The Attitudes of University Students towards Non-native Speakers English Teachers in Hong Kong

Abstract

■ Although non-native speakers (NNS) English teachers have taught alongside native speaker (NS) teachers for centuries, studies on the effectiveness of NNS teachers, their self-perceptions, or the attitudes of students towards these teachers, have only been conducted recently. Most of these studies have been conducted in the USA in ESL contexts. However, the majority of students worldwide learn English in foreign language (EFL) contexts, and, consequently, most English teachers work in such contexts too. This paper reports on a study conducted in Hong Kong which investigated the attitudes of university students towards their NNS English teachers. The students were queried through a questionnaire and interviews. On the whole, the students had a favorable attitude towards their NNS English teachers, although some shortcomings were indicated. Third (final) year students appeared to have a more favorable attitude than first year students. The reasons for the students' attitudes are discussed.