Analysis of Korean Students’ Preferences for NEST and NNEST Teachers and Learning Goal Orientation

Abstract: This article examines Korean students’ preference for Native English-speaking teachers (NEST) and Non-native English-speaking teachers (NNEST) and examines whether the preference is related to their orientations toward L2 achievement. One hundred twenty Korean secondary students responded to an adapted version of Gardner’s Attitude/Motivation Test Battery (AMTB) and a questionnaire asking their preferences for Native/Non-native teachers. The results revealed that Korean students predominantly preferred NESTs over NNESTs. Furthermore, both instrumental and integrative orientation showed a positive correlation with Native teacher preference. However, students who were more integrative-oriented showed a stronger correlation. The findings suggest that NESTs are generally preferred over NNESTs among Korean students while integrative-oriented students are more likely to prefer NEST than that instrumental-oriented students. As reasons revealed from the questionnaire, students desired to become more proficient communicators. Consequently, the study is implicative in English learning education to better understand students’ perceptions, as well as native fallacy issues with the global spread of English. 

Key words: instrumental-orientation, integrative-orientation, native English-speaking teacher (NEST), non-native English-speaking teacher (NNEST)