Chinese students' perceptions of native English-speaking teachers in EFL teaching

Abstract The article reports the views of 20 Chinese English as a foreign Language (EFL) students on the strengths and weaknesses of native English-speaking (NES) teachers in EFL teaching. Responding to an open-ended questionnaire and in-depth interviews, EFL students named the following as NES teachers' strengths: native language authenticity, cultural familiarity and new methodological insights. Though these attributes facilitated NES teachers' classroom teaching, EFL students felt that some additional qualities were required for native speakers to become competent English teachers in EFL contexts. Some students were dissatisfied with their NES teachers' classroom performance because they were insensitive to students' linguistic problems, inconsistent with students' learning styles and unfamiliar with local cultural and educational system. The results of the study suggest that most NES teachers possess qualities and skills that characterise the performance of an efficient language teacher, but they still have to overcome certain obstacles before they can carry out their EFL teaching successfully.