When East Meets East: Thai EFL University Students’ Attitudes towards the Non-native English-Speaking EFL Teacher

This study investigated the attitudes of Thai English as a Foreign Language (EFL) university students towards their non-native English-speaking EFL teacher, who is a non-Thai national. For the quantitative approach, data were collected by distributing questionnaires to seventy-two first-year students (N=72) from two different university faculties, focusing on two specific areas: general attitudes and teaching English language skills. The questionnaire comprised forty-three Likert scale items and an open-ended question. The data were analyzed using the SPSS program, employing means, standard deviations, and Independent Samples t-tests. The findings revealed that most students showed positive attitudes towards their non-native English-speaking EFL teacher in terms of teacher characteristics and personality, good preparation for class, and students’ happiness in class. Moreover, students also indicated that they appreciated the non-native English-speaking EFL teacher teaching reading, listening, and speaking skills regarding teaching English language skills. The results also indicated no statistically significant difference in the attitudes of Thai EFL university students from the two faculties toward a non-native English-speaking EFL teacher. The advantages or disadvantages that students indicated regarding learning English with a non-native English-speaking EFL teacher were discussed. The study also outlined its limitations and offered recommendations for future research.