Teach English in Exmouth - TEFL Courses

tefl for non native english speaking teachers (30) Every non native english teacher asks themselves the same question: "Will I get a job if being a native speaker seems to override any other qualities of a teacher in the eyes of general public, including potential employers?"There are literally hundreds of queries on the internet forums for english teachers, all stating similar concern, but only few answers. Surveys for preference of native/non native teachers, such as the one mentioned by user TeachEd on the teachingenglish.org.uk forum (1) shows that students prefer native speaking teachers for their genuine in-depth knowledge of language, its context and cultural background, as well as a naturally perfect pronunciation. Such opinions are widely repeated, but the issue is not as simple as stating that native speakers equals good teachers and non natives are bad (or at least lesser) ones. Another user of the same forum analyzes the pro's and con's into more detail. In the thread called "Are native english speakers always better teachers?" (2) user cmftrier admits that the advantage of native speakers is their natural feel for language, fluency and accent, but there is an equal number of advantages for non native speakers, e.g. greater understanding of students' learning difficulties as the teachers once were students of the language themselves, better understanding of grammar and ability to explain it as most of its elements had to be thoroughly studied and understood rather than naturally acquired. These opinions are backed up by several linguistic studies, such as Phillipson (1996) (3), who considers non native english speakers to be potentially the ideal esl teachers because they have gone through the process of acquiring english as an additional language. They have first-hand experience in learning and using a second language, and their personal experience has sensitized them to the linguistic and cultural needs of their students. (*) Professionals in the field of linguistics obviously see both native and non native speakers as equal, both excelling in different aspects of teaching. Despite that, non native teachers still face some very difficult challenges in the real world, beginning with the job search and also later throughout their career. They must overcome the prejudices and universal beliefs that non native teachers are of a lesser quality and prove themselves often by undergoing additional training and providing certifications or documented experience. An obvious disadvantage, of course, is the accent, which serves as a strong argument against non native teachers and through which such teachers were (and still are) largely discriminated. Kachru (1985) (4) defines "Countries of the Inner Circle" (i.e., Great Britain, the united states, canada, australia, and New Zealand) and teachers coming from these countries are largely preferred. (*) I believe some native speakers can have such strong regional accents that it makes it extremely difficult for their students to understand the lecture. Some regional accents from the Inner Circle countries are not even desirable to be acquired by beginner learners. As english is spoken by so many nationalities, it becomes more and more important to implement an accent which is widely understood and easier to learn than drill an accent that may not be understood by peers from the same country. It is also a bit pointless to hope that students acquire a perfect accent - it takes years, sometimes a lifetime, to successfully master a language. Therefore, every successful english teacher, no matter whether native or non native, should be able to bring a student to the point where he or she can pick up and improve by their own effort and where the student is able to distinguish various accents and decide for themselves to what level they wish their english to become perfect. The advertisement for english teachers world-wide calls for native speakers in 99% of cases. However, some regions and countries are less strict in their requirements and where the demand largely exceeds the supply, non native teachers have a good chance to succeed in finding a position and have an equally rewarding and successful teaching career.