Hello and welcome to my Master's thesis survey!
The topic of my Master's thesis is Finnish university students' experiences and perceptions of native and non-native teachers. Thus, I am interested in English students' honest opinions and thoughts on the matter, and so every response is important and appreciated.
I desire survey responses only from current students of the University of Jyväskylä, who have been or are studying English as a major or minor subject. The survey is executed anonymously and none of the responses can be recognized later on based on their answers.
In this survey a native speaker teacher signifies an English teacher who speaks English as his or her mother tongue. On the other hand, a non-native speaker teacher signifies an English teacher who speaks some other language as his or her mother tongue (in this case Finnish).
Thank you very much for your responses already in advance!
1. Your age 1. 18-23 2. 24-29 3. 30-2. I am...
1. a man 2. a woman 3. other
3. What is your mother tongue?
4. How long have you studied English?
1. I started in the 3rd grade (A1-language) 2. I started in the 4th or 5th grade (A2-language) 3. I started earlier than in the 3rd grade
4. I started later than in the 5th grade
5. How long have you studied at the University of Jyväskylä?
1. This is my first year at the university 2. This is my second year at the university 3. This is my third year at the university 4. This is my fourth year at the university 5. This is my fifth year at the university
6. I have studied longer than five years
6. How long have you studied English at the University of Jyväskylä?
1. Less than a year 2. Approximately a year 3. Approximately two years 4. Approximately three years 5. Approximately four years 6. Approximately five years 7. Longer than five years
7. Have you spent a longer period (over 3 months) in an English-speaking country?
1. Yes 2. No
8. If you answered yes, where and how long were you abroad?
9. How interested are you in learning more of the English language?
1. Very interested 2. Interested
3. Slightly interested 4. Not so interested 5. Not at all interested
10. Where do you mainly speak English?
1. In my free time 2. At the university 3. At work
4. Somewhere else
11. 1. Who do you mainly use English with?
1. Native speakers 2. Non-native speakers
2. I believe that in the future I will probably use more English with non-native speakers than native speakers of English.
1. Strongly agree 2. Somewhat agree 3. Cannot say
4. Somewhat disagree 5. Strongly disagree
12. How would you estimate your English skills as a whole?
1. Excellent 2. Good 3. Moderate 4. Poor
13. How would you estimate your English skills in the light of the following options?
Options: Fluently / Fairly fluently / Moderately / Poorly 1. I speak English
2. I read English 3. I write English
4. I understand spoken English
14. How do you experiences your English skills?
Options: Yes / No / Cannot say
1. I believe I know English as well as a native speaker of English.
2. I think I know English better than Finns on average.
3. I think I know English well enough.
4. I believe I still have a lot to learn of the English language.
15. What do you think of the following arguments?
Options: Strongly agree / Somewhat agree / Cannot say / Somewhat disagree / Strongly disagree
1. I would like to learn to speak English in such a way that I would sound like a native speaker.
2. I would rather not say my thoughts out loud, if I am not completely sure that I am being grammatically correct.
3. When I communicate in English, conveying the message is more important than being grammatically accurate.
4. Using English is easier with native English speakers than with non-native speakers.
5. Non-natives can, too, know how English should be pronounced and written.
6. The target of English language teaching in Finland should be native-like level.
16. Have you had native English-speaking teachers in the courses you have taken at the University of Jyväskylä?
1. Yes 2. No
17. Have you had experiences of native English-speaking teachers already during your basic education or upper secondary school studies?
1. Yes 2. No 18. Your experiences
Options: Strongly agree / Somewhat agree / Cannot say / Somewhat disagree / Strongly disagree / No experiences
1. My experiences of native English-speaking teachers of English have been mainly positive.
2. My experiences of non-native English-speaking teachers of English have been mainly positive.
19. Who would you rather have as your English teacher?
1. A native speaker teacher 2. A non-native speaker teacher 3. Both
20. Why? Give reasons for you choice.
21. What do you think of the following arguments on native speaker teachers in comparison with non-native speaker teachers?
Options: Strongly agree / Somewhat agree / Cannot say / Somewhat disagree / Strongly disagree
1. A native teacher is a better role model of a language user.
2. A native teacher is better at teaching cultural matters.
3. A native teacher is better at teaching oral grammar.
4. A native teacher does not know what it is like to learn a foreign language.
5. A native teacher will allow more mistakes in language use, as long as the message is conveyed.
22. What do you think of the following arguments on non-native speaker teachers in comparison with native speaker teachers?
Options: Strongly agree / Somewhat agree / Cannot say / Somewhat disagree / Strongly disagree
1. A non-native teacher is better at teaching grammar.
2. A non-native teacher is better at teaching vocabulary.
3. The pronunciation of non-native teachers bothers me sometimes.
4. Non-native teachers speak English more insecurely.
5. A non-native teacher understands the process of language learning better.
6. A non-native teacher corrects more errors in language use.
7. A non-native teacher uses more text books.
8. A non-native teacher cannot know English as well as a native speaker.
9. A non-native teacher is a better role model of a language learner.
10. A native teacher is a good role model for me, because I am non-native, too.
11. Non-native teachers do not have enough cultural knowledge.
23. What do you think of the following arguments?
Options: Strongly agree / Somewhat agree / Cannot say / Somewhat disagree / Strongly disagree
1. I believe I can learn as effectively from native and non-native teachers.
2. It is important for me to get assistance from my teacher also in Finnish.
3. The most important thing in English classes is using English for the most part of the time.
24. Which feature is more important for an English teacher?
1. Professionalism, i.e. the skill to teach
2. Language competence, i.e. the skill to use the language fluently and in a
versatile manner
25. What is the most important quality for an English teacher when considering your learning specifically?
26. Is the quality you mentioned a quality of native or non-native teachers?
1. Native teachers' 2. Non-native teachers' 3. Both teachers'
27. What are the advantages of native teachers in your opinion?
28. What are the disadvantages of native teachers in your opinion?
29. What are the advantages of non-native teachers in your opinion?
30. What are the disadvantages of non-native teachers in your opinion?
31. How important is it to you that your English teacher has native-like oral skills (grammar, style, tempo, intonation)?
1. The most important 2. Very important 3. Important
4. Not so important 5. Not at all important
32. Are the linguistic models offered by non-native teachers sufficient for your English language development at the university level?
1. Yes 2. No
3. Cannot say
33. Do you find that you would have benefitted from having a native teacher already in basic education or in upper secondary school?
1. Yes 2. No
3. Cannot say
34. If you answered yes, please specify how you would benefitted from a native teacher.
35. Does a native teacher offer you benefits that a non-native teacher is unable to offer?
1. Yes 2. No
3. Cannot say
36. If you answered yes, please specify what benefits a native teacher offers you.
37. Other comments related to the research or the survey.