A Comparative Study of Student Engagement in English Classrooms Taught by Native and Non-Native English Speaking Teachers, Koh Kong Province, Kingdom of Cambodia

Abstract

          This study investigated student engagement (behavioral, emotional, and cognitive) in English classrooms taught by Native English Speaking Teachers (NESTs) and Non-native English Speaking Teachers (NNESTs) in Kong Koh Province (the western part of Cambodia) and examined whether students with different years of learning English reported their engagement differently. Mixed-methods research design was used to elicit the data. Two hundred and ten students from Grade 10 and Grade 11 completed the questionnaire. After that, four students from each Grade were interviewed in depth. The quantitative results showed that students reported having more behavioral and emotional engagement in the classes taught by NEST than NNEST. However, for the cognitive engagement, students felt more engaged in the class taught by NNEST than NEST. Additionally, qualitative explained that students felt more engaged in the class taught by NEST because it is the opportunity to use English as well as they can practice pronunciation skills.