Browsing by Subject "NESTs"

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    Native English speaking teachers and non-native English speaking teachers in İstanbul : a perception analysis
    (2005) Ezberci, Ebru
    The purpose of this study was to investigate the differences between the career perceptions of native English speaking teachers (NESTs) and non-native English speaking teachers (NNESTs) working at universities in Istanbul, and the two groups’ perceptions of the strengths and weaknesses of NESTs and NNESTs. This study was conducted with 172 participants working in 10 different institutions in İstanbul. Data was collected through a questionnaire consisting of four parts. The questionnaire contained multiple-choice items, open-ended questions, and Likert-scale items. In addition, 15 participants were interviewed. Quantitative data analysis techniques were used to analyze the data from the questionnaires. To analyze the data, frequencies, percentages, means, correlations, and ttests were calculated. The data from the interviews was analyzed using qualitative data analysis techniques. The results reveal that a great majority of the respondents view English language teaching (ELT) as a career or profession. When the two groups were compared, the percentage of the NNESTs who view ELT as a career or profession is higher than that of NESTs. While indicating similar viewpoints between NESTs and NNESTs regarding their views of ELT, the study found differences in the perceptions of the important qualifications of teachers, and the strengths and weaknesses of NESTs and NNESTs. Overall, the findings suggest that the ‘native speaker fallacy’ may still have validity even though both groups of participants refrained from publicly accepting it.
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    The role of native English speaking teachers in promoting intercultural sensitivity
    (2014) Küllü-Sülü, Ayfer
    This study investigated the role of native English speaking teachers (NESTs) in promoting intercultural sensitivity (IS), student ideas about the role of NESTs and non-native English speaking teachers (NNESTs) in terms of promoting IS and teaching target culture, and the effect of various other factors such as academic departments, gender, previous international experience, nationality, foreign languages and type of high school graduated from. The participants were 435 English preparatory class students from six different universities in Turkey, 196 being taught by only NNESTs while 239 being taught by both NESTs and NNESTs. A questionnaire was used to collect data which was composed of three parts: openended and multiple-choice questions to gather demographic information about the participants; an intercultural sensitivity scale, and a section with questions about the role of teachers in promoting IS. The analysis was done by grouping and comparing participants’ IS scores according to whether they were educated by NESTs or NNESTs, their academic departments, gender, previous international experience, nationality, foreign languages and high schools. Also, the participants’ ideas about NESTs and NNESTs in terms of their effects on students’ feelings about their own culture and other cultures, and teaching culture were investigated. The findings indicated that even if there is not a statistically significant difference between total IS scores of students educated by NESTs and NNESTs, students feel that NESTs have a more positive effect on students’ feelings towards other cultures. According to the findings, international experience and knowing a foreign language contribute to one’s interaction confidence. Also, male students scored higher in interaction confidence while female students scored higher in interaction attentiveness. It was also found that students think family is the most effective element in forming students’ opinions about other cultures. The study contributes to the existing literature by having studied IS level differences between students taught exclusively by NNESTs and those who have had exposure to NESTs. The study also contributes to the intercultural communication literature by investigating various factors such as academic departments, gender, previous international experience, and the number of foreign languages known, which may have an effect on students’ IS levels. Lastly, the present study offers some pedagogical implications that institutions teaching foreign languages, and language teachers (especially EFL teachers) can benefit from, and revise their culture teaching practices accordingly