Prep school students’ perceptions of native and non-native teachers and effect of proficiency level on their perceptions

Abstract

Many questions have been raised about the role of native English-speaking teachers (NESTs) and non-native English-speaking teachers (NNESTs) in language education, and the issue has been investigated in various aspects. The aims of this study are to shed new light on the issue through an examination of preparatory school students’ perceptions of NESTs and NNESTs and to find out the effect of their English proficiency level on learner’s perceptions. The participants were 60 prepschool students from lower-intermediate (30) and upper-intermediate (30) levels. Quantitative data for the study were collected using a 30-items questionnaire that was designed by Üstünlüoğlu (2007), adapted, and modified by Demir (2011). It was developed with respect to four aspects: inclass teaching roles, in-class management roles, in-class communication skills, and individual qualities. In terms of the reliability of the items in the questionnaire, Cronbach's Alpha was calculated as .75, which was acceptable. Referring the general results, the findings showed no significant difference between the students’ perceptions of NESTs and NNESTs in the four aspects evaluated. However, when the perceptions of lower and upper intermediate students were compared, their perceptions were found to be affected by their English proficiency level, and significant differences were found between perceptions of those students. The results revealed that upper-intermediate level students held more positive perceptions towards both NESTs and NNESTs in all categories.