Native and Non-NativeEnglish Speaking Teachers: Pesantren Students’ Perceptions in Indonesia

Abstract

English has grown to be the most widely studied and used language internationally due to the increasing number of learners in the process of globalization.With the increasing demand for English language education, the competence of English teachers as native English speaking teachers (NESTs) and non-native English speaking teachers (NNESTs) has become a significant topic of discussion. The purpose of this study was to explorethe students’ perception about the advantages and disadvantages learning with NEST and NNEST at the classroom teaching and learning in SMA plus Bustanul Ulum in Jember East Java Indonesia. This school was inviting NEST from America to teach the students by collaborating with the Peace Corps.This qualitative study used focus group interview approach with interview design in collecting the data. A semi-structured online interview was carried out with 10 students. The finding of this research showed that students’ perception about the advantages learning with NEST are; can learn accurate pronunciation, practice speaking fluently, enrich vocabularies, provide opportunities for students to learn English to experts, learn and share other cultures. It makes students feel motivated and wanted to study English more deeply. On the other hand, the study also revealed several disadvantages of NEST which are concerned with teaching grammar. Then, in the cultural aspect, most students do not like NEST because she has different religion and culture with the students. Another findingis about the advantages learning with NNEST. They are; students can learn grammar well and NNEST understand the needs and learning difficulties of students.So, they felt comfortable for asking something they didn't understand to NNEST. Moreover, students felt comfortable because of having the same culture, religion, habits, and appearance. That matter can make students revealed that learning English with NNEST increases their motivation. In contrast, the disadvantages of NNESTs as perceived by the students included their inaccurate pronunciation and lacks a lot of vocabularies. Furthermore, students cannot learn or share new culture. So, their insights and experiences are not increase.