ENGLISH REVIEW: Journal of English Education Volume 7, Issue 2, June 2019 p-ISSN 2301-7554, e-ISSN 2541-3643 https://journal.uniku.ac.id/index.php/ERJEE 27 NATIVE ENGLISH SPEAKERS VERSUS NON-NATIVE ENGLISH SPEAKERS: THE IMPACT OF LANGUAGE TEACHERS ON EFL LEARNER'S ENGLISH PROFICIENCY Tariq Elyas European Languages Department, Faculty of Arts & Humanities, King Abdul-Aziz University, Saudi Arabia E-mail: telyas@kau.edu.sa Noor Motlaq Alghofaili English Language Institute, King Abdul-Aziz University, Saudi Arabia E-mail: noor.alghofaili@gmail.com APA Citation: Elyas, T., & Alghofaili, N. M. (2019). Native English speakers versus non-native English speakers: The impact of language teachers on EFL learner’s English proficiency. English Review: Journal of English Education, 7(2), 27-38. doi: 10.25134/erjee.v7i2.1773. Received: 23-01-2019 Accepted: 25-03-2019 Published: 01-06-2019 Abstract: In the field of TESOL, the perception that Native English Speaking Teachers (NESTs) are better than Non-Native English Speaking Teachers (NNESTs) has influenced language schools, recruitment policies and institutional leadership practices. The tendency to recruit more NESTs and achieve improved learning outcomes can be seen in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) and English as a Second Language (ESL) contexts. This paper aims to investigate whether NESTs or NNESTs have any impact on the EFL learners’ language proficiency in Saudi EFL context. This quantitative study adopts pretest-posttest experimental and ex post facto designs to determine students’ achievement in two language skills, namely speaking and listening. The two groups of participants are EFL students in a foundation year program at a Saudi Arabian University. One group was taught by a NEST and the other by a NNEST. The quantitative data were analyzed by using SPSS. The findings indicated that teachers’ nativeness and backgrounds have no significant effects on the Saudi EFL learners’ speaking and listening skills. Here, Saudi EFL learners can equally perform in classes taught by NESTs or NNESTs. In the light of the findings, the study suggests that recruitment policy should not be influenced by the employers’ belief that NESTs possess better teaching skills than NNESTs. Keywords: EFL learners; experimental research; ex post facto design; language proficiency ; NESTs; NNESTs. INTRODUCTION There has been a debate over the past few decades to determine whether native English speakers or non-native English speakers are better language teachers. Teaching of English in different contexts have been linked to the teacher native or native speaking abilities, and it is believed that teachers who speak English as their first language can be more effective classroom practitioners than those whose first language is not English. However, research on the phenomenon of native English-speaking teacher (NEST) and non-native English speaking teacher (NNEST) indicates the fact that the latter can be more effective owing to their experience of being a language learner. As the debate continues in the field of TESOL, this paper considers the matter from the EFL learners’ perspective in the Saudi context. The last two decades have seen exponential growth in the number of research studies that aimed to determine the characteristics of an ideal language teacher (Al-Nawrasy, 2013; Alghofaili & Elyas, 2017). It is commonly believed that NESTs are ideal language teachers (Moussu, 2010). Phillipson (1992) even labels the notion of idealizing NESTs as the ‘native speaker fallacy’ (cited in Braine, 2013). This belief has shaped the idea of hiring NESTs in schools, language centers, and even universities regardless of their teaching qualifications and experience (Alseweed, 2012). Moreover, the employers prefer NESTs over NNESTs believing the formers have knowledge of how language works (Larsen-Freeman & Anderson, 2011). This preference for NESTs is evident in most job advertisements around the world, especially in non-English speaking context, such as Arabian Gulf, Korea and China (Selvi, 2010). According to Li-Yi (2011), in Taiwan, parents consider NNESTs incompetent due to their lack of overseas experience, regardless of their qualifications. The impact of the employers’