Learning english from the non-native speaker teachers: the university students' perceptions of good English teachers

This study is designed to identify university students' attitudes towards English Language teachers, both, native and non-native. It was carried out at two local universities. This research determines the university students' perceptions towards English teachers and good English Language teachers' characteristics. The students' gender and experience of being taught English Language by the native speaker teachers were regarded as possible factors which might influence their preferences. The samplings were 99 university students with experience of being taught by the native speaker of English teachers. The instruments used were was questionnaires and interviews. The data from the questionnaires analysed using the SPSS and the data from the interviews was categorized according to their correspondence with any of the four research questions. The results showed a slight preference towards the native speaker teachers, however, the non-native speaker teachers were also recognized as having their own strengths despite their limitations in the language they are teaching. As the implication, the local English Language teachers can adopt some ofthe preferred teaching styles and personal approaches so that the students' perception towards the non-native speakerteachers can be changed.