Perceptions of Thai EFL Students Concerning their Teacher’s Competency and Empathy

Abstract

It has often been found that the ‘white’ native English instructors were the preferred facilitators in an EFL context because of their accent and fluency in the English language however teacher’s competency and by extension teacher’s empathy with their students remain overlooked from the initial application and hiring process of potential applicants.  As they are most directly affected this study attempts to comprehend the perceptions of Thai EFL students of their EFL instructors by collecting and analyzing data collected through questionnaire and interview protocol.  Samples for the study were taken from various international universities located in the Bangkok Metropolitan Area and findings of this investigation yielded a majority of responses to the effect that although the aforementioned Thai EFL students do prefer ‘white’ Native English Speaking Teachers they also admit that these teacher’s ‘non-white’/ non-native counterparts can possess equal levels Teacher Competency and in some cases an even higher level of Teacher Empathy in addition to utilizing the advantages of code-switching in the classroom context.  This study has been undertaken with the anticipation of generating valuable conclusions and recommendations for future institutional implementation and to determine whether the traditional mindsets concerning the “Ideal EFL teacher” as being a Native English speaker do in fact hold true in the minds of the Thai L2 learner.