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TEFL for non native english speaking teachersThis issue was my main concern when I was trying to decide whether to do a TEFL course or not, I always felt that being spanish and living in spain were going to make me a second class english teacher, as people in this country are obsessed with having native english speaking teachers to teach their children to speak english fluently. But I have studied english in depth since very early age , I am married to a British man who didn´t speak a word of spanish when we met, and I worked in the City of London for 5 years. So the reason why I choose this research article is that I would like to be more confident with myself about teaching english, so I will try to find out more about non native english speaking teachers(NNS) versus native english speaking teachers(NS). I will research for opinions , teacher experiences, and advantages and disadvantages that employers find when they need to choose between a NNS teacher and a NS teacher. ADVANTAGES OF NNS It seems to be a general consensus on the advantages of NNS teacher: NNS teachers most likely have studied english in far more detailed and depth than NS teachers. This is a reality when you ask for example a UK native about grammar points. They have not studied grammar in school at all, and unless they have had proper training to teach english, they wouldn´t know how to explain grammar points. Another advantage is that being a NNS teacher helps to understand the learner´s position better. Because they have been through the process of learning the language and have been trained to teach it, it can be said that they are in a better place to help students with particular language difficulties, especially if they are teaching students who share their mother tongue. LEVEL OF english To become a good NNS teacher you need to have a very high level of english, because if you don´t your students will soon realize this and will lose respect for you. It might be a good idea to sit for a TOEFL exam beforehand to see if you have the proper level to become an english teacher. ACCENTS Another interesting point to talk about regarding this argument is whether it is acceptable to keep your accent, or if it would be better to practice for example a British or American accent. Some experts think that you should adopt an accent from an english speaking country, but others think that there are so many english accents in the world (British, American, australian, Scottish, Welsh, etc) that keeping your own accent shouldn´t be a problem. It is an interesting argument because for example you will find that in Great Britain there are lots of British citizens from Pakistan who have kept their own accent generation after generation, when they are speaking in english, and they work for even government departments and their job is to answer the telephone to general public! PRONUNCIATION In 1999 in a TEFL symposium in London and referring only to pronunciation where we might assume the dominance of the NS, it was stated: 1. knowledge: In many countries NNS teachers have extensive formal knowledge of the phonology of english. In contrast, many native speakers have very limited training in this vital area of language competence. 2. techniques: NS teachers can be excellent models. However, a good model is not by definition a good instructor. 3. affectivity: NNS teachers are only too aware of the difficulties in acquiring a second pronunciation, and so have greater empathy with their learners and the problems they encounter. In contrast, a NS may easily be unaware that certain sounds or techniques, (e.g. learners sticking their tongue out between their teeth), are embarrassing for the learner. 4. intelligibility: the NNS teacher has had first hand experience as to what is or is not intelligible to other users of english. Such practical experience of achieving intelligibility leaves them better able to judge what constitutes effective performance than NS teachers, who will invariably judge success by comparison with NS performance.
