Differences between Native and Nonnative English Teachers in the Classroom - Term Paper Example

Name: Tutor: Title: Differences between Native and Nonnative English Teachers in the Classroom Course: Date Differences between Native and Nonnative English Teachers in the Classroom Introduction Native and nonnative teachers can both be effective in teaching English, however, there has always been some controversy about having native or non-native teachers to teach English. Of course this situation varies from one place to the other but there are certainly advantages and disadvantages of each side of this debate. This paper will look into the differences between native and nonnative English teachers in the classroom highlighting the pros and cons of each so as to come up with a solid conclusion as regard this hot issue in education. Since the perceptions about NETs and NNETs differs across linguistic, social and educational backgrounds (Moussu and Brian, 2006; Moussu, 2002), this paper will examines various national contexts instead of just one. The application of the phrases non-native and native is undeniably a very contentious issue, particularly in the English’s sociolinguistics and its pedagogic dimensions. A native speaker, in theoretical linguistic, refers to an individual who is competent to evaluate the grammatical perfection of sentences. Davies (2004) defines a native speaker as an individual who learned English during early stages of development and therefore has a good knowledge and production of native forms of English as well as perfectly understands the social and regional variations within English. A native teachers is therefore considered to be competent and fluent in English. A non-native teacher is the one who has learnt the language post-childhood. From this definition, it can be deducted that the main difference between native and non-native teachers is childhood acquisition. However, this difference has led to the emergence of English language learning philosophy that has propagated the inequality between the NETs and NNETs (Canagarajah, 1999; Arva and Medgyes, 2000; Moussu and Llurda, 2008). From early times, native-like English ability has been framed to be practically unattainable after childhood and hence native speakers are perceived as the ultimate referees of what is conventional language (Birdsong, 1992; Braine, 1999). On the other hand, Kramsch (1997) argue that native speaker language is inexorably influenced by social status, age, occupation, geography and therefore standard forms of language are the exception instead of the norm. According to Paikeday (1985) a native teacher is the ultimate expert on linguistic perfection and he refers to him/her as shibboleth. Scholars have argued that native English teachers are the best to teach English (Kirkpatrick, 2010; Braine, 2010). They are regarded to be good in grammar as well as pronunciation and hence are valued as sources of cultural information (Wang, 2012). On the contrary, non-native English teachers are perceived as being deficient speakers of English, with poor pronunciation, deficient grammatical and practical knowledge as well as poor knowledge of foreign philosophies (Mahboob, 2003). Despite this notion about non-native English teachers (NNETs), there is increasingly growing body of evidence that show the contrary. There are many studies which have been conducted in Europe, the United Kingdom, Hong Kong and the United States which show that second language students tend to focus more on specific pedagogical linguistics and personal characteristics instead of the linguistic background of the teacher (Lasagabaster and Siera, 2005; Benke and Medgyes, 2005; Pacek, 2005; Cheung and Brian, 2007; Mahboob, 2003; Liang, 2002). Although NETs are viewed to be perfect in pronunciation, studies have found out that some language students tend to struggle to differentiate between the pronunciation of NNETs and NETs (Kelch and Santana-Williamson, 2002). These findings makes us question the validity of the student perception as regards pronunciation models. Nowadays, English is increasingly being used as a lingua franca by English’s speakers as a second language rather than as a way of non-native speaker communicating with native teachers (Bolton, 2008). Kirkpatrick (2010) claim that the ideal native teacher is turning out to be less important as an exemplary for L2 students and that the ability to communicate with other L2 speakers is turning out to be more relevant. Kirkpatrick holds that the most important benchmarks must be drawn from multilingual teachers with the language as a lingua franca in county-particular settings. Nevertheless, many people in the English language teaching profession believe that native teachers must be the ones assigned to teach the language and hence they view non-native teachers as deficient educators (Wang, 2012). This view limits the job prospects of NNETs. A study conducted by Clark and Paran (2007) found out that 72.3% of schools have a tendency to hire native teachers. Canagarajah (2005) asserts that the motivations for this discrimination are economic and political rather than linguistic or pedagogical. Their aim is to perpetuate a hegemony which favors educationalists, language institutes as well as publishing firms in nations where English is the official language (Kachru, 1986). These individuals enjoy higher salaries, increased textbook sales, greater prestige, and research funding as well as academic positions. On the other hand, NNETs in the marginalized communities are downgraded to ‘’pariah status’’, disempowered by their dependency on Center institutions, trainers, educators and publishers (Rajagopalan, 2005: 284). The paradigm that NNETs are inferior language teachers has made their professional confidence to erode. A study carried out by Seidlhofer (1999) found out that 57% of 100 NNETs surveyed reported that they felt insecure in the classroom. NNETs tend to struggle throughout their career against this dominant perspective even though they themselves do no subscribe to it (Canagarajah, 2005). Although, native teachers are regarded to have excellent oral skills, an extensive terminology and a good knowledge of their own traditions they frequently experience difficulty explaining complex items and have little ability with grammar (Lasagabaster and Sierra, 2005). They have little English learning experience and lack knowledge of the methodology to teach English. Native teachers are perceived a lively and friendly, experienced at encouraging students to speak and best models for imitation (Benke and Medgyes, 2005). But their speech can be hard for L2 students to understand and their different cultural and linguistic background can at times inhibit learning. Native teachers are good at pronunciation, speaking as well as listening, however, they are poor in systematic aspects of English like grammar and lexis because they don’t have knowledge to explain it clearly (Lasagabaster and Siera, 2005: 30). Native teachers are lively, informal and a good source of inspiration to leaners (Wu and Ke, 2009). They are good models of pronunciation but nor formal educators as they lack knowledge of the local educational context and at times they fail to create good rapport with learners (Han, 2005). Conversely, NNETs are valued because they have good experience of English learning, strict adherence to procedure and hardworking. However, they are viewed as lacking good oral skills and lacking adequate knowledge of the cultures of the West compared with native teachers (Mahboob, 2003). NNETS are also valued for their pedagogical proficiency, metalinguistic awareness and excellent interpersonal skills (Pacek, 2005). According to a study conducted by Pacek, most of the respondents said that what mattered more is not the nationality of the teacher but his/her personality (Pacek, 2005; 254). Another study carried out by Liang (2002) about the attitudes of learners toward the accents of non-native and native teachers found out that the student were not more concerned about the accent like the fact that the teacher should be professional, qualified, engaging and prepared. Non-native teachers have a tendency to give more homework, prepared their lessons systematically, equipped learners well for examinations and constantly checked for mistakes compared with native teachers. Apparently, all these things tend to be esteemed by learners, parents and employers in the local learning context. In addition, non-native teachers are valued for learning complex grammar as this makes it easier for them to explain grammatical items to learners if needed (Cook, 2005). Moreover, non-native teachers have good knowledge of the grammar’s rules and hence are able to give convincing, understandable explanations (Seidlhofer, 1999). Some studies have established that non-native teachers are appreciated as models of effective LZ students and are sympathetic as regard the challenges that learners experience in their process of learning L2 (Lee, 2000; Arva and Medgyes, 2000). A study conducted by Cheung and Braine (2007) demonstrated that most students generally have a positive attitudes towards NNETs and they perceived them as equally effective as native teachers. Moreover, they also reported that NNETs have good English language usage, displayed excellent personality qualities and are able to provide complex clarifications and have cultural and educational experience of their charges. A study conducted showed that Chinese students are enthusiastic as regards studying with Chinese English’s teachers and they view them as better organized and prepared compared with native teachers (Liu and Zhang, 2007). Moreover, the classes of foreign teachers are perceived as less stressful and friendlier. A study carried out showed that although students tend to have a positive attitude towards non-native teachers, they explicitly tend to prefer native teachers as English teachers. But their implicit attitude showed no conclusive positive attitude or preference of native teachers nor non-native teachers. Hence, the study concluded that although students have a tendency to show opinionated attitudes towards either of the teachers, their actual behavior as language students can be identical with both types of the teachers (Todd and Pojanapunya, 2008). A study conducted by Shibata (2010) about the attitudes of Japanese English’s teachers of high schools found out that high-ranking high school teachers were not as accepting as low-ranking high school teachers as regards non-native teachers. Majority of Japanese elementary school teachers reported that native teachers are best equipped to teach English at the elementary level (Butler, 2007). Despite the fact that most teachers of the language in the universe are non-native speakers, they tend to struggle for the same treatment in the English language teaching profession. NNETs have been largely discriminated in employment due to their non-native accents and are considered less qualified and ineffective as compared with their native counterparts (Canagarajah, 1999). Moreover, native teachers from developing countries, such as Singapore or Indian, are perceived as incredible and incompetent compared to developed countries, for example in the U.S., Australia and Great Britain (Kachru, 1986). NNETs encounters the issue of credibility even in the classroom whereby learners are prejudiced by the unavoidable trickle-down impact of the native teacher myth. Most learners tend to resent being educated by a NNET until they can prove that they can be effective as NET. Research studies conducted revealed that NNETs have greater advantage as they have complex understanding of English and the capacity to relate to the needs of learners (Caragarajah, 1999). Moreover, NNETs have exhibited an extreme sensitivity to the needs of their learners and can create a successful curriculum and pedagogy. Native English teachers struggle basically with establishing their career identities in the teaching profession whereas NNETs often have the added advantage of declaring themselves as qualified English teachers in the teaching profession. Kamhi-Stein (2002) asserts that the self-identification of NNETs as instructors, language learners and immigrants greatly influences the way they create their instruction and their classrooms. NNETs tend to draw on the cohesions among ethnic and linguistic groups exemplified in the classroom as a way of collaborating and creating a community of students. Moreover, they use instructional resources established in nations outside the Center circle to provide a range of perspectives. Furthermore, the used their own learners’ and teachers’ experience as L2 students and immigrants as sources of their knowledge. NETs are viewed as having better language abilities, able to identify problematic vocabulary when analysis passages and tend to be fluent, accurate, authentic, flexible and conversational in English usage. They also tend to give positive feedback to learners and confidently use proper English, are more innovative and have a more flexible approach to teaching English. Moreover, they focus more on meaning and idiomatic English and in presenting it in context by using a range of materials. In addition, they tend to be tolerant to errors and provide learners with more cultural information (Arva and Medhyes, 2000: 464). The native teacher fallacy that native teachers are the perfect teachers of English have led to the weakening of the NNETs’ position in the ELT profession (Rajagopalan, 2005). Employers, particularly in private schools, tend to hire native teachers despite being unqualified and having less teaching experience so as to attract the attention of parents and students and to increase their enrollment rates (Ozturk and Atay, 2010). The demand for NETs is very high in the English teaching markets as evidenced by internet searches for English teaching employments. The main requirement of English teachers jobs advertised in the Internet is native speakers of the language rather than educational qualifications (Crump, 2007: 12). NETs can discourage learners from studying English as a result of their incapacity to compare their English with the native language of the learners and the difficulty they experience when creating empathy with learners in the teaching process (Barratt and Kontra, 2000). A study carried out in Turkey showed that native teachers were unaware of the common traits of the Turkish learners are not effective in perceiving their objectives in learning the language through applying the learner-centered English language teaching emanated from the center-circle pedagogics and without taking into consideration the contextual authenticities of the Turkish English teaching setting (Coskun, 2013). Hence, it can be said that Turkish English teachers have good knowledge of their local culture which help them teach well taking into account the educational expectations of learners, teachers and employers in general. Moreover, the Turkish teachers might be considered to be better teachers as they are familiar with the local syllabus and examinations (Sahin, 2007). Non-native teachers are also viewed to be conversant with the beliefs, abilities, assumptions and expectations of local students and they understand the importance of creating a curriculum which is in line with the education culture in the society. NNETs can be as effective as NETs in teaching English because all the characteristics presumed to be acquired during childhood can be learned after infancy as long as the learner has adequate motivation, aptitude, exposure to advanced input and opportunities for practice (Medgyes, 1994). Thus, even though it is difficult a learner can attain the same level of syntactic, speech, strategic and idiomatic expertise in a foreign language as a person who learnt the language during infancy (Birdsong, 1992). Therefore, discriminating non-native teachers on the basis of childhood language acquisition is quite unfair. NNETs finds it difficult to secure an employment and when they do their salaries is usually very low and are given few benefits compared with native teachers (Celik, 2006). Because they competence of NNETs is highly questioned they have to outdo their native colleagues so as to get accepted (Thomas, 1999). From the above discussion, it is evident that the weaknesses of one type of teachers tend to be the strengths of the other type of teachers. Therefore, it is suggestable to have both types of teachers collaborate in teaching English. When NETs and NNETs team-teach in class they can enjoy similar status. They can cooperatively plan, teach, assess as well as assume charge for all learners in the classroom (Cook, 2005). Moreover, learners will tend to view them in the same way as their teachers. Apart from being assistants and resources, NETs are also directors and facilitators and hence by collaborating with NNETs they will become more skilled. In short, both types of teachers can successfully supplement one another and their instructional presentation may be incorporated for even more effective teaching in the classroom (cook, 2005). However, it is critical to note that team teaching may only be effectively implemented if both types of teachers have strong skills and relationships and are mature as it needs more time, coordination, trust in and knowledge of the skills of each other. Hence, team teaching requires sufficient experience in co-teaching as each group needs know how and when to clarify their responsibilities as well as when to assume responsibility in leading discussions in class. If not implemented properly, team-teaching can threaten good relations between the two groups because of conceivably wrongly perceived competition instead of collaboration (Cook, 2005). Co-teaching can help NETs and NNETs reduce their weaknesses as individual teachers. This is because NNETs can play some role more effectively than NETS and vice versa and hence each type of teacher must play a distinct role (Wada, 1994:13). Team-teaching can help learners develop abilities to understand and communicate in English and promote a positive attitude towards NNETs as well as heighten their interest in English and culture. In short, team-teaching is viewed as an effective method of developing the language communicative competence among learners. Both the students and the teachers can benefit from team-teaching. The students can be provided with good purpose to use the language in the classroom as a way of communicating as well as be given the opportunity to be aware of varied educational values. The teachers can be allowed to present a range of situations, especially when demonstrating discussions between two individuals, develop good learning materials and provided with the opportunity to develop as teachers (Shimaoka and Yashiro, 1990). Conclusion The main distinctive difference between the NETs and NNETs is language acquisition. However, the fact that NETs and NNETs are different in terms of language acquisition and proficiency, this does not mean that one type of teachers should be more favored than the other. This is because NNETs can acquire most of the features associated with native speakers even in adulthood. Therefore, employers should employ teachers on the basis of qualifications and experience rather than language background. This paper has identified several advantages and disadvantages of both NETs and NNETs. From the above discussion, it is evident that the weaknesses of one type of teachers tend to be the strengths of the other type of teachers and vice versa. Thus, to minimize the weaknesses of both types of teachers, this paper has suggested adapting a team-teaching models whereby both NETs and NNETs collaborate in teaching English. References Árva, V., & Medgyes, P. (2000). 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Wu K.-H., Ke C. (2009). Haunting native speakerism? Students’ perceptions toward native speaking English teachers in Taiwan. English Language Teaching, 2(3), 44-52. Read More