Sudhashree Parvati
Lecturer, Dept of English
College of Arts and Social Sciences
Adi Keih, State of Eritrea
English as the lingua franca since 1980’s and
beyond
 Braj Kachru(1985)’s classification of countries in
terms of Inner Circle, Outer Circle and Expanding
Circle
 The buoyant global English Language
Teaching(ELT) enterprise
 Many non native teachers of English(NNST’s)
non- native learners of English language alongside
Native Speaker Teachers of English(NST’s).
 Utilitarian needs of the learners viz. to acquire
communication skills in English language

From the instructors’ perspective, the issue of identity
as a non native speaker of English is thus unavoidable
for many qualified and trained teachers of English from
developing countries.
 The present study explores the self perceptions of
college level teachers of English working in the State
of Eritrea about their professional teacher identity. The
study specifically focuses on the voice of college
level instructors of English working in Eritrea about
their identity as non native speaker-teachers within the
broader debate of Native speaker teacher and Non
Native speaker teacher dichotomy, as first raised by
Peter Medgyes in 1994.
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The state of Eritrea has an educational policy which acknowledges the
multilingual society of the nation and allows the use of nine languages as official
languages in schools and in daily life.
Tigrinya and Arabic are the most dominant and frequently used languages of
communication.
As far as the language of English is concerned , it is used as lingua franca in
international business contexts, besides being the language of instruction from
middle school level up-to the university/ college level.
Interestingly, English is introduced as a subject from Grade 1 at the elementary
level and from Grade 5 , English becomes the medium of instruction. English is
also a school subject up-to senior secondary level.
At the tertiary level, every college student takes the Freshman English courses I
& II in the first year of one’s college study and follow it up with Sophomore
English courses I& II in the second year too. This is the general scenario in the
formal education system in the state of Eritrea.
Interestingly, there are many language schools and computer training institutes in
the informal sector.
Given the importance to the use, teaching and learning English as subject and a
communicative medium for academic purposes, the study explores the awareness
and self perceptions of the college level teachers of English in the state of Eritrea
on the contentious identity issue of Native Speaker Teacher and Non Native
Speaker Teacher in the scenario of English as a foreign language context.
 The
study answers the following research
questions:
 How do the Non Native teachers of English
perceive their identity as professionals in the field
of English language teaching?
 Do the Non Native teachers of English accept their
identity in contemporary times?
 Does the label of Non Native Speaker of English
matter to the college teachers of English in the
state of Eritrea?
 The
research study encompasses the fields of
English Language Teaching, applied linguistics,
and Educational linguistics.
Quantitative method of research
 A survey questionnaire was distributed among 24
college instructors of English, out of which only 15
filled in questionnaires were returned. Data was
collected from the filled in self-report survey
questionnaire obtained from 15 teachers of English
working in three colleges of Eritrea, namely College of
Arts and Social Sciences, Adi Keih, Eritrean Institute
of Technology, College of Education, Mai Nefi and
College of Health Sciences, Asmara. The survey
populace hail from the countries of Eritrea, India. The
survey applied Reves & Medgyes (1994) approach in
eliciting data.
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The survey questionnaire consisted of 44 items of 22 questions were
closed-ended and meant to elicit information on the subject’s
language learning experience exposure, one’s exposure to Native
speaker Teacher, one’s awareness about the NST/NNST identity,
one’s levels of acceptance of the NNST label, one’s teaching practices
and one’s perception as a professional in the field of English
language teaching, and one’s preference to recommend a NST vis-a
–vis NNST if given a chance to choose a teacher for a language skills
class .
The next 11 items were statements on general perceptions related to
Native Speaker Teacher and Non Native Speaker Teacher which were
to be ranked as per the respondent’s agreement or disagreement on a
given Likert scale
The last set of 11 statements, concerning Non Native Speaker Teacher
of English were based on Peter Medgyes(1994) ideas, to be ranked as
per one’s agreement or disagreement on the given Likert scale .
 The
study is limited to sample teacher population
working in Eritrean formal sector whose origins
are in the two developing countries of Eritrea and
India where English is used as a foreign language
and as Second language respectively.
 Further the research is limited to teachers at the
tertiary level, specifically those teaching major and
common core courses in English language and
literature for students enrolled in degree or
diploma programmes .
 Demographic
information
 Age group: < = 30 years , 2 respondents
31-45 years, 8 respondents
60 and above, 5 respondents.
 Country of origin: 8 respondents from Eritrea
7 respondents have India
• Gender distribution: 13 male , 2 female.
Language experience and Educational Background
 Language Experience: all respondents had multilingual experience, learnt at least three languages,
mother tongue, second language and English at school
and in the society. All instructors have taught
language courses at the level of intermediate and
above.
 The minimum qualification:
Graduate Assistants: a Bachelors degree in English plus
a teaching certification
Lecturers: a Masters degree in English+ a teaching
certification or an M. Phil degree in English
Assistant Professors and above: a Doctorate degree
plus research publications
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 Exposure
to a Native Speaker Teacher during
one’s student life.
Sixty percent of the respondents had at least one
Native Speaker Teacher of English while they were
students themselves.
It was also found that all teachers hailing from
Eritrea had exposure to the teaching of Native
Speaker Teacher either at school or at college
whereas only one teacher hailing from India had
such an exposure during one’s student life.
Varied reasons behind choosing English Language
Teaching as a profession
 Eight respondents became teachers of English,
because they were qualified to be teachers of English,
out of which four were obligatorily placed as per
national service
 6 respondents knew that English is important in
today’s society. So they presumed an available career
opportunity.
 Only 1 respondent replied that her choice was based on
the fact that she was qualified in ELT and that she also
knew that English is important in today’s society.
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Awareness about the identity of Non Native
Speaker Teacher of English(NNST)
93% of respondents were aware of themselves being
categorized as Non Native Speaker Teacher of English.
Significantly 53% of the sample populace believed that
they were NNST’s because they were citizens of countries
where English is not the first language. 26% held the
opinion that they were NNST’s because of their accent/
Mother Tongue Influence (MTI). 20.5 % believed that
they were NNST’s because of accent /MTI as well as their
being citizens of countries where English is not the first
language.
 On the issue of the label of NNST being a part of one’s
professional teacher identity, a majority of 86% replied in
affirmative.
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Acceptance of the NNST identity
 On the levels of acceptance of the NNST identity, only
53% of the total respondents accepted it completely,
while 26% of the total respondents somewhat accepted
it. 13 .33% rejected the label completely. 6.6% was not
sure of one’s acceptance of the label.
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 Preferred
identity as a Teacher of English
beyond the NNST label
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The respondents were asked to choose a preferred
identity as Teachers’ of English. 60% of the
respondents wished to be known as fluent speakerteachers or as intelligible speaker teachers. Only a
33.3% of the respondents wanted to be known as
good and impressive speakers with near native
pronunciation. A small percent of the respondents
viz. 6.6% desired to be known as a speaker with
attributes of fluency, intelligibility and impressive
near native pronunciation.
 Teacher’s
self identity perception in the
international English Language teaching
(ELT) context
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Seventy three percent of the respondents firmly
believed in the identity of being competent or
qualified or committed tertiary level teachers of
English. These respondents did not include the
label of NNST in their response to their perceived
professional identity
 Confidence
to recommend a Non Native
Speaker teacher (NNST) to a relative or a friend
who intends to take a language skills class.
 73 percent of the respondents expressed
confidence and willingness to recommend a Non
Native speaker teacher to a relative or a friend
intending to take a language skills class on
payment basis.
 Self
perceptions on accent, native and foreign,
and intelligibility
 A significant 93% of the respondents agreed that
one should speak with intelligibility .
 Further, 66% of the respondents disagreed that
one must speak with a native accent.
 An equal number of respondents agreed that it was
alright to speak with a foreign accent.
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Self perceptions of teachers ,with exposure to a Native
Speaker teacher during their student life, about the
linguistic accuracy of teachers of English, Native and
Non Native.
On the statement that NST’s sometimes make grammar
mistakes, 44.44% of 9 respondents disagreed, while 33.33%
agreed and 22.22% choose the option of not being sure.
On the statement that NNST’s sometimes make grammar
mistakes, 77.77% out of 9 respondents agreed, while
11.11% disagreed and another 11.11% chose the option of
not being sure.
So, one can infer that these teachers feel that linguistic
accuracy is an area which may require improvement among
the NNST’s to a greater extent than among the NST’s.
 Perception
on who should teach in English
Speaking countries:
 There was marked disagreement with the
suggestive statement that only NST’s should be
allowed to teach English in English Speaking
countries. 53% of the respondents disagreed, while
33.33% agreed and 13.33% were not sure of their
opinion on the matter.
 Perception
on who should teach in non English
speaking countries:
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There was a marked disagreement with the suggestive
statement that Non NST’S should be allowed to teach
English in their own countries. 93% of the15
respondents disagreed while one agreed with the
statement.
Perception on Eritrean context and English
Language Teaching:
 80% of the respondents disagreed to the idea that
Native speaker teachers are better role models than
Non Native speaker teachers in the state of Eritrea.
13.33% agreed on the preferable role of a Native
speaker teacher, while 6.6% was not sure of one’s
opinion on the matter.
 Further, 60% of the respondents felt that ESL
learners experience with NNST’s has been good so far
in Eritrean context.
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 Self
Perceptions of teacher’s on the assumptions
and findings of Peter Medgyes (1994) on the
teaching practices of NNST’s:
 93% out of the respondents agreed with the
statement that it was alright as long as one was an
effective teacher of English. Majority feel that it is
important for one to be a good teacher than to be a
Native speaker of English. The concern about
where one was from, viz. being a native speaker
teacher or a non native speaker teacher was not so
important as being an effective teacher of English.
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Self Perceptions on the teaching practices of NNST’s based on ideas of Medgyes(1994):
93% of the respondents believed that they understood the difficulties and needs of their
students.
80% of the respondents felt that they can anticipate and predict the language difficulties of
their students.
80% of the respondents felt that they can teach language strategies effectively.
80% of the respondents felt that they could be ideal NNST’s when they achieved a near native
proficiency.
73% of the respondents agreed that they were good learner models to their students. They also
felt that they provided good learner models to their students.
73% of the respondents believed that they were able to provide more information about
language to the students.
73% of the respondents agreed that, sometimes, they lack self –esteem as teachers of English.
Only 46% of the respondents agreed to the idea that proficiency played a role in their
efficiency in the classroom while only 33.3% disagreed with the statement. 21% of the
respondents were not sure of their stand on proficiency and classroom effectiveness. A similar
number of the surveyed teachers also expressed agreement with the idea that they could use
students’ native languages to their own advantage.
Only 46% of the respondents felt that they taught as effectively as native speaker teacher of
English. On the matter, 40% of the members were not sure of their stand on the matter.
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Perception on the label of NNST and one’s professional identity in the international
context:
A significant majority of the teachers affirmed that the label of NNST was a part of their
professional identity. However, findings on the acceptance levels of the NNST label imply that
while majority knew that they were Non Native Speaker Teachers of English in professional
context, only a half of teacher respondents were comfortable with the label of NNST. Results
showed that while the teachers' non-native background does not have much impact in terms
of professional teacher identity in Eritrea, it does have an impact on their self-esteem as
teachers of English and perception of their teaching practice. For instance, 73% of the
respondents agreed that, sometimes, they lack self –esteem as teachers of English. Despite the
discomfort with the label of NNST, majority of the teachers working in Eritrea, irrespective
of their country of origin, firmly believed that being an effective teacher was of prime
importance than being concerned about one’s professional identity and the NNST label.
The results bring out the fact that the label of NNST does not count much in hiring policies in
the formal sector and not much discussed in the Eritrean context. It is important to note here
that a B.A degree holder in English is usually placed by the Ministry of Education as a teacher
of English in government run middle or a secondary school, and at times as a graduate
assistant in the department of English or Education in a college under the national service
programme, while a Diploma holder in English Language becomes placed as a teacher of
English at an elementary school. In acute situations of staff shortage, Expatriate teachers of
English are also hired by the Ministry of Education on contract from different developing
countries such as India, Sudan, Mexico, Cuba, Egypt etc.

ANNEXURE I
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TEACHER QUESTIONNAIRE
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DEAR TEACHER,
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AS A FELLOW TEACHER OF ENGLISH, I SOLICIT YOUR CO-OPERATION IN DATA-COLLECTION ON THE TOPIC OF IDENTITY PERCEPTIONS OF NON NATIVE
SPEAKER TEACHERS OF ENGLISH. THIS IS A QUESTIONNAIRE FOR RESEARCH PURPOSES. THE INFORMATION IS STRICTLY CONFIDENTIAL AND IS PURELY FOR
ACADEMIC RESEARCH. PLEASE NOTE THAT THE RESEARCH WILL NEVER IDENTIFY YOU BY NAME OR BY PERSONAL INFORMATION.
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WITH WARM REGARDS,

SUDHASHREE P.

LECTURER, ADI KEIH COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SOCIAL SCIENCES.
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1. Date: _________________
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2. Questionnaire Number given by researcher: ___________________________________________
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3. What course/s do you teach? (Course Title viz. Freshman English, Sophomore English etc.)
______________________________________________________________________________
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4. At what level (beginner, intermediate, higher, advanced) do you teach? ______________________
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5. Country of origin/ Nativity: ______________________________________________________
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6. Country of Residence: __________________________________________________________
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7. Your First Language(s): _________________________________________________________
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8. Age as on 01.01.2015: _______________________________ 9. Gender: (a) male (b) female
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10. Have you learnt languages other than English at school or college or a language Institute?
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(a) Yes. If yes, name of the language/s learnt_________________________ (b) No
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11. Are you aware of yourself being a Non Native Speaker Teacher of English? (Circle the apt option)
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(a) Yes
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12. If your answer to Q. No 11 is option (a) yes, then it is because of …… ( circle all that apply). This question is not applicable, if your answer to Q. No 11 is (b) No or (c) Not sure
(b) No
(c) Not sure as I never heard of it.
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(a) Appearance
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(b) Accent/ Mother tongue Influence
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(c) Being a citizen of a country where English is not the first language

13. Do you think being a Non Native Speaker-Teacher is part of your professional - identity?
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(Circle the apt option)
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(a) Yes
(b) No
(c) Not sure as I never heard of it.
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14. To what extent do you accept the identity of Non Native Speaker Teacher of English?
(a) Completely accept (b) Completely reject (c) Not sure (d) Somewhat accept or reject
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Given the developmental situation prevailing in the
State of Eritrea, the label of being a NNST does not
make a significant impact on the professional identity
of being a teacher of English in the international
English Language Teaching (ELT) scenario, despite
self knowledge of the same. For instance, seventy three
percent of the respondents firmly believed in the
identity of being competent or qualified or committed
tertiary level teachers of English. These respondents
did not include the label of NNST in their response to
their perceived professional identity. In context, one
can agree with the idea put forward by Ofra Inbar
(2005) on ineffectiveness of teacher classification
according to the single criterion of birth, and the
context-embedded models in foreign language
teaching.
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Preferred identity as Speakers and Teachers of English
in the NST-NNST debate:
Given the touchy debate about the accented speech, poor
oral skills, inadequate fluency and speech competence of the
Non native speakers who also become qualified teachers of
English, the study also focussed on finding out the preferred
identity of the teachers concerned. The data revealed a
mixed result with varied aspirations. This variegated result
is an important pointer to the current dynamic situation of
the global enterprise of English Language teaching where
the there is a much better understanding of the living,
growing nature of the language of English and the
contemporary context of ‘varieties of English’. Further this
result also points out to the fact that fluent expression and
intelligibility are the accepted norms for spoken English,
since facilitating communicative competence has become
the watch word for teachers of English today.
Authentication of Peter Medgyes’ findings on the
Non Native Speaker Teacher in the state of Eritrea:
 Further, an analysis of the teachers' perceptions
regardful of the NNST background produced a
typical NNST teacher as exemplified by Peter
Medgyes, who aimed to be a good teacher, providing a
good learner model, anticipating understanding
students’ needs and difficulties, using students’ native
language to their advantage, in accepting that near
native proficiency brings in an ideal NNST identity.
Majority of the respondents expressed that being an
effective teacher, being a good learner model, ability to
anticipate the learners’ difficulties in the EFL and ESL
classroom was of prime importance.

 The
NNST voice on who is more a better role
model in the Eritrean context:
 A very significant majority viz. 80% of college
teacher –respondents disagreed with the idea that
Native speaker teachers(NST’s) are better role
models than Non native speaker teachers(NNST’s)
in the state of Eritrea. Moreover, a whopping 93%
disagreed with the idea that NNST’s should be
allowed to teach English in their countries. This
result needs a further, in-depth examination in light
of the buoyant ELT enterprise and Braj Kachru’s
(1985) categorisation of the expanding circle of
users of English Language.
 The
present study on the self-perception of the
non-native speaker teacher of English in the state
of Eritrea is a continuation of the pioneering
research by Peter Medgyes on the existing reality
of the category of Non Native Speaker Teacher of
English (NNST) and the self perceptions of
NNST’s, besides the recent research on a
language teacher’s identity by Seidlhofer, Ofrah
Inbar Lourie and others.
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Especially, the data obtained through self report questionnaire
authenticates Medgyes’s image of the NNST, the best practices of the
NNST. Further, the study corroborates the findings of Seidlhofer(1999)
that being an effective teacher of a language was more important than
being a near native speaker. According to the findings of the study, 80%
of the respondents indicated that being an effective teacher of English
was of greater priority than being a non native speaker teacher of English.
Next, similar to the findings in both Medgyes( 1994) and Seidlhofer’s
(1999) studies, a significant percentage (73%) indicated that under the
NNST label, they lacked self-esteem a teachers of English.
In line with Ofrah Inbar Lourie( 2005) research on the Native and NonNative English Teachers: Investigation of the Construct and Perceptions,
the present study also calls for a context based models in English as a
Foreign Language teaching, as the teacher models applicable to a
country where English is the first language, may not be applicable to a
country where English is a foreign language. Significantly similar to
Ofrah Inbar’s(2005) study, the categorisation of a Non Native Speaker
Teacher of English, though an accepted label, is at times peculiar and a
complex one, and of course perceived as a source of discomfort in terms
of self or perceived identity.

Given also the fact that English language teaching is a global
phenomenon since late twentieth century, it is time the ELT
practitioners and decision makers in the ELT enterprise
acknowledge that one’s country of origin alone does not alone
make an efficient teacher of English in all locations where
English is used or taught. In the multi-lingual policy and social
context of Eritrea, it was found that teachers overwhelmingly
perceived that Non speaker teachers were not better role models
than the Non Native Speaker Teachers for language pedagogy
purposes. Interestingly, the study revealed that the NNST’s did not
agree to the idea that NNST’s should teach in their countries or
that NST’s should only teach in countries where English is the
first language. A unique finding of the study was that every
country has its own language policy and social needs, implying
that there is a need to think beyond fixed teacher identity labels, to
find out appropriate, integrated adaptable teaching methods which
can work for facilitating learner’s acquisition of skills in a living,
growing language such as English.

Braine, G. (Ed.). (1999).
Non-native educators in English language teaching. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum

Braine, G.(2005). A History of Research on Non-NativeSpeaker English Teachers. Non Native Language Teachers: Perceptions, Challenges an d Contributions to the Profession. Llurda, E(
Ed.) XII, 314 P, Springer.

Inbar Lourie, O. (2005). Native and Non-Native English Teachers: Investigation of the Construct and Perceptions .www.tau.ac.il/~masof/eduweb/toar3/etakzir2001-4.doc retrieved on
26.02.2015 12.56 am IST


Inbar-Lourie, O. (2005) Mind the gap: Self and perceived native speaker identities of EFL teachers. In E. Llurda (ed.) Non-Native Language Teachers: Perceptions, Challenges, and
Contributions to the Profession. Boston, MA: Springer, 265-281


Kachru Braj, (1985), Standards, codification, and sociolinguistic realism: The English language in the outer circle.English in the world: Teaching and learning of Language and Literature,
RandolphQuirk and Henry Mddowson eds.: 11-30. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Kachru, Braj B. (1986). The alchemy of English: The spread, functions and models of non-native Englishes. Oxford: Pergamon Press. (Reprint 1990, University of Illinois Press, Urbana,
IL.)


Kachru, Braj B. (1986). The Power and politics of English. World Englishes 5: 2-3.121-140.


Kachru BB. (1996). Models for nonnative Englishes. In The Other Tongue: English across Cultures. 2nd edition. Edited by Braj B. Kachru. Delhi: Oxford University Press, pp. 48–74.


Medgyes, P. (1994). The non-native teacher. London: Macmillan Publishers.


Medgyes, P. (1996). Native or non-native: Who's worth more? In T. Hedge & N. Whitney (Eds.), Power pedagogy & practice (pp. 31-42). Oxford: Oxford University Press.


Mehdi Solhi& Ali Rahimi. (2013). Self-perception of Non-native Speaker Teacher of

English in the Expanding Circle. International Research Journal of Applied and Basic Sciences

© 2013 Available online at www.irjabs.com ISSN 2251-838X / Vol, 4 (4): Science Explorer Publications. pp.863-869

Reves, T. & Medgyes, P. (1994). The non-native English speaking EFLIESL teacher's self

image: An international survey. System, 22 (3), 353-367.



Seidlhofer, B. (1999). Double standards: Teacher education in the expanding circle. World Englishes, 18(2), 233-245.

TEACHER QUESTIONNAIRE

1. Date: _________________ 2. Questionnaire Number given by researcher: ___________________________________________

3. What course/s do you teach? (Course Title viz. Freshman English, Sophomore English etc.) ______________________________________________________________________________

4. At what level (beginner, intermediate, higher, advanced) do you teach? ______________________

5. Country of origin/ Nativity: ______________________________________________________ 6. Country of Residence: __________________________________________________________

7. Your First Language(s): _________________________________________________________

8. Age as on 01.01.2015: _______________________________ 9. Gender: (a) male (b) female

10. Have you learnt languages other than English at school or college or a language Institute?

(a) Yes. If yes, name of the language/s learnt_________________________ (b) No

11. Are you aware of yourself being a Non Native Speaker Teacher of English? (Circle the apt option)

(a) Yes

12. If your answer to Q. No 11 is option (a) yes, then it is because of …… ( circle all that apply). This question is not applicable, if your answer to Q. No 11 is (b) No or (c) Not sure

(b) No
(c) Not sure as I never heard of it.
(a) Appearance , (b) Accent/ Mother tongue Influence (c) Being a citizen of a country where English is not the first language

13. Do you think being a Non Native Speaker-Teacher is part of your professional - identity?

(Circle the apt option)

(a) Yes
(b) No
(c) Not sure as I never heard of it.

14. To what extent do you accept the identity of Non Native Speaker Teacher of English?

(a) Completely accept (b) Completely reject (c) Not sure (d) Somewhat accept or reject

15. How many Native English Speaker Teachers have you had while learning English at school and at College level? NATIVE Speaker TEACHERS of English (NST) are teachers whose first (native)
language is English or whose citizenship by birth is in the countries of U.K, U.S.A, Canada, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand.

(a) None (b) One (c) Two (d) Three (e) More than three (f) I only had nonnative teachers

16. How many NONNATIVE speaker teachers of English have you had while learning English? NONNATIVE Speaker-TEACHERS of English ( NNST) are teachers who learnt English in addition to their first
language.

(a) None, (b) One , (c) Two, (d) Three, (e) More than three, (f) I only had nonnative teachers

17. Why did you choose English Language Teaching as a profession?

(a) because I know English is very important in today’s society, (b) because I like the English language and culture very much, (c) because , in future, I want to work in a country where English is the first
language., (d) because I am qualified to be a teacher of English, (f) for fun and personal pleasure, (g) for other reasons (please explain): _________________________________________________


18. How do you want to be known as a teacher of English? (Circle all that apply)
as a fluent speaker-teacher ( b) as an intelligible speaker-teacher (c) as a teacher with neutral pronunciation (d) as a good and impressive speaker with near native pronunciation

19. How do you identify yourself as a teacher in the international English Language Teaching context? (Circle all that apply)

as a tertiary level instructor of English

as a qualified teacher of English Language Teaching

as a Non Native Speaker-Teacher of English

as a competent English Language Instructor

23- 33. Please answer the following questions about Native (NST) and Non Native teachers of English (NNST) in general by
CIRCLING the numbers that correspond to your feelings:

1: strongly disagree, 2: disagree, 3: not sure, 4: agree, 5: strongly agree
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23. I think teachers of English should all speak with a perfect American/ British accent. 1 2 3 4 5
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24. I think teachers of English should all speak with an aim for intelligibility. 1 2 3 4 5
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25. It’s okay for teachers of English to speak English with a foreign accent. 1 2 3 4 5
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26. I prefer Native teachers of English to learn English language and culture. 1 2 3 4 5
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27. Native teachers of English don’t always know how to answer students’ questions. 1 2 3 4 5
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28. Native teachers of English sometimes make grammar mistakes. 1 2 3 4 5
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29. Non Native teachers of English sometimes make grammar mistakes. 1 2 3 4 5
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30. Only Native teachers of English should be allowed to teach English in the English Speaking
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Countries. 1 2 3 4 5
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31. Non Native teachers should only be allowed to teach English in their own countries.
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32. Native teachers of English are better role models than Non Native teachers of English in Eritrea.
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1 2 3 4 5
1 2 3 4 5
33. The ESL learners’ (English as a Second Language) experience with Non Native teachers of English
have been good so far. 1 2 3 4 5
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34-44 Please answer the following questions about yourself as a Non Native teacher of English (NNST) based on ideas of
Medgyes (1994) in general by CIRCLING the numbers

that correspond to your feelings: 1: strongly disagree, 2: disagree, 3: not sure, 4: agree, 5: strongly agree
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34. I don’t care where I’m from as long as I am an effective teacher for me. It is more important
that I be a good teacher than I be a native speaker of English. 1 2 3 4 5
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35. I provide a good learner model to my students. 1 2 3 4 5
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36. I can teach language strategies very effectively. 1 2 3 4 5
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37. I am able to provide more information about the language to the students. 1 2 3 4 5
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38. I understand the difficulties and needs of my students. 1 2 3 4 5
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39. I am able to anticipate and predict language difficulties of my students. 1 2 3 4 5
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40. I can (in English as a Foreign Language settings) use the students’ native language to their
advantage. 1 2 3 4 5
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41. I think the more proficient I am in English; the more efficient I am in the classroom. 1 2 3 4 5
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42. Sometimes, I lack self-esteem as a teacher of English. 1 2 3 4 5
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43. I can be an ideal Non Native teacher when I achieve a ‘near native’ proficiency. 1 2 3 4 5
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44. I teach English as effective as a Native Speaker Teacher of English. 1 2 3 4 5
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THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR HELP!