Native Speaker Teachers vs. Non-native Speaker Teachers

【Abstract】Comparison between native speaker teachers and non-native speaker teachers has been argued for decades. This essay makes a contrast between these two groups， then draws a conclusion that each side has their own advantages and disadvantages.

【Key Words】 Native Speaker Teachers; Non-native Speaker Teachers; advantages and disadvantages

【作者簡介】卢秋霞（1986.1-），女，汉族，云南昆明人，云南财经大学，讲师，硕士，研究方向：英语教学。

【基金项目】云南财经大学科学研究基金项目（教学研究项目）：英语成绩与数学成绩的相关性研究——以云南财经大学经基班为例（项目编号：YC2013C13）。

I. Literature review

Seidlhofer （1999） highlights that language proficiency is usually associated with teaching competence， which is why native speakers are more often than not supposed to have a clear advantage over NNSTs.

Llurda （2004） believes that “NNSTs are endowed with the privilege of bilingualism， as their experience of switching back and forth from their own language to the target one enhances their understanding of the demands of the learning situation”.

Creese （2005） illustrated the importance of bilingual discourse in English secondary school classrooms for subject-learning， which is that bilingual EAL teachers “use first languages to engage directly in subject teaching， thus their focus is on subject content first”.

Cook （1999） believes that language teaching would benefit by paying attention to the L2 user rather than concentrating primarily on the native speaker. From this point， there is no doubt NNSTs have the advantage.

Benke and Medgyes （2005） found that over 65% of respondents claimed， on the one hand， that NNSTs would always or often give a lot of homework， plan their lessons thoroughly， and consistently check for errors. On the other hand， NNSTs never or rarely lose their patience （76.1%） and tend to apply middle-of-the-road methods （63.2%）.

?stünlüoglu （2007） found out that NNSTs fulfilled in-class teaching and in-class management roles better than NSTs did， while NSTs fulfilled in-class communication skills and present more favorable qualities.

II. NSTs and NNSTs in China

Boyle （2000） states that foreign teachers are usually employed in universities dealing with teacher training， or on ESP courses to Chinese technicians who are working on joint ventures with foreigners.

However， Jin （2005） found out that some support moved to Chinese teachers of English in teaching students after they heard the arguments on World Englishes.

Barratt and Kontra （2000） reveal that NSTs were seen as little fond of grammar， lack of knowledge of the students L1 and culture. Nevertheless， their main complaint with regards to NSTs had to do with the fact that most of them were not language teachers and lacked experience.

III. Conclusion and Implications

NSTs have higher level of English proficiency， more standard pronunciation， more accurate transferred information， etc. While NNSTs have better at teaching strategies， anticipating language problems， communicating with learners with both mother tongues and target language， etc. Besides， they have better condition with the qualification of teaching. In the context of Chinese educational institutes， although the disadvantages of NSTs have been noticed， they are still popular on job market due to the commercial interests.

Three aspects have to be regarded when Chinese educational institutes are considering employing a NST of English： Is the teacher qualified？ How long will the teacher stay in that place？ What teaching approaches does the teacher use？

References：

[1]Barratt， L. and Kontra， E. （2000） “Native-English-speaking teachers in cultures other than their own”， TESOL Journal 9 （3）： 19-23.

[2]Boyle， J. （2000） “Education for teachers of English in China”， Journal of Education for Teaching 26 （2）：147-155.

[3]Cook， V. （1999） “Going beyond the native speaker in language teaching”， TESOL Quarterly 33（2）：185-209.

[4]Jin， J. （2005） “Which is better in China， a local or a native English-speaking teacher？”， English Today 21（3）：39-46.