Korean College Students' Perceptions of Nonnative English Teachers

Since the notion of World Englishes attracted growing attention, the dichotomy between native speakers (NS) and nonnative speakers (NNS) has been challenged. Nonetheless, the belief that NS teachers are superior to NNS teachers still persists. Against this background, this study investigated how Korean college students perceived NNS English instructors and whether students' experiences with NNS teachers and English proficiency level influenced their perception. Data were collected from 472 students enrolled in communication-oriented English courses through questionnaires. Data analysis revealed that Korean college students generally had favorable perceptions of NNS instructors. Moreover, findings revealed that students perceived grammar teaching to be NNS instructors' greatest strength while culture teaching to be their biggest weakness. The study also found that the students who had learned from NNS instructors, had more positive views of NNS than the students who had not had any relevant NNS teaching-learning experiences. Similarly, lower level learners' perception was found to be more positive than higher level learners' perception.