Teach English in Sipinglu Jiedao - Shanghai Shi

Tefl for non native english speaking teachers Native english speaking teachers and their non-native colleagues are engaged all over the world teaching english to a huge variety of students and for a much huger variety of purposes. However, why, in spite of the fact that english is openly recognized as the language of international communication, there seems to be something wrong if the teaching one is not a native speaker? As far as I am concerned, two main problems relating to this issue have been detected so far: credibility in the workplace and psychological dynamics arisen from inferiority complex. The first point relates to facts that happen around a non-native english speaking teacher in his/her own workplace or at an even earlier stage, the hiring moment. In fact, employers are likely to screen out curricula on the sole basis of applicant?s mother tongue, and if this does not happen, they may easily get concerned over the interviewee?s accent. Pronunciation, indeed, is one of the most serious causes of discrimination, both by colleagues and students: the first thing people around a non-native english speaking teacher notice is the way he/she talks, his/her foreign accent. When credibility is gone, it is hard to build relations based on equality and respect, and the only way to overcome such a prejudice and to show one?s real language competence is to strive to perform better than the other teachers. Psychological implications here are evident: loss of self-esteem, frustration and depression, to which we add that original inferiority complex that each non-native english speaking teacher is likely to suffer from. The more aware of a language one becomes, the more one feels insecure (as its complexity cannot be ignored no more). Facing this (supposed) impossibility to develop a native speaker?s language competence, non-native english speaking teachers are likely to end up by suffering from inferiority complex. They feel unsafe using and teaching a language they do not think to master completely and get frustrated. As a result, teachers adopt particular negative attitudes, mainly pessimistic or aggressive. In the first case, the teacher focuses obsessively on grammar, leaving out pronunciation, vocabulary and linguistic appropriateness. In the latter, insecurity brings the teacher to behave prescriptively and intolerantly, focusing on grammar and trying to avoid language points that relate to his/her own deficiencies. Grammar is a key element in these teachers? lessons, since it enables to follow a safe path made of pre-determined rules. Non-native english speaking teachers have a lot of strengths, as well: they can become a model and a resource to their students. As Phillipson (1996) underlines, these teachers have a direct learning experience that makes them more sensitive towards students? needs and makes it easier to them to foresee arising problems. Medgyes (1996) too highlights the fact that non-native english speaking teachers are positive models for their students. As we all know, learning a new language is a hard task and sometimes happens to feel frustrated and anxious. However, having the possibility to meet someone who has already achieved that goal is profoundly stimulating. Also, after years of study a teacher acquires an incredibly vast know-how on learning-studying methodologies, techniques and strategies, and this knowledge is a precious resource for his/her students. In brief, non-native english speaking teachers must face a lot of problems both from the outside world (discrimination in the workplace) and inside themselves (inferiority complex). Nevertheless, if they learn to accept themselves and to focus on what they can give, rather than what they are unable to give, there are great chances for them to reach success and teach english effectively.