Investigation into students` perceptions of native english speaking teachers'(NEST) and non-native english speaking teachers (Non-NEST) performance and competencies in teaching English as a foreign language

ABSTRACTThe increasing number of users of English and the need to speak English inthe globalization process has made English universal, the most widely learned andthe most internationally spoken language. So, learning of and teaching of Englishlanguage has been gaining more and more importance. Consequently, variousabilities and competencies of English teachers as Native or Non-Native EnglishSpeaking Teachers have become a significant matter of discussion.The aim of this study is to investigate how Native English Speaking Teachers(NESTs) and Non-Native English Speaking Teachers (Non-NESTs) are perceived byTurkish students in respect of both groups of teachers? performance andcompetencies in various skills like pedagogy, motivation and communication.216 students from three private high schools participated in the study. Thedata were collected by questionnaires, and for the analysis of the data, correlationand one-way ANOVA analyses (t and F tests) were applied.The data obtained from the field indicated that the students? perceptionsdifferentiated in regard to their NESTs? and Non-NESTs? performance,competencies, and pedagogical, motivational and communicational skills in astatistically significant level (p < 0,05). However, there was not observed anystatistically significant difference between the students? demographic andeducational characteristics and the two groups of the teachers.The study puts forward that Non-NESTs facilitate learning of English andprevent learning difficulties faced by students as they benefit sharing the learners?mother tongue. If a general evaluation would be done from perspective of thestudents? perceptions, Non-NESTs who are fully equipped with professionalknowledge and experience would therefore seem to be more effective and moreappropriate in teaching English to Turkish students.