The Case of Native and Non-native English Language Teachers: Students’ and Instructors’ Perceptions and Attitudes in Kurdistan Region of Iraq

Abstract

English has evolved into an internationally-used language due to the increase in numbers of its learner. With the growing demand of English learning, over the last 30 years, the topic of Native English-Speaking Teachers (NESTs) and Non-Native English-Speaking Teachers (NNESTs) have become a topic of debate. Thus, the purpose of the current mixed method study was to find out students’ and teachers’ perceptions and attitudes towards NESTs and NNESTs in Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI). In the study, student questionnaires and teacher interviews were administered to answer the following research questions: What are students’ perceptions and attitudes towards NESTs? What are students’ perceptions and attitudes towards NNESTs? What are instructors’ perceptions and attitudes towards NESTs? What are instructors’ perceptions and attitudes towards NNESTs? What strengths and weaknesses do learners and teachers identify about NESTs and NNESTs? The participants were 345 university students, and 24 EFL teachers. The quantitative data obtained from the student questionnaire were analyzed through SPSS V. 25 and the qualitative data from the teacher interviews were analyzed through thematic analysis. The findings revealed that the student participants showed an overall preference for NESTs over NNESTs, however, they also showed positive attitudes towards NNESTs. The study concluded that the teachers believed that NESTs and NNESTs have their own positive and negative qualities and that one is not more successful, rather, they are different from each other. Students and teachers preferred NESTs for being fluent, natural speakers, having cultural knowledge about English, and being better at colloquial language whereas they preferred NNESTs for having a stronger connection with students due to sharing the same cultural and linguistic experience, being sympathetic, understanding students’ needs and difficulties, and being more hard-working. Keywords: Native English-speaking Teacher (NEST), Non-native English-speaking Teacher (NNEST), English Language Teachers’ Perceptions and Attitudes, English Language Learners’ Perceptions and Attitudes