Evaluation of NES and NNES students' perceptions of NES and NNES instructors in Engineering
In response to the continually growing population of internationals at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign, the population of international Engineering students has also grown, with it, the number of international TAs/instructors. The previous literature on native English speaking students' perceptions of Non-Native-English-Speaking instructors has shown that language barriers and accents have been a cause for difficulties within the class between instructors and students. Thus, this paper aims to look at the relationship between students and instructors, specifically Non-Native-English-Speaking instructors who come to the university as professors and TAs and determine if there are similar difficulties within the Engineering department between its students and instructors. The method of research for this study included surveying as well as interviewing Engineering students, past and present, to determine if these students have had any difficulties in learning due to accent/language barriers. Thus, this research looks at the perceptions that Native-English-Speaking students (NES) as well as Non-Native-English-Speaking students (NNES) have towards Native-English-Speaking teachers (NEST) and Non-Native-English-Speaking teachers (NNEST). In comparing these two groups of students and instructors, the results showed that both NES and NNES students within the Engineering department have a preference for NESTs due to language barriers/difficulties both among Native English speakers as well as Non-Native English speakers. This paper also recommends solutions to these language barriers such as workshops or classes for instructors who have been rated lower among student rating, more intentional pairing between Native and Non-Native English speaking TAs with professors, as well as more intentionality from the instructor at the beginning of the semester to alleviate some of the problems that may arise due to language misunderstanding. More research should follow that focuses specifically on Native and Non-Native English speaking instructors and their perceptions of how language has impacted their instruction as well as the students' comprehension.
Engineering, Native-English-Speaking teachers (NEST), Non-Native English-Speaking students (NNEST), Native-English-Speaking students (NES), Non-Native English-Speaking students (NNES), English as a Second Language (ESL)
University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign
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University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign