A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS BETWEEN NESTs AND NNESTs BASED ON

PERCEPTIONS OF STUDENTS IN PREPARATION CLASSES*

Prof. Dr. Hasan ÇAKIR

Necmettin Erbakan University, Faculty of Education, Department of ELT
hasan_cakir63@yahoo.com

Instructor Yusuf DEMİR

Selcuk University, Ilgın Vocational School
yusufdemir@selcuk.edu.tr

Abstract
This study aims to unravel the perceptions and attitudes of Turkish students towards
native English-speaking instructors and the potential differences between native and non-
native English speaking instructors in the eyes of Turkish students, who have been taught
in preparation classes at Basic English Department in Middle East Technical University,
Turkey. With the purpose of collecting data, a questionnaire, mostly constructed by the
researchers and partly taken from Moussu’s (2006) study , was carried out to 96 Turkish
students to find out their impressions on both their NES(Native English Speaking) and
NNES(Non-native English Speaking) instructors. The results based on their perceptions
highlighted significant differences between NES and NNES instructors. While NES
instructors were considered to teach such language skills as speaking, listening,
pronunciation and vocabulary better, NNES instructors outshone with their skills in
teaching grammar and building communication with their students. This study also made
clear that NES instructors were seen as better sources of motivation.

Keywords: NES and NNES instructors, students’ perceptions, language skills, motivation

*
This study was prepared based on the data collected and used in Yusuf DEMİR’s MA thesis.

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1. INTRODUCTION recruitment issues in ELT field, despite the
worthy effort made by TESOL and some
Though a number of studies were other institutions against unfair hiring
carried out throughout the globe in order to practices, employers still have a positive
find out students’ and language teachers’ bias in favour of NESTs. To illustrate,
perceptions on NES ans NNES Moussu (2006) tells us about Mahboob’s
teachers/instructors, there are only few study (2003) in which he examined the
studies done in Turkish context focusing on hiring practices of 118 adult ESL program
the dichotomy between NES and NNESTs. directors and administrators in the US. He
Here at this point, this study aims to explore found that the number of NNESTs teaching
Turkish students’ perceptions towards NES ESL in the United States is low and
and NNES instructors. disproportionate to the high number of NNS
graduate students enrolled in MA TESOL
It is an undeniable fact that the programs. He also found that 59.8% of the
number of non-native English-speaking program administrators who responded to
teachers is steadily increasing all over the his survey used the “native speaker”
world and the number of non-native criterion as their major decisive factor in
English-speaking teachers overwhelms hiring ESL teachers. A reason for this
native English-speaking teachers. ‘‘In the discrimination was that administrators
field of English language teaching (ELT), a believed only NESTs could be proficient in
growing number of teachers are not native English and qualified teachers. According to
speakers of English. Some learned English Selinker and Lakshmanan (1992), the
as children; others learned it as adults. Some monolingual bias in TESOL and applied
learned it prior to coming to the United linguistics research resulted in practices of
States; others learned it after their arrival. discrimination where non-native speakers of
Some studied English in formal academic English were seen as life-long language
settings; others learned it through informal learners, who fossilized at various stages of
immersion after arriving in this country. language learning as individuals and as
Some speak British, Australian, Indian, or communities. As opposed to this idea,
other varieties of English; others speak Mahboob (2010) argues that the NNEST
Standard American English. For some, lens, takes language as a functional entity
English is their third or fourth language; for where successful use of language in context
others, it is the only language other than determines the proficiency of the speaker
their mother tongue that they have and where the English language reflects and
learned.’’(Maum, 2002: 1). This fact construes different cultural perspectives and
justifies our expectations of a more realities in different settings. As a result of
promotive approach towards NNESTs. this, NNESTs interpret and question
These data make clear that as Medgyes language and language learning and
(2001: 429) puts it ‘‘the English language is teaching in new ways.
no longer the privilege of native speakers’’.
When discrimination is the point in
On the other hand, there’s still a global question, the NNEST movement shouldn’t
prejudice against NNESTs. Especially in be disregarded. The NNEST movement that

37
aims to question the discrimination against linguistic skills, communicative talents, the
them and monolingual myths in TESOL has ability to empathize with the students etc..
begun only recently. Mahboob (2010) As Liu (1999) stresses, over the last decade
reports that the NNEST movement can be there has been little research done in the
dated back to the 1996 TESOL Convention area of what non-native have to offer in
where George Braine organized a their own right – rather than being compared
colloquium “In their own voices: Nonnative as a poor imitation of the native speaker of
speaker professionals in TESOL”. English. In other words, teaching credentials
According to Mahboob (2010), this resulted should be required of all English teachers
in a drive to set up the NNEST Caucus in whether they are native English speakers or
the TESOL association. The NNEST not. Maum (2002) believes this would shift
Caucus was established in 1998 and in 2008 the emphasis in hiring from who the job
the NNEST Caucus became the NNEST candidates are (i.e., native or nonnative
Interest Section. He sequences the specific speakers of English) to what they are (i.e.,
goals of the NNEST Caucus/Interest Section qualified English teachers) and allow for
as follows: more democratic employment practices.

• to create a non-discriminatory professional Characteristics of NESTs and NNESTs

environment for all TESOL members
regardless of native language and place of In spite of the fact that there has been
birth, a prejudgment that NESTs are more
• to encourage the formal and informal competent and more capable teaching and
gatherings of nonnative speakers at TESOL more preferable to NNESTs, teachers of
and affiliate conferences, both groups have their own different
• to encourage research and publications on characteristics which they bring to the
the role of non-native speaker teachers in teaching environment.
ESL and EFL contexts, and
• to promote the role of non-native speaker According to Ulate (2011: 62), native
members in TESOL and affiliate leadership speakers possess the following
positions. characteristics:

The reasons for such a discrimination - subconscious knowledge of rules

against NNESTs seem to be rather baseless - intuitive grasp of meanings
when they are deeply scrutinized. As the - ability to communicate within social
point of departure, NNESTs are often settings
considered to lack necessary linguistic - range of language skills
command in order to be a proficient English - creativity of language use
teacher and that they are inferior to their - identification with a language community
native-speaking counterparts only because - ability to produce fluent discourse
English is not their first language but their - knowledge of differences between their
second or foreign language. However, it own speech and that of the ‘standard’ form
would be better to evaluate NNESTs of the language
according to their teaching attitudes,

38
- ability ‘to interpret and translate into the Medgyes (2001) further examines the
L1 of which she or he is a native differences in teaching behaviour between
speaker’.(Stern, 1983; Johnson & Johnson, NESTs and NNESTs. The table below is
1998; Davies, 1996; cited in Cook, 1999: based on a survey carried out to 325 native
para 3) and non-native speaking teachers.

Table 1. Perceived Differences in Teaching Behavior between NESTs and Non-NESTs (Medgyes,
2001)
NESTs Non-NESTs
Own Use of English
Speak better English Speak poorer English
Use real language Use ‘‘bookish’’ language
Use English more confidently Use English less confidently
General Attitude
Adopt a more flexible approach Adopt a more guided approach
Are more innovative Are more cautious
Are less empathetic Are more empathetic
Attend to perceived needs Attend to real needs
Have far-fetched expectations Have realistic expectations
Are more casual Are stricter
Are less committed Are more committed
Attitude to teaching the language
Are less insightful Are more insightful
Focus on :
Fluency Accuracy
Meaning Form
Language in use Grammar rules
Oral skills Printed word
Colloquial registers Formal registers

Teach items in context Teach items in isolation

Prefer free activities Prefer controlled activities
Favor group work/pair work Favor frontal work
Use a variety of materials Use single textbook
Tolerate errors Correct/punish for errors
Set fewer tests Set more tests

39
 Use no/less L1 Use more L1
Resort to no/less translation Resort to more translation
Assign less homework Assign more homework
Attitude to teaching culture
Supply more cultural information Supply less cultural information

In their study of the classroom followed by acknowledgement and then

interaction between students and NESTs & clarification feedback.
NNESTs in Chinese context , Yi and Jian
(2009) came up with the following major 2. METHODOLOGY
findings related with classroom interaction The present study aims to uncover the
and teacher attitudes in the teaching participants’ overall perceptions towards
environment: NES and NNES instructors. Secondly, it is
aimed to detect if the participants’ previous
1 ) NNESTs present more language input NES experience prior to attending
and feedback to students, but more uptake is preparation classes effects their views on
observed in NESTs’ classrooms. NESTs. This study further aims to make
2 ) For both groups of teachers, classroom clear which skills are better taught by
interaction is dominated by teacher talk. NESTs or NNESTs and whether the
Transcriptions showed that the total number participants’ perceptions vary according to
of teacher questions and feedback moves ( their self-perception level in English.
for both NESTs and NNESTs ) is much
higher than the amount of student response 2.1 Setting
and uptake. Since this study basically centers
3 ) Teachers in both groups ask too few around students’ perceptions towards both
divergent questions, while more convergent native and non-native English-speaking
questions appear in the NNESTs’ classroom instructors, it was conducted in METU
and more procedural questions are found in Basic English Department where both
NESTs’ classes. instructor groups are employed.
4 ) No statistically significant difference
was found in the degree to which teachers 2.2. Participants
offered correction feedback and summary This study was carried out with 96
feedback. students attending preparation classes in
5 ) NESTs and NNESTs prefer different 2011-12 fall semester, all of whom were
feedback types, which affects students’ Turkish students. Almost all of the subjects
language input. In the observed classes, (%95) were aged between 18-21. There was
NESTs preferred to give evaluation a homogeneous distribution of the subjects
feedback, followed by summary and then in terms of gender. Of 96 participants, 50
acknowledgement feedback. NNESTs more were males and 46 were females. Table-2
frequently used repetition feedback, presents the number of gender and age
distribution of all the participants.

40
 Table 2. Gender and Age Distribution of the Participants
Age
Gender n. Min. Max. Average

Male 50 17 26 19.3
Female 46 17 25 18.9

2.3. Instruments professors and one instructor in Turkish

Following some demographic Language field. Afterwards, the
questions such as age, gender, self- questionnaire was submitted to two assistant
perception of English level and previous professors in ELT field with the aim of
NES teacher experience, with the purpose of investigating the items. The questionnaire
exploring their perceptions towards NESTs items were then reconstructed with the
and NNESTs the participants were delivered guidance of feedback provided by these
a five point Likert-type questionnaire made assistant professors. In addition, to establish
up of 33 items with the answers on the scale reliability, reliability coefficients
ranging from ‘strongly (Cronbach’s α) were found as 0.826 for the
disagree’ to ‘strongly agree’, which were scale which would let the researchers use the
mostly developed by the writers but also questionnaire in the study.
included a few statements from Moussu’s
(2006) research. The questionnaire was 2.4. Procedures for Data Analysis
arranged into three categories comparing The participants’ overall responses to
both instructor groups by using the items the items were inputted into a computer
related with ‘‘communication’’, through the use of SPSS ( Statistical
‘’motivation’’ and ‘’teaching/learning’’. Package for Social Sciences, 16.0) data
editor. With the aim of analyzing data,
The questionnaire was applied to frequency and descriptive statistics and
Turkish students in their mother tongue. For mean comparing tests were used.
this reason, together with the items taken
from the previous research, the research 3. FINDINGS
items were all translated into Turkish by the
writers. Then to establish validity for the The overall responses of the
instrument, the items in the questionnaire participants to 3-sectioned questionnaire are
were checked out by two assistant given in Tables 3, 4 and 5.

41
Table 3. Descriptive Statistics of the Participants’ Responses Comparing Motivation-related Items

Items Mean SD

NES instructors are better role models than NNES instructors 3.5312 1.16034
I feel more motivated while learning with NES instructors than 3.7292 1.12838
with NNES instructors
Learning English with NES instructors is more enjoyable than 3.8125 1.11745
learning with NNES instructors
NES instructors always arouse more interest than NNES instructors 3.8958 1.05111
My interest and attendance to NES instructors’ lessons is more than 3.2812 1.31951
those of NNES instructors
NNES instructors are more capable of motivating learners than NES 2.0613 1.11348
ones

Table 3 presents that participants regard perception that NES instructors arouse more
NES instructors as better role models. interest receives the highest rank in the
Furthermore, they feel more motivated scale. It is also understood that students
during NESTs’ courses and find it more show more interest in NES instructors’
enjoyable to learn with NESTs. The courses and take more part in their lessons.

Table 4. Descriptive Statistics of the Participants’ Responses Comparing Communication-related

Items

Items Mean SD
I communicate more with NES instructors than NNES instructors 2.8646 1.04294
There are a lot of NNES instructors that can effectively 3.4792 1.05610
communicate in the target language
NNES instructors are more sincere and empathetic than NES 3.9122 1.12035
instructors while communicating
NES instructors’ being foreigners pose a social barrier in my 2.4167 1.04294
interactions with them
NES instructors give more importance to friendly 2.7684 1.09768
conversations outside the class than their NNES counterparts
The accent of NNES instructors while speaking English is 3.8854 98269
important to me
I think English instructors should all speak with a perfect 2.7396 1.28346
British accent

Table 4 reveals that participants find intimate during the conversations. It was
NNESTs communicative enough and that also made clear that the fact that NES
they are considered more empathetic and instructors aren’t the same nationality as the

42
participants doesn’t prevent participants instructors while speaking English is
from building communication with NESTs. considered important.
What’s more, another point the participants
highlighted is that however much they don’t
think instructors should all speak with a
perfect British accent, the accent of NNES

Table 5. Descriptive Statistics of the Participants’ Responses Comparing Teaching/Learning-related

Items

Items Mean SD
In general, having a native English-speaking (NES) instructor 4.5208 .88233
positively effects my learning
I would rather have a NES instructor than a NNES instructor 3.9271 1.18982
Learning English with a NNES instructor is easier for me 2.5104 1.05626
than with a NES instructor
During the lesson, NES instructors correct my mistakes less 2.6771 1.10972
than NNES ones
NES instructors provide more feedback than nonnative ones 3.6146 93324
NES instructors present the cultural contents of the target 4.3125 .86222
language better than NNES instructors
There are many NNES instructors who teach just as 3.7396 .92047
effectively as NES instructors
I would prefer to be taught by both NES and NNES instructors 3.5521 1.23859
at the same time rather than by just one of the two
My learning experiences with NNES instructors have been 3.5729 .92617
good so far
I don’t care whether my instructor is a native or non-native 4.2396 .89142
speaker as long as he/she is a good teacher for me.
While learning English, NNES instructors provide me with more 2.8854 1.03486
strategies and ideas than NES instructors
To learn English well, I need to have a teacher who knows 3.4479 1.12268
about British culture
NNES instructors are better at explaining grammar than 3.2917 1.11371
NES instructors
NES instructors are better at teaching writing than NNES instructors 3.7917 1.04546
NES instructors are better at teaching vocabulary than NNES 3.8958 1.10004
instructors
NES instructors are better at teaching pronunciation than NNES 4.3958 .87635
instructors
NES instructors are better at teaching listening than NNES 3.9375 1.09364
instructors
NES instructors are better at teaching reading than NNES 2.9583 1.24745

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 instructors
NES instructors are better at teaching speaking than NNES 4.2396 .95966
instructors
NES instructors provide me with more information about English 4.0104 .92332
speaking countries than NNES instructors

Table 5 presents the participants’ As a result of upbringing in an

notion that having a native English-speaking English-speaking country, NES instructors
instructor positively effects their learning. were assumed to provide more information
Besides, when it comes to picking just one about English speaking countries and
of the two, participants would rather have a present the cultural contents of the target
NES instructor than a NNES instructor. On language better than their non-native
the other hand, they state that it doesn’t counterparts. While NNES instructors were
matter whether their instructor is a native or considered better at teaching grammar, NES
non-native speaker as long as he/she is a ones were found better at teaching
good teacher and that there are many NNES vocabulary, pronunciation, listening, and
instructors who teach just as effectively as speaking, which can be attributed to their
NES instructors. native status.

Independent sample t-test in Table 6

compares females’ responses to males’.
Table 6. T-test for Gender of Participants for the Overall Responses
__________________________________________________________________________________
_

Gender N Sd. t df Sig.

______________________________________________________________________________
Female 46 3.5563 1.0772
.480 94 .632
Male 50 3.5193 1.1087
______________________________________________________________________________

Table 6 gives the mean values of the Independent sample t-test in Table 7
overall responses to the whole questionnaire compares participants who had previously
and does not indicate significant differences been taught by NESTs prior to their
between males and females [ t = .480 p = attendance to preparation class to the ones
.632 ]. who hadn’t.

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Table 7. T-test for Having Previous NEST Experience for the Overall Responses
__________________________________________________________________________________
_

Previous NEST Experience N Sd. t df Sig.

_________________________________________________________________________
Yes 24 3.5554 1.0598
.282 94 .778
No 72 3.5303 1.0571

Table 7 gives the mean values of the taught by each group. While items in the
overall responses to the questionnaire and third part of the questionnaire made clear
does not indicate significant differences that in the opinion of the students;
between the participants who had previously vocabulary, pronunciation and speaking
taken courses from NESTs and those who skills are better taught by NES instructors, it
hadn’t [ t = .282 p = .778 ]. In the light of was understood that NNES instructors teach
these results it can be claimed that taking grammar better and communicate more with
courses from NESTs before starting the the students as could be seen from the
preparation classes doesn’t effect the second part. These conclusions are
participants’ opinions. consistent with Medgyes’ (2001) and
Lasagabaster & Sierra’s (2002) research
findings.
4. CONCLUSION AND
RECOMMENDATIONS It was also made clear from the items
related with teaching/learning that rather
Employing native speakers of English than the obligation to choose the members
in ELT field is not so new. On the other of just one of the two groups as teachers in
hand, it is an undeniable fact that the English language teaching field,
number of non-native teachers of English is collaboration of NES and NNES teachers in
increasing day by day. There is still a world- English teaching process will definitely
wide dichotomy between those two groups overwhelm doubts and unfavourable
of teachers throughout the globe. Besides, comments. Thanks to this ‘union of forces’,
there is a widespread prejudice that NNESTs students will be able to learn certain skills of
often lack linguistic command in order to be English a lot better and make up for their
proficient English teachers and that they are weaknesses that should result from lack of
inferior to their native-speaking exposure to both groups simultaneously. It
counterparts. In other words, there is a should seriously be considered by the
remarkable campaign and bias against non- authorities in Turkish Ministry of National
native English speaking teachers, only Education to employ both of the teacher
because they aren’t native speakers of groups at primary and secondary education
English. At this point, this study has levels and also in high schools. However,
intended to publicise which skills are better following a wrong policy while employing

45
NES teachers must in no way result in a education or in-service training, giving
constraint in the number of NNES teachers Turkish NNESTs the opportunity to witness
to be employed which may get things even real life situations in the countries where
worse and discourage NNESTs. English is interbedded with its culture
should as well be taken into consideration
Moreover, in this research, it was also by the Turkish Ministry of Education.. In
made clear that NES instructors present the this way, NNESTs who are to be exposed to
cultural content of the language better than some authentic language will be expected to
NNES instructors. Now that at present there bring more cultural elements in the class and
is no place for NESTs in Turkish national use more real language rather than ‘bookish’
education policy, within a vocational language.

teaching profession. Eric Digest,

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