Going Native? Should English Schools Discriminate in favor of Native Speakers?
Interesting questions raised over at the Becoming a Better EFL Teacher blog: Do EFL English Schools Really Need Native English Speaking Teachers?
My opinion: Nope, they sure don’t. Speaking as a teacher trainer, without reservation I’d hire a well trained non-native speaker any day. In most cases, Non-natives have mastered the grammar, and know how to explain it far better than their Native counterparts.
They also have first hand experience at learning English as a second language. They know the pain. They know the frustration. They know the pitfalls, and the common errors that can be fallen into.
Most of the non-native English teachers that I work with are way more patient and understanding of their students, and have the ability to effortlessly jump back and forth between Spanish (mother tongue here in Mexico) and English in order to explain a concept on a deeper level.
While our company is very careful about who we select in that we only recruit those with previous training, and strong fluency with the language, we do have an active "We hire native and non-native English teachers" policy.
I agree with 100% on this. I think that native/non-native division is irrelevent.The big difference is between trained and non - trained teachers.
Also those who have gone to the trouble of learning a foreign language are in a much better position to understand the difficulties their students face.
Comment by Craig — May 25, 2006 @ 12:00 am
Hi Craig,
Nice to see you here! I totally agree with you. Native/Non-native distinction is irrelevent when you’re dealing with someone who is trained, and able to use the language well.
I also think that those who have gone before, those who have learned(ing) a new language are much better language coaches. They know what it’s like to suffer through the difficulut bits where you feel like you’ve stopped learning.
Sadly though, here in Mexico “native speaker only” is often a major criteria to get the job.
Comment by Aaron Nelson — May 25, 2006 @ 9:41 am
Also behind this are some pretty nasty forms of racism I believe. For example would they accept an Hispanic native speaker ? Or say an African American ? in these schools ?
Comment by Craig — May 26, 2006 @ 12:14 am
i wonder if anyone in our line of work from the West would seriously advocate that native speaking teachers are necessary. it seems to me that this question is asked primarily by the host institutions/countries where the biases/prejudices against certain ethnic groups exist unquestioned. For example, I seriously doubt that my Arab students would tolerate learning English with a teacher from the Indian sub-continent, regardless of how well that person speaks the language.
that being said, it looks to me like competition for EFL jobs is about to get a lot stiffer as people begin to adopt a NNS acceptance policy.
Comment by daniel — May 28, 2006 @ 10:31 pm
Hi Craig and Daniel,
I totally agree with the both of you. Craig, I do think there are serious issues of racisim. Perhaps it’s not so much about the color of your skin, but for sure students and institutions will nail you on your accent. If you’re local sounding, you run the risk of not getting the job.
Strangely Daniel, I think most racisim comes from students who only want to work with Native speakers. I have seen Mexican students reject Mexican teachers simply because of their nationality. While their “non-toleration” of national teachers may not be based on overt reasons of racisim, there has been frequent resistance to local teachers - especially with advanced level learners.
I understand why, and I do agree with the idea that local/national teachers are much better at working with basic level students; however, I have met nationals who I have actually confused for native speakers - zero accent, flawless pronunciation, up on all the slang and idiomatic expressions, yet they still, at times, struggle to get higher level classes just because of their Mexican sounding names.
It’s the classic judging a book by its cover. I think if I were a student, I would want to work with a local teacher who had managed to gain a high proficiency level in the language. Now here is someone who could really teach me a thing or two!
Comment by Aaron Nelson — May 29, 2006 @ 7:08 am
Hi all,
Interesting read. I am a non-native efl teacher, teacher trainer and have taught in Ireland and Spain and I do agree with a lot of stuff being sad here, specially the ability to relate to the students’ needs and frustrations and in most cases, as Aaron so rightly put it, non-natives have a greater in-depth grasp, knowledge of grammar and language structure and more than likely a greater ease when it comes to explaining it, since they can use their own language as a reference to compare or contrast the points being taught. Having said that, it pains me to say that a huge number of doors are shut to non-native speakers and that is a real shame.
Please forgive my boldness but it’s “relevant· not “relevent”
All the best
Comment by Charlie — May 9, 2008 @ 6:17 pm
Hi
I come from the UK (near manchester) and have what some people consider a strong regional accent. I have taught English conversation to advanced and intermediate level students from lots of different countries, and many have picked up on my ‘different’ accent, sometimes judging it as ‘wrong’ and asking me if I am ‘really’ from England! I suppose it’s a kind of social class snobbery, that students only want to learn the middle class London-type of accent. I have also seen international students in the UK advertising for native English speakers with ‘good’ accents only.
Has anyone else had this kind of experience? I have another question: what does everyone think about UK teachers with regional accents (e.g. from Liverpool, Newcastle, North Wales, Glasgow, Birmingham)? Should they tone these accents down in order to teach students the elite accent of middle class London, for instance? Or is this a kind of language snobbery that should be avoided? Some would say that in order to understand ‘normal’ people in the UK, students should hear and be taught by people from a range of places in the UK. What does everyone think?!?!?!?!?!
thanks
Jody
Comment by jody — June 9, 2008 @ 5:20 am
Jody,
Thanks for your comment. You know, I think accent training is vital to fluency development. It’s important to learn how to hear English, and all it’s variations. Afterall, not all people speak it alike.
I do think this type of work would be more valuable for those at a higher level - say upper intermediate and beyond. Perhaps being able to modify your accent a little could help you as you work with lower level students. And, sadly, will help you get a job in a few places.
But accents are good things. English is a global language, and those who learn it should be able to deal with different accents. Maybe you could think like a marketer for a little…how could you sell your accent? (It is an advantage for some.)
Comment by Aaron Nelson — June 9, 2008 @ 10:04 am