Native vs. non-native EFL teachers: Who are better?

Abstract

This paper discusses possible advantages of having Non-Native English-Speaking Teachers (NNESTs) to teach English as a Foreign-Language (EFL) especially in Asian countries when they are often regarded as inferior to their Native English-Speaking Teachers (NESTs) counterparts. A native speaker fallacy has emphasized that NESTs are better teachers of EFL and have put NNESTs at a disadvantage. Actually, NNESTs possess advantages that can make them better teachers for teaching English in an EFL/ESL setting connected with their own EFL learning experiences and with sharing the same first language and cultural background with their students. While considered to have lower English language proficiency and lower self-confidence compared to NESTs, NNESTs who have made the effort to become quality teachers can position themselves as ideal English teachers in their own environment.

Full text

137 | STUDIES IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND EDUCATION, 5(1), 137-147, 2018
Native vs. Non-native EFL Teachers:
Who Are Better?1
P-ISSN 2355-2794
E-ISSN 2461-0275 Kurniawati *
Dini Rizki
Malikussaleh University, Lhokseumawe, INDONESIA
Abstract
This paper discusses possible advantages of having Non-Native English-
Speaking Teachers (NNESTs) to teach English as a Foreign-Language
(EFL) especially in Asian countries when they are often regarded as
inferior to their Native English-Speaking Teachers (NESTs) counterparts. A
native speaker fallacy has emphasized that NESTs are better teachers of
EFL and have put NNESTs at a disadvantage. Actually, NNESTs possess
advantages that can make them better teachers for teaching English in an
EFL/ESL setting connected with their own EFL learning experiences and
with sharing the same first language and cultural background with their
students. While considered to have lower English language proficiency and
lower self-confidence compared to NESTs, NNESTs who have made the
effort to become quality teachers can position themselves as ideal English
teachers in their own environment.
Keywords: NEST, NNEST, EFL, English as a foreign language, context of
teaching.
1. INTRODUCTION
English is one of the most important languages in the world. Nowadays, people,
around the world, realize the importance of English and learn it for many and various
purposes, such as to prepare for their future career, to continue studying abroad, or to
make friends from other countries and to do business internationally. This phenomenon
has contributed to the rising number of English learners in the world, hence increasing
the demand for English teachers. Since most of the learners of English are now living in
1
A part of this paper was presented at the 1st National Conference on Teachers' Professional
Development, 30 September 2017, Banda Aceh, Indonesia, and is part of the conference proceedings
published by Syiah Kuala University.
* Corresponding author, email: kurnia.idrisgam@gmail.com
https://doi.org/10.24815/siele.v5i1.9432
©Syiah Kuala University. All rights reserved.

Kurniawati & D. Rizki, Native vs. Non-native EFL Teachers: Who Are Better? | 138
the places where English is learnt as a second or foreign language, most of the English
teachers also come from those circles.
In Asian countries where English is taught-learnt as a foreign language, most of
the teachers come from and are trained in their own home country, and many of them
have had the opportunity to have ESOL training or have pursued higher degrees abroad
especially in an English-speaking country. Native English-Speaking Teachers (NESTs)
are rarely found teaching in Asian countries especially in the poorer, less developed
countries due to the lower salaries and benefits. However, in more prosperous places in
Asia such as Hong Kong and Japan, there are many NESTs working and collaborating
with local teachers as part of the government programs to improve the proficiency of
English there.
Nowadays, private English courses and international schools or colleges have
been established in most developing countries in Asia. However, they are usually too
expensive for the general public because they generally hire NESTs to teach English in
their schools. In their job advertisements, they clearly mention that they prefer to hire
native speakers to teach English at their schools because they consider that native
speakers are the best teachers to teach English. In the promotion for their schools they
also clearly mention that it is NESTs who will teach English in their courses. NESTS
have been used to attract parents to register their children as students in these schools or
courses. This phenomenon has placed NESTs as superior and pushed aside NNESTs.
There have been many long debates as to who is the better at teaching English in the
EFL context: NNESTs or NESTs. In a much smaller group, Medgyes (1999) has
defined NNESTs as those teachers whose English is their second or a foreign language,
who are working in places where English is a second or foreign language, whose
students are generally a monolingual group and whose native language is the same as
their students. NESTs are defined as those whose English is their native language.
The native speaker fallacy which stresses NESTs as the ideal English teachers has
put the NNESTs at a disadvantage. This view has put NESTs as superior to their
NNEST counterparts and has affected the NNESTs’ pedagogical and professional
development. Braine (2010, p. 2) stated, “while the authority of the NS was accepted as
the norm in English-speaking countries, there appears to be a power struggle between
the expatriate NS teachers and the indigenous NNS teachers in the EFL English
teaching context.”
The movement of NNESTs first started in 1970s in the United States when the
concept of a World English was initially introduced by Braj Kachru and Larry Smith
(Braine, 2010). Since then, many NNESTs have been actively conducting research on
NNESTs’ issues, publishing their articles on English teaching issues and participating
in international conferences and seminars as well as establishing international scale
NNEST associations. In addition, Braine (2010) also mentioned some of their
achievements. First is the upgrading of the NNESTs’ self-esteem which has made them
more confident with the NNESTs title attached to them. Second are the great
achievements in academic research and publications by and about NNESTs, and finally,
the achievement of their leadership in teaching TESOL. There are now NNESTs who
take the lead role in some international organisations on ELT issues.
About 80% of teachers of English, teaching in the world today, are now non-
native (Canagarajah, 1999). Even though the number of NNESTs has risen
dramatically, the research about NNESTs has just recently started. Braine (2010, p. 2)
mentioned that “despite the strong presence of NNS English teachers worldwide, issues

139 | STUDIES IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND EDUCATION, 5(1), 137-147, 2018
relating to them were not openly discussed or studied till a little more than a decade
ago”.
According to various recent research studies about NNESTs, they are now seen as
good teachers for teaching EFL English. They bring advantages to their classrooms
especially when they share the same language and cultural background as their students
and have had similar EFL English learning experiences as their students. However,
NNESTs have faced many challenges in regard to their linguistic and pedagogical
development as well as their professional growth. Therefore, some actions may need to
be taken to improve their quality so that they can become ideal EFL English teachers
and professionals in teaching ESOL.
This paper is a study about NNESTs teaching in EFL/ESL settings. The first part
of the paper reviews the strengths of NNESTs. The second section looks into the
challenges and problems faced by NNESTs. In the final part of this paper, some
possible solutions to those challenges and problems are discussed.
2. METHOD
In writing this paper, the literature-based methodology was employed. The
writers reviewed some literature including books and journals related to NESTs and
NNESTs: their strengths, weaknesses, challenges as well as opportunities. Barrientos
(1998) mentioned that literature-based research is the process of gathering and
assimilating, evaluating and analysing as well as formulating writer’s arguments, and
the process itself is constantly interrelated.
3. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
3.1 NNESTs’ Strengths
NNESTs are considered ideal teachers to teach pronunciation and the rules of
grammar. They also possess relevant English cultural connotations and have the
capacity to tell which English sentences are acceptable or not. These characteristics
have become very good features for the ideal English teacher. It is inevitable that
NESTs bring advantages to an English class in an EFL context due to their high level
proficiency in the English language. However, it is not merely these characteristic
which makes an ideal English teacher.
With the aforementioned strengths, NNESTs bring several advantages to the EFL
classroom and in some ways can better facilitate their students in learning English. This
is because NNESTs possess some qualities which are not possessed by NESTs. Some
advantages of having NNESTs teaching English in an EFL context are that they can be
more empathetic, more sensitive and more understanding of their students since they
share the same native language and the same cultural background as well as similar
English language learning experiences. Another strength is that they are the model of
successful English learners so they can be a source of motivation for their students.
Finally, having themselves learnt the language previously they can comprehend which
strategies are likely to work the best for their students, so that many of them can teach
more successfully compared to most NESTs.

Kurniawati & D. Rizki, Native vs. Non-native EFL Teachers: Who Are Better? | 140
3.1.1 NNESTs Are More Empathetic, More Sensitive and More Understanding
To know your learners is an important factor to becoming a successful teacher
(Oda, 1999). Compared to NESTs who acquired their English at their mother’s knee
rather than having to study it to start with, NNESTs have a better understanding about
how hard it is to learn English as a foreign language. NNESTs were once beginning
learners of English, too, and have gone through many difficulties and challenges with
their studies. Having the same experience of hardship in learning English as a second or
foreign language, NNESTs will usually have more empathy and better understanding
towards the difficulties that their students may be encountering in their learning and
hence can better help them overcome such troubles. This feature has been the main
attraction of having NNESTs teaching English in an EFL setting. In addition, Ellis
(2002, as cited in Moussu & Llurda, 2008) stated that good language teachers are those
who have had experience with the acquisition and the use of a new language besides
being good at linguistics, pedagogy and methodology so that they can understand the
processes and the experiences that their students will have with learning their new
language.
Furthermore, Medgyes (1999) has written that NNESTs are better at setting
learning goals which are realistic for the students because they recognize the problems
which are related to the national curriculum, the resources available and the
examinations that they have to take. This will be very beneficial in the classroom since
NNEST teachers can better help their students to set their learning goals and objectives.
Having the same native language and cultural background has also been seen as another
strength that the NNESTs bring to the classroom. Sharing the same background native
language and culture enables NNESTs to build closer relationships with their students.
One of the advantages of having NNESTs is that they are able to speak the students’
native language and can make use of it in the classroom when necessary (Coombe &
Al-Hamly, 2007). Even though there are debates about the use of the mother tongue in
facilitating the learning of a second language, it is argued that the mother tongue, when
used in the second language classroom can help teachers convey messages or lessons
which are sometimes very difficult or impossible to do in the target language. Medgyes
(1999, p. 439) mentioned that “…the native language proves to be a powerful
teaching/learning tool in countless situations”.
Furthermore, Harmer (2007) has suggested that the use of the first language in the
classroom might give three advantages to the target language learners. Firstly, the use
of their first language will cover all types of learners especially lower-level students
since it is very useful when first language is used to talk about learning such as when
doing a learning contract or doing a needs analysis. Secondly, the use of their first
language will help students in making comparisons between their first language and
English. Hence, for example, they can understand certain types of errors. Thirdly, the
use of the first language can help teachers build a close relationship with the students,
for example exchanging jokes.
It might be hard for NESTs with their limitations in understanding their students’
native language to give examples and comparisons between English language and
native language which is often needed in certain kinds of teaching-learning situations.
Barratt and Kontra (2000, as cited in Moussu & Llurda, 2008) have said that NESTs are
seldom able to show the students the comparisons and contrasts of English language
with the students’ native language.

141 | STUDIES IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND EDUCATION, 5(1), 137-147, 2018
In relation to sharing the same cultural background, NNESTs will help decrease
the possibility of cultural clash between the teacher and his/her students which might
happen when the teacher comes from a very different cultural background with his/her
students. Medgyes (2001) confirmed that NNESTs have more information about their
students than even very well-informed NESTs, which is important to anticipate and
avoid the cultural clash and cross-cultural difficulties which can very possibly happen
in a classroom.
It is clear that sharing a similar second or foreign language learning experience,
and the same native language as well as the same cultural background are the main
strengths of NNESTs. These are not usually possessed by NESTs even though they
have been staying for a long time in the country.
3.1.2 NNESTs are Models of Successful English Learners
In some countries where English is learnt as a foreign language and students’
motivation for learning is low, English is considered to be a difficult subject and
students are not sure that they can succeed in learning English and be proficient in it. To
have NNESTs teaching in this kind of situation is a very good method to boost the
motivation of the students. Students can see that the teacher who teaches them was once
an English learner like them and is now a successful English learner. This can be a
source of motivation for them. Motivation is one of the most powerful factors to get
success in the teaching-learning process. Harmer (2007, p. 101) stated that motivation
basically is an internal force which urges someone to do things to attain something; he
further added that “nothing motivates like success”.
Students will have self-confidence in learning English by having the real example
of a successful English learner. Thomas (1999, p. 12) said that, “they (NNESTs) are
role models; they are success stories; they are real images of what students can aspire to
be”. Furthermore, Edge (1988, as cited in Moussu & Llurda, 2008) states the
importance to provide a real model to the students which are those who speak the
students’ native language and have had experience in studying and speaking English
well.
3.2 Challenges Faced by NNS English Teachers
NNESTs in their teaching practices have faced some challenges that gave impact
to their processes to become ESOL professionals. These challenges can be internal and
external. One very obvious external challenge is discrimination in the hiring practices
where NNESTs are considered inferior to their NEST counterparts. Other internal
challenges that might become constraints for them to become ideal English teachers are
their possibly lower proficiency in English and their lower self-confidence as teachers
of EFL English.
3.2.1 NNEST Teachers Considered Inferior Compared to Their NEST Teacher
Counterparts
NESTs are regarded as better and more qualified teachers in some countries where
English is used as a second or foreign language. In some Asian countries, when
someone is a native speaker of English, she will be considered as a more qualified

Kurniawati & D. Rizki, Native vs. Non-native EFL Teachers: Who Are Better? | 142
person to teach English. The requirement to be a native speaker is mentioned clearly
and openly in some job advertisements for some courses, in some prosperous places
such as Hong Kong and Japan. Braine (2010, p. 13) gave examples of job
advertisements in a popular English newspaper in Hong Kong, “the (advertisement)
headings make no bones about the primary qualification for the positions: Native
English Teacher, Native Teachers, Native-Speaking English Teachers, Native English
Private Tutor”. Thus, it can be seen here how NNESTS are still being discriminated
against in the hiring process and how NESTs are still considered to be the best teachers
to teach EFL English (Canagarajah, 1999; Liu, 1999).
Many private English courses and colleges are now operating in Asian countries.
In some rich Asian countries, many NESTs are hired to work there and they get
relatively higher salaries compared to NNESTs. Even in some developing countries,
some private and international schools prefer to hire NESTs rather than NNESTs. They
promote the presence of NESTs to attract parents to register their kids to study in their
schools. This situation has helped the spread of the native speaker fallacy by those
institutions.
Furthermore, in conferences and seminars, it is rarely found that the key speakers
or resource persons are NNESTs. A conference or seminar will attract more participants
when the presenters are NESTs. According to this fact, Braine (2010) mentioned that
NNESTs also rarely become the key speakers at English teaching conferences.
Interestingly, some of those conferences are organized by the local or NNESTs’
organizations. It seems that there is a situation where sometimes NNESTs or local
teacher organizations help spread the native speaker fallacy even wider.
3.2.2 Low Proficiency of English
Some research done on the self-perception of NNESTs reveal that they themselves
consider NESTs are better to teach English. This perception has affected the teaching
performance of NNESTS especially in their linguistic skills. Butler (2007, as cited in
Moussu & Llurda, 2008) in one of his studies in Japan found that 60% of his NNEST
participants believed that English was best taught by NESTs, and interestingly, those
who thought that the NESTs are the best English teachers also believed that they,
themselves, had lower proficiency in English. Additionally, in a study done by Moussu
(2002), it was found that in general, the NNESTs were not confident with their skills
and their strengths, even with their grammar skills which are considered as one of the
skills that NNESTS are very good or the best at.
There are some constraints that might become problems faced by teachers in an
EFL context in improving their English proficiency. One of the most distinctive barriers
is the lack of exposure that these teachers have had to an English speaking environment
since English is not usually spoken in public in countries or states where English has
the status of a foreign language. The NNESTs cannot easily talk to other people in
English and find it hard to find books, magazines, newspapers or TV programs in
English. It is even more difficult for those teachers who work in remote areas where the
chances of meeting someone who speaks English are very slight and access to
technology use is lower than in the big cities. These problems are not so great in states
where English is a second language, e.g. Malaysia and states in India.
Another problem is that some teachers are still reluctant to communicate in
English among themselves or with other people. Even though there might be

143 | STUDIES IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND EDUCATION, 5(1), 137-147, 2018
opportunities to talk in English, they feel not confident or shy to do so and even
sometimes the case is that they do not want to do it for various reasons such as that they
will be considered arrogant or prideful because they sometimes prefer to use English
instead of their local native language.
3.2.3 Low Self-Confidence
The feeling of inferiority and believing that NESTs are always better as English
teachers have decreased the self-confidence of some NNESTs. Reves and Medgyes
(1994) have mentioned that when NNESTs constantly under-rate their strengths in the
use of English, it can create a bad self-image which in turn will influence their
performance in the use of the language and finally might lead them to an acute feeling
of being inferior to their NEST counterparts. Furthermore, studies have shown that
NNESTs admit the NESTs are often better in pronunciation, listening, vocabulary and
reading, and they recognise that they can face problems with their English language and
they also admitted that they felt that this contributed to lower performance in their
teaching practices (Braine, 2010; Reves & Medgyes, 1994).
3.3 How to Improve the Quality of NNESTs?
Some steps need to be taken to improve the quality of NNESTs so they can be
better professionals in their field. Some methods which can be used to enhance their
English language proficiency involve teachers linking up in teacher groups or
associations and collaborating together to improve the performance of NNESTs
whenever possible.
3.3.1 Enhancing English Proficiency
As lower proficiency than NESTs in their English language has been considered
as one main constraint for the NNESTs to become better English teachers, some steps
should be taken to improve their language performance. Medgyes (1999) stated that to
raise the confidence of NNESTs, they should develop their English proficiency to
become near-native. Ningsih and Fata (2015) said that having professional competence
means that the teachers should have an excellent capacity for mastering learning
materials which will enable them to help their students to achieve the highest standards
of competence as specified in the national curriculum. Furthermore, cognitive
competence is also vital to achieving higher language proficiency. These competences
include the teacher’s knowledge on the subject as well as the approach, teaching
methodology, and techniques that are employed (Usman et al., 2016). Reves and
Medgyes (1994) mentioned two ways to enhance their proficiency which are frequent
exposure to authentic native language environments and in-service training programs
which are proficiency-oriented.
Motivation for self-development is very important for improving their English
proficiency. Watching English programs and movies as well as listening to English
programs and news, and reading English newspapers and books as well as transcribing
good English when making notes and preparing lesson plans are good ways to improve
their English skills. To improve speaking skills, teachers can talk to their colleagues in
English and practise public speaking in English in public with a club like

Kurniawati & D. Rizki, Native vs. Non-native EFL Teachers: Who Are Better? | 144
ToastmastersTM (Nawi et al, 2015) or in private in front of a video-recorder in a hand
phone and playing it back for self-evaluation. To be better in reading, they can read
newspapers and books in English, both hard copy and soft copy from the internet.
However, NNESTs in isolated rural areas will sometimes find such activities difficult to
do due to lack of access to resources. Also some teachers do not make enough time
available since they say they are too busy with their family and other activities. Braine
(2010) mentioned that many teachers keep saying to the students to make as many
opportunities as possible to get close to real, authentic English environments by reading
English newspapers, books and magazines and by watching TV and DVDs and by
logging onto the internet for example, but in actual fact, they do not really practice what
they preach to their students. However, when teachers really want to develop and
empower themselves to be better English teachers, they will make whatever efforts are
needed no matter what limitations there are.
3.3.2 Raising Self-Confidence
When NNESTs already have good proficiency in English, it will automatically
contribute to the development of their self-confidence in teaching English. Additionally,
they should be aware of the positive sides of their being NNESTs and how they can be
equal or better than their NEST counterparts in terms of English language proficiency.
In regards to this issue, Reves and Medgyes (1994, p. 364) said “furthermore, Non-
NESTs have to be made aware of their own advantageous potential as language
teachers in comparison with NESTs, in order to help them assume a more favourable
self-perception”.
3.3.3 Professional Organizations
Being involved in teachers’ organisations or affiliations can contribute to the
professional development of NNESTs. Their involvement in such organisations
particularly in NNEST organizations will help them improve their proficiency, where
they can work together to be more professional in their field. Braine (2010, p. 88) said
that:
…convince them, (NNESTs), that membership and active roles in professional
associations will establish a sense of comradeship with fellow English teachers
who are mainly NNS, (will) enhance their links to the wider world of English
language teaching, and help them overcome any sense of isolation and
disillusionment with the profession. In a nutshell, this will lead to their
empowerment. (Braine, 2010, p. 88).
Teachers’ associations are beneficial for NNESTs in various ways. They offer
opportunities for these teachers to empower and develop their professionalism. Harmer
(2007) mentioned two possible opportunities for the professional development of
NNESTs. Firstly, by being involved in such an organization, teachers can participate in
conferences and seminars where they will have opportunities to learn and to share their
experiences with other NNESTs from other places and also they can find solutions to
problems that they may have in the field of teaching EFL English. Secondly, teachers

145 | STUDIES IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND EDUCATION, 5(1), 137-147, 2018
can submit and present papers for teachers’ association meetings which are an excellent
media to reflect upon teaching practices.
3.3.4 Working Together with NESTs
There is a situation in schools where English lessons are taught by both NESTs
and NNESTs which can bring advantages to both parties as well as can benefit the
students. Since both NESTs and NNESTs bring their own strengths into the classroom,
the collaboration of these counterparts can be very beneficial. One way of collaborating
can be by establishing team teaching, where NESTs and NNESTs can work together to
improve the English proficiency of their students. Medgyes (1992, p. 349) asserted that
“given a favourable mix, various forms of collaboration are possible both in and outside
the classroom; using each other as language consultants for example, or teaching in
tandem”. Furthermore, Braine (2010) stated that team teaching is one of the most
effective forms of collaboration between NESTs and NNESTs.
During team teaching, NESTs can gain some advantages from their NNEST
counterparts. One of the advantages is that they can practise their English which is
difficult to do when they cannot find people to talk to in English in their contexts, and at
the same time, improve other aspects of their language skills. Students can also benefit
from team teaching in that they can have more inputs and their learning becomes more
authentic because of the interaction of the two teachers (Braine, 2010).
However, there are times when NESTs and NNESTs can find it difficult to do
good collaboration in teaching, for example where the NNEST works as an interpreter
rather than as a partner for the NS. Another problem might be that there is not sufficient
training for both the NEST and the NNEST to practice how to do good team teaching
together. When NNESTs can improve their performance in teaching EFL English,
especially their English proficiency, they can become much better EFL teachers with all
the other good qualities that they have.
4. CONCLUSION
Both native and non-native English teachers (NESTs and NNESTs) ideally should
have equal opportunity to become ideal English teachers in the context of EFL. Good
command of English and teaching skills as well as good personal qualities will make an
ideal English teacher. NNESTs with their strengths can be a very good resource for
English language teaching-learning as well as ideal English teachers especially in EFL
settings. NNESTs should be willing to learn more and practice more to improve their
abilities, especially their proficiency and self-confidence in teaching English.
Additionally, joining and being active in an NNEST organisation as well as being
willing to share with and learn from both NNESTs and NESTs are very good ways to
improve their professionalism in EFL teaching-learning. If they can join and become
active in an English speaking public speaking club like Toastmasters InternationalTM
which has thousands of branch clubs in cities all around the world will also really help
NNESTs to improve speaking English in public and in class, and will boost their self-
confidence and leadership capabilities which are essential to become a great teacher.

Kurniawati & D. Rizki, Native vs. Non-native EFL Teachers: Who Are Better? | 146
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[Received 03 December 2017; revised 21 February 2018; accepted 27 February 2018]
THE AUTHORS
Kurniawati is an English lecturer in the Engineering Faculty at Malikussaleh
University in North Aceh, Indonesia, who finished her Bachelor’s Degree at the
Department of English Education, Faculty of Teacher Training and Education, Syiah
Kuala University in 2007, and obtained her Master of Arts in TESOL from Flinders
University in South Australia in 2011. Her main research interests are English language
teaching, English as a global language and English for Specific Purposes (ESP).
Dini Rizki graduated from Syiah Kuala University with a Bachelor’s degree in English
Language Teaching, and earned her Master’s degree in TESOL from Deakin University
in Victoria, Australia in 2011. She teaches English in the Sociology Department,
Faculty of Social and Political Science at Malikussaleh University, North Aceh,
Indonesia. Her research interests include linguistics and second language acquisition.