Teach English in Jinnan Qu - Tianjin

TEFL for non native english speaking teachersBeing a Malaysian, growing up in multiracial country allows me to indulge in not only my native culture but the other many cultures in my country as well. We learn and share our diverse cultures, being proud of a country where the people live harmoniously with each other. One of the factors that help to bring the people together is a common language; english. Although the Malays have Bahasa Melayu, the chinese their Mandarin and the Indians their Tamil, english is commonly used to communicate ideas and opinions. As a result, Malaysians have developed a form of english unique to the country, which we affectionately call ?Manglish?. The language itself is no different from the Queen?s english or the American english, with slangs and usages which can be complicated to be understood by non-Malaysians. Besides being a Malaysian, it can also be a challenge for other non native english speaker to teach english to other non native english speaking students. Both teacher and students may lack of confidence and find it difficult to adapt to a new environment. Then again, the teacher will find it a motivation to improve their language and teaching skills while students may find it comfortable working with a non native english speaking teacher. Different students have different reasons to learn english. One of the common reasons is to live or study in an english speaking country. Students will anticipate their teacher to be from such countries. The image can be shattered the moment the appearance of the teacher and the accent produced differ from what they have anticipated. They will find it hard to participate in class as they doubt the teacher?s ability to teach. Consequently, the teacher will lose his or her confidence as well, wondering where they have gone wrong. Most non native english teachers anticipate going out of their country to immerse in a new environment. Some may have experience leaving their home country, some may not. For example, those living in tropical countries may find a four season country to be a distress to their mind and body. Besides the weather, some may not be able to accept other cultures maybe result in a culture shock and cause mental breakdowns. The teacher needs to consider what to anticipate and have an open mind to what they may expect. Then again, the teacher may find it a motivating factor to improve their own english and teaching skills. Rather to think that it is a job obligation, it should be considered as a self improvement process. Being ignorant can result in a loss of confidence from the students and consequently, the teacher themselves. The teacher should consider methods to use their cultural background as an advantage to create an efficient and effective lesson. Some students may find it comfortable to speak to non native english speakers first. They come from the same background whereby english is not used to communicate daily and therefore, understand where the usage problems are coming from. Some students find it helpful to start at a lower level to boost their confidence before heading out to try the ?real thing?. As the lesson progresses, the teacher then can slowly increase the level of english. This way, students can slowly adapt to different customs and accents, without realising they are improving. For non native english speaking teachers, teaching english has it pros and cons. Some would find it enriching as they sharpen their own language and teaching skills while absorbing new cultures. Some would find it difficult to adapt to a new environment and gaining the confidence of non native english speaking students. Although so, teachers should try their best to make english a fun and enjoyable learning experience.