students learn better. By virtue of their personal experiences as language learners themselves, they have been perceived to understand their students’ styles and language difficulties in a better manner that facilitate learning process. Therefore, it may be concluded that each group of teachers has been perceived to have their own particular strengths and weaknesses.
Native English-speaking Teachers and Korean English Teachers: A Qualitative Analysis of Korean University Students’ Beliefs
