Article published In:
ITL - International Journal of Applied LinguisticsVol. 147/148 (2005) ► pp.21–43
Vol. 147/148 (2005) ► pp.21–43
The Nativeness Factor
An Analysis Of Students’ Preferences
A small number of studies have been pubished which examine the native speaker teacher (NST) versus non-native speaker teacher (NNST) debate. However, almost all of them are concerned with teachers’ opinions, whereas this paper considers the question from the point of view of the student, a perspective largely ignored so far.
The data for this study were compiled from the completed questionnaires of 76 undergraduate university students who agreed to take part. Special attention was paid to two independent variables: (1) students’ specialisation and (2) whether the student had been taught by an NST. Them participants were asked if they preferred a native or non-native teacher/lecturer with regard to the following: language skills, grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, learning strategies, culture and civilization, attitudes and assessment. Within these areas, students were asked about their preferences concerning primary, secondary and tertiary education.
The results showed a clear preference for the NST, although the most voted option was that of the team-teaching approach (an NST and an NNST working together). Nevertheless, the independent variables (specialisation and previous learning experience of an NST) did not exert a significant effect. The results seem to suggest the need for further discussion of the issues surrounding the NST/NNST debate.
References
BARKHUIZEN, G.
(1998) Discovering learners' perceptions of ESL classroom teaching/learning activities in a South African context. TESOL Quarterly 321: 85–108.
BARRATT, L. AND KONTRA, E.H.
(2000) Native-English-speaking teachers in cultures other than their own. TESOL Journal 9 (3): 19–23.
BRAINE, G.
(1999) Non-Native Educators in English Language Teaching. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
CANAGARAJAH, A. S.
(1999) Interrogating the "Native speaker fallacy": Nonlinguistic roots, Non-pedagogical results. In G. Braine (ed.), Non-Native Educators in English Language Teaching, 77–92. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
COOK, V. J.
(1992) Evidence for multicompetence. Language Learning 421: 557–591.
(1995) Multi-competence and the learning of many languages. Language, Culture and Curriculum 81: 93–98.
GARRETT, P. AND AUSTIN, C. G.
(1993) The English genitive apostrophe: Judgements of errors and implications for teaching. Language Awareness 21: 61–75.
GARRETT, P. AND SHORTALL, T.
(2002) Learners' evaluations of teacher-fronted and student-centered classroom activities. Language Teaching Research 61: 25–57.
JAMES, C.
(1998) Errors in Language Learning and Use. Exploring Error analysis. London: Longman.
KACHRU, B. B.
(1996) The paradigms of marginality. World EngJishes 151: 241–255.
LASAGABASTER, D.
(1999) EI aprendizaje del inglés como L2, L3 o Lx: ¿En busca del hablante nativo? Revista de Psicodidáctica 81: 73–88.
LASAGABASTER, D. AND SIERRA, J. M.
(eds.) (2001) Language Awareness in the Foreign Language Classroom. Zarautz: Universidad del Pals Vasco - Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea.
(2005) What do students think about the pros ans cons of having a native speaker teacher? In E. Llurda (ed.) Non-native Language Teachers. Perceptions, Challenges and Contributions to the Profession, 217–241. New York: springer.
LIU, J.
(1999) Nonnative-English-speaking professionals in TESOL. TESOL Quarterly 331, 85–102.
Llurda, E.
ed. Non-native Language Teachers. Perceptions, Challenges and Contributions to the Profession New York springer
MCNEILL, A.
(2001) Non-native speaker teachers and awareness of lexical difficulty in pedagogical texts. Paper presented at the International Conference on Non-Native Speaking Teachers in Foreign Language Teaching. Lleida: University of Lleida.
MEDGYES, P.
(1994) The Non-Native Teacher. Hong Kong: Macmillan.
PHILLIPSON, R.
(1992a) Linguistic Imperialism. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
(1992b) ELT: The native speaker's burden? ELT Journal 461: 12–18.
RICHARDS, J. C., PLATT, J. AND PLATT, H.
(1992) Dictionary of Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics. Harlow, Essex: Longman.
SAMIMY, K. K. , BRUTT-GRIFFLER, J.
(1999) To be a native or non-native speaker: Perceptions of "non-native" students in a graduate TESOL program. In G. Braine (ed.), Non-Native Educators in English Language Teaching, 127–144. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
TAJINO, A. AND TAJINO, Y.
(2000) Native and non-native: What can they offer? ELT Journal 541: 3–11.