Melike Nur Karabulut 101021028

Native and Non-Native English Teachers

In this day and age, English is widely used for intercultural communica7on, and it
is defined as a lingua franca. Because of this, the demand for learning English is
increasing. This increasing demand brings up the ques7on, should someone who is
aiming to learn English choose na7ve English-speaking teachers (NESTs) or non-
na7ve English-speaking teachers (NNESTs)? In this paper, I will demonstrate how
both are the best choice depending on the learners’ needs but NNESTs are beHer
in many aspects. There are three points that stand out to me. They are
communica7on with students, parents’ preferences, and teaching styles.
1. Communica7on with students
Since a large part of language acquisi2on is based on student and teacher
communica2on, this point is very important to consider. Personally speaking, as a
student, I prefer to learn in an environment where I am not judged and have the
freedom to make mistakes. Studies show that many students seek this. Firstly, let’s
take a look at na2ve English-speaking teachers’ communica2on with students.
Even though having a na2ve English-speaking teacher make you familiar with their
culture, understanding each other can be hard. They tend to fix your
pronuncia2on mistakes on an extreme level. This may cause the course to deviate
from its purpose, and even with an accent, it can cause you to not be able to
speak fluently. If NEST has not learned a second language, it will be more difficult
for them to empathize with you. However, with a non-na2ve English-speaking
teacher who has the same mother tongue as you, and knows what you are going
through when learning a second language, things are easier. Due to they have a
similar cultural background with you, they can compromise more to what you
need. It is way less painless to communicate with NNESTs. Also, they are more
recep2ve to your mistakes, which encourages learning.
2. Parents’ preferences
Learning English is prevalent in children nowadays, therefore parents’ opinions
and preferences are very important. Research shows that parents’ preference on
whether to choose a NEST or NNEST for their children’s English learning process,
parents’ personal experiences, and culture play a big role. Many of them believe
NESTs are beQer for improving speaking and listening ability although there is no
data-based proof to support this statement. On the other hand, some parents
believe NNESTs are beQer because their children can easily communicate with
them and get answers to all the ques2ons they have in their minds. They also
believe that NESTs do not s2ck to the lesson plan and tend to be playful during
lectures. Also, parents who speak English as a second language prefer NNESTs
because they were able to be taught by NNESTs only at that 2me. They want their
children to have the same experience as them. Despite everything, the demand
for NESTs is much more than the demand for NNESTs.

3. Teaching styles
According to a study on students’ perception towards NNESTs and NESTs’ teaching
styles at State Islamic University of Ar-Rainy, conducted by Fadhlur Rahman and
Ella Yuzar, NESTs and NNESTs both have their own personal teaching style, but
their course material and activity choose tends to differentiate. NESTs uses visual
materials such as advertisements, newspapers, short movies etc. They are more
likely to make everything more colorful and lively, compare to NNESTs. On the
other hand NNESTs are more focused on lingual aspect. Since they are more able
to detect students’ needs and deficiencies, they do not care much about having
fun, they want the lectures to be didactic. The same study shows that students are
more interested in learning phrases and expressions they’ve never heard of
before. They do not care much about accent as long as the speech is fluent and
informative. Therefore, both NESTs and NNESTs are capable of meet students’
needs in their own way.
References

o Tosuncuoglu, İ. (2017). Non-Na2ve & Na2ve English Teachers. Journal

of History Culture and Art Research, 6(6), 634-638. doi:
hQp://dx.doi.org/10.7596/taksad.v6i6.573
o Moussu, Lucie. (2018). Shortcomings of NESTs and NNESTs.
10.1002/9781118784235.eelt0044.
o Eslami, Zohreh & Harper, Kelsey. (2018). Language Proficiency and NNESTs.
10.1002/9781118784235.eelt0022.
o Rahman, F., & Yazar, E. (n.d.). Students’ Percep2on Towards NNESTs &
NESTs’ Teaching Styles: A study at State Islamic University of Ar-Raniry. ERIC
- Educa2on Resources Informa2on Center.
hQps://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1291652.pdf
o Copland, F., Davis, M., Garton, S., & Man, S. (n.d.). Inves2ga2ng NEST
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hQps://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/sites/teacheng/files/BC_Report_online
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