Biological students’ perception of the advantages and disadvantages of learning English with native and non-native English-speaking teachers

-native English-speaking teachers. However, learners also interested in 
studying with non-native English speakers because these teachers provided the serious 
learning environment and clear answer for students’ asking. The disadvantages of this 
group were the advantages of the other groups in terms of the English proficiency, the 
communication and the solution for students’ problems in the research of 184 non-English 
major students on Taiwanese University students’ perception toward native and non-native 
English-speaking teachers (Tsou, 2013). The differences about teaching approaches, 
teaching objectives and classroom atmosphere between two kinds of teachers were found 
in the research by Ma (2012) on the differences about “perceived teaching behavior of 
native and non-native English - peaking teachers in Hong Kong”. The study on 76 
university students, in which there were 38 students majoring in English, showed that they 
liked studying with English-speaking teachers of the combination of both groups 
(Lasagabaster and Sierra, 2002). The research result from Xiaoru (2008) with 75 university 
students majoring in English was that each kind of teachers had its own strengths and 
TẠP CHÍ KHOA HỌC - Trường ĐHSP TPHCM Pham Cu Thien et al. 
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weaknesses, so they should complement each other when teaching English. Clouet (2006) 
also stated that both native and non-native English-speaking teachers should be in the same 
class so that students could get the better knowledge because each teacher had different 
advantages. 
In Vietnam, Thien and Hung (2018) found that most of 26 master students major in 
English preferred studying with teachers from the United States of America, and the most 
popular reason was that teachers could use English more accurately. Walkinshaw and 
Duong (2014) studied on 50 Japanese and 50 Vietnamese university students and the 
results were that non-native English-speaking teachers were better in explaining grammar 
and classroom interaction, while the other was good at pronunciation, language use and 
culture. Walkinshaw and Duong (2012) carried out a research on 50 junior English major 
students in two universities in Vietnam about their preference to the studying of English 
with native and non-native English-speaking teachers. The findings were that English 
competence was the one that students chose for native English-speaking teachers, the other 
qualities including teaching experience, qualifications, friendliness, enthusiasm, the ability 
to deliver interesting and informative classes were valued for both groups of teachers. 
The literature reviewed some of the advantages and disadvantages of studying 
English with native and non-native English-speaking teachers in Vietnam and in the world. 
However, there was no research on biological students’ perception in Ho Chi Minh City 
University of Education. This study will find their perceptions of learning English with 
native and non-native English-speaking teachers and also give some suggestions for better 
ways of teaching English so that the Dean can take into consideration the importance of 
teaching English. 
3. Methodology 
 Settings and participants 
All students who had experiences working with foreign English speakers in 
Department of Biology, Ho Chi Minh City University of Education participated in the 
study in January, 2018. The participants belong to four batches of 40, 41, 42 and 43 in this 
University at the time of research. 
 Data collection 
Data collection was done by using the questionnaire and interview at one point of the 
time in January, 2018. All the students who had experiences working with foreign English 
speakers in Department of Biology in Ho Chi Minh City University of Education filled in 
the questionnaire at the classroom of the school. The implementation of the data collection 
referred to the Five steps in the Process of Data collection (Creswell, 2012). The 
questionnaire was written in Vietnamese to prevent from misunderstanding then it was 
translated into English later for the paper. After the questionnaire was designed, it was 
showed to five experts on TESOL teaching for comments. After correcting following their 
TẠP CHÍ KHOA HỌC - Trường ĐHSP TPHCM Tập 16, Số 4 (2019): 5-17 
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comments, the questionnaire was tested by ten testers to know whether they could 
understand or not, also to be sure that the questionnaire was good enough. The unclear 
questions were explained directly to the participants. Thirty students in this research were 
also randomly selected for interview to get their suggestions for the better ways of teaching 
English. 
 Data analysis 
Microsoft Office Excel and SPSS software (Statistical Package for Social Sciences 
version 20; SPSS Inc., Chicago, Illinois) were used for data entry and statistical analyses. 
Double entry was done to prevent from errors. Descriptive analysis was mainly used for 
data analysis. Cronbach’s Alpha was calculated to determine the reliability of data from 
questionnaire. The alphas in this research were from 0.705 to 0.837 > 0.700 and it means 
that the items are reliable (Fraenkel & Wallen, 2009). The mean scores in this research 
were calculated with the range from 1 (completely disagree), 2 (disagree), 3 (neutral), 4 
(agree) to 5 (completely agree). 
4. Results 
4.1. General information 
 Participants’ information 
There were 203 students from Department of Biology, Ho Chi Minh City University 
of Education at the time of research, in which 126 students (62.1%) already had 
experiences working with English speakers joined the research including 17.5% freshmen, 
32.5% sophomores, 29.4% junior students and 20.6% senior students. 
 Percentage of students already worked with foreign English speakers (N=126) 
All of 126 students had a chance working with foreign English speakers from 18 
countries. Most of them were from the United States of America (50.8%), England 
(47.6%), Australia (31.0%) and the Philippines (11.9%). The others with lower percentage 
were from South Korea (5.6%), India (4.0%), Singapore (3.2%), China (3.2%), Canada 
(2.4%), France (1.6%), Japan (1.6%), New Zealand (0.8%), the Netherlands (0.8%), Spain 
(0.8%), Belgium (0.8%), Germany (0.8%), Russia (0.8%) and Brazil (0.8%). 
 The subjects which students had already practiced with foreign English speakers 
(N=126) 
Speaking skill is the most popular one that students from Department of Biology had 
a chance to practice with foreign English teachers (N=66), next is listening skill (N=60). 
There were 46 students who had conversation with foreign English speakers. Students also 
studied with foreign teachers in pronunciation (N=38), reading (N=19), grammar (N=14) 
and writing (N=13). 
4.2. Students’ perception of studying English with English teachers 
4.2.1. Students’ perception of studying pronunciation with English teachers 
TẠP CHÍ KHOA HỌC - Trường ĐHSP TPHCM Pham Cu Thien et al. 
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Most of biological students preferred studying pronunciation with native English-
speaking teachers (88.1%) with two main reasons: the first one was that those teachers 
could pronounce more accurately (4.33/ 5.0 points) and the other was relating to the ease 
of practice pronunciation (4.05/ 5.00 points) (Table 1). Very few students wanted to study 
pronunciation with non-native English-speaking teacher (1.6%) and the students who liked 
studying with both kinds of teachers were low at 10.3% with the similar reason that the 
native ones gave the good way of practice pronouncing with the help from the Vietnamese 
teacher (4.23/ 5.00 points). 
Table 1. Biological students’ perception of studying pronunciation with English teachers 
Students’ perceptions 
when studying pronunciation with 
all English 
teachers 
(n=126) 
native English- 
speaking 
teachers 
(n=111) 
non-native 
English- 
speaking 
teachers (n=2) 
both kinds 
of teachers 
(n=13) 
Study well faster 3.46 ± 0.91 3.46 ± 0.90 3.50 ± 0.71 3.46 ± 1.05 
Pronounce more accurately 4.21 ± 0.79 4.33 ± 0.64 3.50 ± 0.71 3.31 ± 1.25 
Easy to understand 3.36 ± 1.01 3.35 ± 1.00 4.00 ± 0.00 3.31 ± 1.18 
Easy to practice 
pronunciation 
4.07 ± 0.86 4.05 ± 0.87 4.00 ± 0.00 4.23 ± 0.83 
Good method of teaching 3.17 ± 1.09 3.19 ± 1.10 4.00 ± 0.00 2.85 ± 0.89 
4.2.2. Students’ perception of studying grammar with English teachers 
It is interesting that 63.5% of biological students wanted to study grammar with non-
native English-speaking teacher because they thought this kind of teacher made them 
understand grammar lessons (4.48/5.00 points) and practice grammar easily (4.18/ 5.00 
points). Both kinds of native and non-native English-speaking teachers were chosen by 
15.9% students with the same reasons (4.30/ 5.00 points), they also said that they could 
study grammar well faster if they studied with both of these teachers (4.15/ 5.00 points). 
The ones chose native English-speaking teachers were higher at 20.6% but all points were 
lower than 4.00 (Table 2). 
Table 2. Biological students’ perceptions of studying grammar with English teachers 
Students’ perceptions 
when studying grammar with 
all English 
teachers 
(n=126) 
native English- 
speaking 
teachers (n=26) 
non-native 
English- 
speaking 
teachers (n=80) 
both kinds of 
teachers 
(n=20) 
Study well faster 3.85 ± 0.76 3.42 ± 0.70 3.91 ± 0.73 4.15 ± 0.75 
Easy to understand 4.26 ± 0.75 3.58 ± 0.70 4.48 ± 0.59 4.30 ± 0.86 
Easy to practice grammar 4.13 ± 0.70 3.88 ± 0.65 4.18 ± 0.69 4.30 ± 0.73 
Good method of teaching 3.65 ± 0.78 3.38 ± 0.64 3.69 ± 0.82 3.85 ± 0.75 
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4.2.3. Students’ perception of studying listening skill with English teachers 
The students who liked studying listening with native English-speaking teachers 
occupied the highest percentage at 64.2%; however, all the points for choosing were lower 
than 4.00. Only one reason “to understand lesson easily” in listening skill had the good 
points of 4.10/ 5.00 when studying with non-native English-speaking teachers (23.0%) 
(Table 3). 
Table 3. Biological students’ perception of studying listening with English teachers 
Students’ perceptions 
when studying listening with 
all English 
teachers 
(n=126) 
native English- 
speaking 
teachers (n=81) 
non-native 
English- 
speaking 
teachers (n=29) 
both kinds 
of teachers 
(n=16) 
Study well faster 3.67 ± 0.75 3.67 ± 0.76 3.62 ± 0.73 3.75 ± 0.77 
Easy to understand 3.47 ± 1.06 3.23 ± 1.11 4.10 ± 0.72 3.50 ± 0.89 
Easy to practice listening 3.67 ± 1.17 3.65 ± 1.23 3.72 ± 1.10 3.69 ± 1.01 
Good method of teaching 3.21 ± 1.09 3.20 ± 1.10 3.21 ± 1.11 3.31 ± 1.01 
4.2.4. Students’ perception of studying speaking skill with English teachers 
Native English-speaking teachers were in priority to choose when studying speaking 
with 59.5%, the next one was non-native English-speaking teachers (27.0%) and both 
kinds of teachers (13.5%) (Table 4). They liked Vietnamese teachers because it was easy to 
practice speaking (4.44/ 5.00 points), easy to understand (4.06/ 5.00 points) and they had 
good method of teaching (4.06/ 5.00 points). Both kinds of teachers were chosen because 
they had good method of teaching (4.29/ 5.00 points) and made learners easy to practice 
speaking (4.12/ 5.00 points). 
Table 4. Biological students’ perception of studying speaking with English teachers 
Students’ perceptions 
when studying speaking with 
all English 
teachers 
(n=126) 
native English- 
speaking teachers 
(n=75) 
non-native 
English- 
speaking 
teachers (n=34) 
both kinds of 
teachers 
(n=17) 
Study well faster 3.19 ± 1.01 3.23 ± 0.99 3.35 ± 1.04 3.82 ± 0.95 
Easy to understand 3.18 ± 1.02 3.07 ± 0.81 4.06 ± 0.92 3.53 ± 0.94 
Easy to practice speaking 3.96 ± 0.83 3.33 ± 1.11 4.44 ± 0.70 4.12 ± 0.93 
Good method of teaching 3.06 ± 0.99 3.73 ± 1.13 4.06 ± 0.85 4.29 ± 0.69 
4.2.5. Students’ perception of studying reading skill with English teachers 
Biological students also preferred studying reading with native English-speaking 
teachers (57.9%), the lower percentage with non-native English-speaking teachers (27.8%) 
TẠP CHÍ KHOA HỌC - Trường ĐHSP TPHCM Pham Cu Thien et al. 
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and both kinds of teachers (14.3%). Easy to understand lessons and easy to practice 
reading were evaluated with high scores when students showed their preferences of 
learning reading with Vietnamese teachers and both kinds of teachers (Table 5). 
Table 5. Biological students’ perception of studying reading with English teachers 
Students’ perceptions 
when studying reading with 
all English 
teachers 
(n=126) 
native English- 
speaking 
teachers (n=73) 
non-native 
English- 
speaking 
teachers (n=35) 
both kinds 
of teachers 
(n=18) 
Study well faster 3.34 ± 1.01 3.26 ± 0.99 3.31 ± 1.05 3.72 ± 0.95 
Easy to understand 3.74 ± 1.10 3.33± 1.09 4.46 ± 0.70 4.00 ± 0.93 
Easy to practice reading 3.90 ± 1.03 3.74 ± 1.12 4.00 ± 0.91 4.33 ± 0.69 
Good method of teaching 3.16 ± 0.98 3.01 ± 0.95 3.37 ± 1.03 3.33 ± 0.94 
4.2.6. Students’ perception of studying writing skill with English teachers 
For learning writing skill, nearly half of students liked studying with non-native 
English-speaking teachers (43.7%), about one-third students preferred native English-
speaking teachers (34.9%) and 21.4% students wanted to learn writing with both kinds of 
teachers (Table 6). Writing accurately is the main reason students liked studying writing 
with native English-speaking teachers whereas the reasons “easy to understand lesson and 
easy to practice writing” are the main ones which students preferred (4.38/ 5.00 points and 
4.18/ 5.00 points, respectively). 
Table 6. Biological students’ perception of studying writing with English teachers 
Students’ perceptions 
when studying writing with 
all English 
teachers 
(n=126) 
native English- 
speaking 
teachers (n=44) 
non-native 
English- 
speaking 
teachers (n=55) 
both kinds 
of teachers 
(n=27) 
Study well faster 3.40 ± 0.96 3.14 ± 0.95 3.56 ± 0.83 3.52 ± 1.16 
More accurate 3.61 ± 1.07 4.11 ± 1.02 3.20 ± 0.91 3.63 ± 1.11 
Easy to understand 3.94 ± 1.02 3.36 ± 1.06 4.38 ± 0.78 3.96 ± 0.94 
Easy to practice writing 3.92 ± 1.06 3.57 ± 1.17 4.18 ± 0.86 3.96 ± 1.09 
Good method of teaching 3.22 ± 1.00 3.07 ± 1.07 3.29 ± 0.98 3.33 ± 0.92 
4.3. Students’ suggestions for better ways of teaching English 
There were eight suggestions for better ways of teaching English from the students at 
the Department of Biology. The highest one was topics for studying, students needed the 
practical and interesting topics in the class (43.3%). The next ones related to method of 
teaching, time of teaching, and ways of transfer lesson by using games, stories, and picnics