The CATESOL Journal

This study compared the perceptions of two groups of kindergarten through grade 12 (K-12) practitioners, native English-speaking teachers (NESTs) and nonnative English-speaking teachers (NNESTs), in relation to their professional preparation, their level of job satisfaction, and their degree of comfort teaching various skill areas. Quantitative and qualitative analyses of a survey administered to 55 NESTs and 32 NNESTs in Southern California showed that a complex set of similarities and differences characterized the K-12 NESTs and NNESTs who participated in this investigation. The similarities identified included the positive views of the two groups about their professional preparation and the support received from formal networks (e.g., mentoring programs) and informal networks (e.g., colleagues, friends, and relatives). The two groups were also similar in their positive self-reported level of job satisfaction and their positive perceptions of their English language skills. One of the differences was the grades they taught, with a higher percentage of NNESTs teaching early elementary grades. Additionally, NNESTs were slightly more negative than NESTs in their evaluation of school administrators, exhibited more positive self-perceptions about their instructional abilities, and saw their nonnative status as contributing to their professional abilities. The results of this preliminary investigation suggest the need for further research on NNESTs and for the development of collaborative projects between master of art (MA) degree programs in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) and K-12 programs designed to benefit future teachers, regardless of their language background.