مرکز منطقه ای اطلاع رساني علوم و فناوري - EVALUATION OF STUDENT TEACHERS’ OPINIONS ON THE NATIVE/NON-NATIVE DICHOTOMY

Abstract :

The launch of MEB’s new project has revived the heated debate on whether a native or nonnative speaker makes the ideal language teacher. Those who oppose the recruitment of native speakers believe context-sensitive solutions must be provided rather than importing methods, books and teachers. For this reason, a survey of three open-ended questions were administered to 29 student teachers (METU) with the purposes of investigating their opinions on the differences between native and non-native teachers, specifying their teacher preferences in the context of the practicum school and identifying their needs for professional development. Although language proficiency was the most distinguishing factor, pre-service education was believed to be more decisive in the quality of teaching than accent. While the nonnative teacher was favoured more primarily due to his codeswitching ability, familiarity with the students’ culture and background and sensitivity to learner needs, few participants listed improved English proficiency among their professional needs.