University students' perceptions of native and non-native teachers

Abstract

The employment of native teachers of English in countries where English is a foreign language, coupled with a growing concern over teaching effectiveness, has led to collecting data about teachers' performance through student feedback. Not much research has been carried out in Turkey to evaluate the process and output of language teaching by native and non-native teachers from students' points of view. The aim of this study is to identify university students' perceptions of native and non-native teachers of English as well as to identify deficiencies and needs in the teaching process so that some suggestions can be made. A data pool of 311 university students participated in this study and evaluated 38 native and non-native teachers of English. A questionnaire was used as the instrument and it consisted of 30 items related to in-class teaching roles, in-class management roles, in-class communication roles, and individual features. The results indicate that there is a meaningful difference between native and non-native teachers of English from the students' perspective. The results suggest that non-native teachers fulfil in-class teaching and in-class management roles better than native teachers do while native teachers fulfil in-class communication skills and present more favourable qualities. The results will be beneficial for native and non-native teachers in terms of realizing their deficiencies and raising awareness. For further research, using student achievement level along with the results of student ratings would lead to more convincing results. The evaluation of teachers by their students is not a widely used approach in Turkey and further research in this area would benefit from a wider subject base.