Insight Towards Native and Non-Native ELT in Sinaloa Abstract Nowadays English is considered to be an International language as it is used as a common communicative tool among people from all nationalities. However, this international character is not reflected in the ELT world, as there most people assume that native English-speaking teachers are the most suited to teach English, due to the fact that is their first language. The aim of this article is to create awareness regarding the reasons behind this idea; as well as to know the opinion of people in charge of the hiring process of English teachers in the city of Culiacan about this topic. Key words: Native English-Speaking Teachers (NESTs), Non- Native English-Speaking Teachers (NNESTs), English as a Second Language (ESL), First Language (L1). Resumen En el mundo en que vivimos el inglés es considerado un idioma internacional debido al constante uso que tiene como herramienta comunicativa entre personas de diferentes nacionalidades. Sin embargo, este carácter internacional no se ve reflejado en el mundo del ELT, en donde se piensa que los
Transcript
Insight Towards Native and Non-Native ELT in Sinaloa
Abstract
Nowadays English is considered to be an International language as it is used as a
common communicative tool among people from all nationalities. However, this
international character is not reflected in the ELT world, as there most people
assume that native English-speaking teachers are the most suited to teach English,
due to the fact that is their first language. The aim of this article is to create
awareness regarding the reasons behind this idea; as well as to know the opinion of
people in charge of the hiring process of English teachers in the city of Culiacan
Speaking Teachers (NNESTs), English as a Second Language (ESL), First
Language (L1).
Resumen
En el mundo en que vivimos el inglés es considerado un idioma internacional debido
al constante uso que tiene como herramienta comunicativa entre personas de
diferentes nacionalidades. Sin embargo, este carácter internacional no se ve
reflejado en el mundo del ELT, en donde se piensa que los maestros de inglés
nativos son los más adecuados para enseñar inglés, debido a que es su lenguaje
materno. Este artículo tiene como objetivo el crear conciencia acerca de este tema;
así como el poder conocer la opinión acerca del tema de las personas encargadas
del proceso de contratación de maestros de inglés en la ciudad de Culiacán.
Palabras clave: Maestros nativos de inglés, maestros no nativos de inglés, inglés
como segundo idioma, lenguaje materno.
Introduction
If someone looking to learn English had the opportunity to choose between a course
given by a native English-speaking teacher (NEST) and a non-native English-
speaking teacher (NNEST), who will he/she choos? Maybe that most of the people in
that situation will choose the native English-speaking teacher (NEST), mainly
because the majority of people have the perception that native English-speaking
teachers (NEST) as native speakers are the only rightfully speakers of a language,
and therefore the best suited to teach it (Cook, 1999). But, what is behind this
ideological conception that a lot of people believe true?
First of all it needs to be understood that this phenomenon is not something new, in
fact one of the reasons why it may linger could be due to the incredible popularity
that native teachers in schools and universities had in the 1990’s (Clouet, 2006),
something that was supported by the communicative approach, an approach widely
used in schools back then. Even some writers such as Alan Davies (1991) and
Medgyes (2001) supported the idea by stating that non-native English-speaking
teachers (NNEST) have some disadvantages when teaching the language just
because it is not their first language (L1), but a second language they learned later in
life.
This article is aimed to create awareness regarding the reasons behind the idea of
native English-speaking teachers (NEST) being better that non-native English-
speaking teacher (NNEST); as well as to recognize and understand the strengths of
both native English-speaking teachers (NEST) and non-native English-speaking
teacher (NNEST) have as ELT and EFL teachers. Firstly by defining these two
concepts (NEST and NNEST), comparing their attributes and by analyzing how
English has become an international language.
Finally, with the intention of finding out how people in charge of hiring teachers think
about this issue, an online survey was carried out to 15 teacher coordinators in
bilingual schools and language centers in the city of Culiacan Sinaloa.
Literature Review
The native English-speaking teacher (NEST)
It is difficult to find a definition of NEST on research papers and books, mainly
because the concept is extremely attached to the conception of native speaker as
well as its definition. Hence by analyzing the concept of native speaker, it would be
easy to understand and describe the rationale behind the idea of what a NEST is.
According to the Cambridge dictionary (2019) “a native speaker is someone who has
spoken a particular language since they were babies, rather than having to learn it
as a child or adult”. Hence, if we focus on English as the first language (L1),
someone can be considered a native English-speaker if he/she speaks English as
his/her native language or mother tongue. Therefore it could implied that a NEST is a
teacher whose L1 is English, and therefore it is expected from him/her to have a high
level of proficiency in the use of such language.
Keep in mind that being an English native speaker does not automatically makes you
qualified to teach it, so NESTs need to be trained to obtain not only the techniques,
approaches and tools to teach but to understand how an ELT/EFL student is able to
acquire the language.
The non-native English-speaking teacher (NNEST)
To define the concept of NNESTs is much easier since it can be done by making a
contrast with the definition of NESTs. Since the prefix “non” is at the beginning of the
word, it is implied that a NNEST is the opposite of a NEST; a fact that may have
helped to generate the negative connotation of how people see NNEST when
comparing them to NEST, as most of the times the suffix “non” is related to negative
connotations (CITA).
Moreover, Medgyes (2001) gives us an excellent definition of NNEST, which points
out that: a NNEST is a teacher for whom English is a second language (L2), and
most of the time works in an EFL environment. NNEST are teachers that work
mainly with monolingual groups of learners who speak the same mother tongue (L1)
as him/her.
One of the various problems NNESTs face when looking for equal treatment in the
ELT/EFL world is the unequal opportunities if the teacher is looking for an
international job, since most of the ELT/EFL internet jobs pages promote
opportunities that are exclusively looking for NESTs (Moussu, 2006). Pages such as
ESL Cafe (http://www.eslcafe.com/joblist/) or Chronicles (http://chronicle.com/jobs/),
have more than 70% of their jobs’ opportunities looking exclusively for NESTs.
Problems with dichotomy
Concepts such as NESTs and NNESTs are said to be dichotomous, since they
represent a separation that exists between two groups that appear to be completely
opposite to and different from each other (Oxford, 2019).
This classification is widely accepted around the world, mainly because of its
simplicity and practicality (Arva & Medgyes, 2000). However, this two categories do
not consider all types of ELT/EFL teachers, in fact it overlooks other categories that
exist between these two extremes (Brutt-Griffler & Samimy, 1999); such as all of
those individuals that have grown up in bilingual and bicultural environments, better
down as Bicultural Teachers or BCTs.
Native and non-native English-speaking teachers’ attributes
According to Medgyes (1994) NESTs and NNESTs are two different “species” of
teachers, in other words an ELT/EFL teacher must fit in either of those categories.
Nevertheless, both types of teachers can be good teachers in their own terms, in
spite of the differences, as both have their own attributes that could help them in the
teaching process and their teaching practice.
In fact, according to Villalobos (2011) NESTs possess the following characteristics:
● A subconscious knowledge of rules
● Intuitive grasp of meanings
● Ability to communicate within social settings
● Range of language skills
● Creativity of language use
● Identification with a language community
On the other hand Medgyes (2001) characterizes NNESTs as:
● Good role models.
● Effective providers of learning strategies.
● Suppliers of information about the English language. -Better anticipators of
language learning difficulties.
● Sensitive to language learners’ needs.
● Facilitators of language learning as a result of a shared mother tongue.
As it can be observed in both list above, NESTs and NNESTs indeed have attributes
that allow them to be good EFL/ESL teachers regardless of their students’
background or origin.
English as a lingua franca
“A lingua franca is a common language used for communication
between people who do not share their first language”
(Seidelhofer, 2005, p. 339).
Nowadays, around one out every four users (25%) of English in the world can be
considered native speakers (Crystal, 2003), this means that most interactions where
English is used as a language take place among non-native English-speakers.
Despite the growing popularity in recent years that learning Chinese, French and
Spanish have witnessed, there is no comparison with the high volume of people
learning English as a foreign language. In fact, in Asia alone there is a population of
350 million English speakers (non-native) which is roughly less than the combined
populations of Britain, The United States and Canada, three of the five countries with
the most native English speakers in the world (Mydians, 2007).
Facts like this, among others, are supporting the idea that English is becoming more
and more a “lingua franca” around the world, as it is used as a “contact language”
between persons whose first languages are different (Firth 1996). According to
Crystal (2003) the widely spread use of English is a consequence of the special role
that has developed in every country, a global status that is recognized all around the
globe.
So if English is such a global language that it can be considered a lingua franca, why
is it that in most international EFL and ESL pages, most of the jobs opportunities are
given only to NESTs? (as pages such as ESL Cafe (http://www.eslcafe.com/joblist/)
or Chronicles (http://chronicle.com/jobs/) demonstrate). Instead of both NESTs and
NNESTs having equal job opportunities based on their preparation, experience and
credentials, anyway, most of the interactions that EFL and ESL students will have
most probably will be with non-native English-speaker.
Methodology
The study
The main objective of the study was to know the opinion of people in charge of the
hiring process of ESL teachers. In order to carry out this project 15 English
coordinators from bilingual private schools and language centers in the city of
Culiacan, Sinaloa Mexico were interviewed. The coordinators were asked to
complete an online questionnaire using a Google Forms file that was sent to them in
advanced during the beginning of the scholar year in September 2019. All
coordinators that responded the survey were told that the information obtained was
going to be anonymous; actually neither their names nor the names of the
institutions were required as answers (see Appendix 1).
The questionnaire (see Appendix 1) used is based on the one found in Villalobos’
(2011) paper entitled “Insights towards Native and Non-native ELT Educators” from
2011, and it is composed by 7 questions: one opened question and 6 multiple choice
items that required a simple and brief reasoning. These questions inquired
information about three main topics, as described below:
1. Features of a good teacher.
● Question 1. For you, what is an ideal teacher like?
● Question 5. Who do you think students generally prefer to have as an English
teacher?
2. Opinion about NNESTs.
● Question 2. Do you think speaking a second language helps teachers better
understand their students’ learning process?
● Question 4. Is it better to be taught by a non-native speaker?
● Question 6. Is having an “accent” something that could negatively affect a
language educator’s teaching?
3. Opinion about NESTs.
● Question 3. In your opinion, how necessary is it for an ESL teacher to be a
native English speaker?
● Question 7. Is an English teacher’s native language important for students?
Results
All questions were answered including their correspondent reasoning, however, not
every coordinator gave their rationale behind his/her choice. Most of the answers
agreed with the points of view given in the short explanations; although there were
some opinions that somehow presented incongruent arguments with the options
chosen.
A summary of the answers and opinions, separated by topic is shown below:
1. Features of a good teacher.
⮚ Item 1: For you, what is an ideal teacher like?
There were no surprises observed in the answers given in this item, as they
agree with the characteristics dictated by common sense, which are also the
ones described in various books and research papers about the topic (Walker,
2008; Kong, 2009). Table 1 shows four from the fifteen responses given by
the teachers (to see all the answers, check appendix 2).
Table 1. Item 1`s responses
Item 1: For you, what is an ideal teacher like?
An ideal teacher is capable of transmitting the passion and desire to learn. And of course, has the knowledge in the subject he is teaching, as well as the context where he and his students are immersed.
A committed teacher to the students and the institution. Always looking for strategies to help their students learn and improve all English abilities to accomplish goals of the student, level and institution.
Dynamic, well prepared, native like pronunciation and has at least a BA in pedagogy education.
A teacher who shares his/her knowledge and experience and helps to develop the students’ skills.
⮚ Item 5: Who do you think students generally prefer to have as an
English teacher?
Surprisingly, in spite of previously stating that being a non-native speaker can
provide some kind of an advantage, such as being good role models, the
responses provided demonstrate the coordinators think students have a
different opinion in the topic and they would prefer a NESTs (See graph 4 and
table 5).
Graph 4. Item 5
Table 5. Item 5’s responses
Item 5: Who do you think students generally prefer to have as an English teacher? Why?
If the teacher is proficient, qualified and certified that is enough for the student. But if they are at conversation or advanced level a native speaker is the best option.
Because most students receive more confidence from a native. Since, they have come from the native land. Which allows them to have a proper pronunciation.
In my experience students do not care about it.
They feel support because if they get struggle, their own language can help them
2. Opinion about NNESTs.
⮚ Item 2: Do you think speaking a second language helps teachers better
understand their students’ learning process?
Most of the coordinators explained that living a similar processes that the one
students face is important as the teacher can related to his/her learners in
ways that it would be impossible due to the lack of similar experiences. Graph
1 and table 2 show the answers of this question.
Graph 1. Item 2
Table 2. Item 2’s responses
Item 2: Do you think speaking a second language helps teachers better understand their students’ learning process? How?
Because that way the teacher knows what's involved in the teaching - learning process and the different learning styles.
Knowing themselves, they are able to construct sentences, also they know better the way they think
To understand the way their students are currently and naturally thinking
Everyone learns differently. However having a first-hand experience of the obstacles an ESL learner can face, could be considered to be an advantage.
⮚ Item 4: Is it better to be taught by a non-native speaker?
In an earlier question, teachers described that although a NNEST is not better
than a NEST, the fact that NNESTs had to learn a second (or third) language,
provides them a better understanding of what students go through when
learning a new language. Similarly, in this item, teachers agreed again that
neither NESTs nor NNEST have a significant advantage towards each other,
but personal preference and teacher’s abilities are more important factors to
consider (see graph 3 and table 4).
Graph 3. Item 4
Table 4. Item 4’s responses
Item 4: Is it better to be taught by a non-native speaker? Why? Or Why not?
It might be a matter of preferences, regarding ‘natural pronunciation’. As far as I’m concerned, there is no scientific background supporting to any advantages to be taught by native speakers.
Because they know and understand better what a second language is, so they might find some activities that help them
Non-native teachers really struggle learning the language, so being able to transmit it in front of students, means a great achievement and most of them really strive for students to learn. On the other hand, at least here in México, for native English teachers, teaching is not their end goal, it is simply a way to spend some time.
If the teacher isn’t prepared, he or she will not be able to teach the content. In the speaking or pronunciation may be hindered.
⮚ Item 6: Is having an “accent” something that could negatively affect a
language educator’s teaching?
Having an accent is a very controversial topic, since most people consider
that NEST accent is ideal, but sometimes people do not pay attention to the
fact that among native speakers there are an incredible range of different
accents. Therefore, it is not unexpected to see that the arguments given in
this question do not pay attention to the “problems” that can be caused by a
NNEST having an accent, but instead they talked about how learners can be
benefited (see graph 5 and table 6).
Graph 5. Item 6
Table 6. Item 6’s responses
Item 6: Is having an “accent” something that could negatively affect a language educator’s teaching?
Accents are natural for all learners of a second language. This does not impede communication and their ability to teach.
Pronunciation is a big part of the conception of ‘knowing English’. A teacher might be perceived as non-experienced if pronunciation is not generally accurate.
In my opinion, the key here is the ability to communicate.
Every student makes his own way to learn English and they need to listen to all kinds of "accents" in order to be citizens of world
3. Opinion about NESTs.
⮚ Item 3: In your opinion, how necessary is it for an English teacher to be
a native English
The feedbacks of this question continue with the same position expressed in
question 4, teachers again stated that what makes a good teacher goes
beyond their place of birth, as training and skills are important for anyone who
wants to be an ESL teacher.
Graph 2. Item 3
Table 3. Item 3’s responses
Item 3: In your opinion, how necessary is it for an English teacher to be a native English speaker? Why?
Native speakers are the minority when it comes to the number of English speaking persons in the world. It may be accepted in some cases but in others being native can be a disadvantage because the teacher can't relate to the students’ learning process.
Because to be a native speakers may mean to be a good user of the language but not a good teacher.
Because teaching English is to transmit knowledge of the language, which you acquire studying and practicing. Pronunciation can come by practicing using other useful tools.
The fact of being a native speaker does not mean that you can teach English in a foreign country. Other cultural aspects need to be taken into account.
⮚ Item 7: Is an English teacher’s native language important for students?
Finally, answers in question 7 presented an unexpected result (see graph 6
and table 7), as they do not share the same logic as the rest of the answers.
In most of the responses, it is implied that being native gives NESTs an edge,
since their pronunciation will be better and learners will be benefited.
Graph 6. Item 7
Table 7. Item 7’s responses
Item 7: Is an English teacher’s native language important for students?
If you want to work with you speaking skills, of course
It will always be an influence whether you want it or not
Teacher may lose the confidence from his or her students.
Everyone learns differently. However having a first-hand experience of the
obstacles an ESL learner can face, could be considered to be an advantage
Conclusion
To conclude, it is important to note that the available literature concerning the
comparison between NNESTs and NESTs suggests several findings. Firstly there is
a real problem faced by NNESTs when it comes to equal opportunity for
employment. Due to different factors, there is a perception that a native speaker is
more suited to teach its own language than a non-native one. In addition, although it
is understood that this classification does not involve all types of ESL teachers, it is
the most accepted one as it is simple to use.
Finally, regarding the study, all the questions received the same treatment by the
surveyed teachers and all of them gave each one a brief description behind their
rationale. Most of the answers reflected the mindset of a talent seeker, a fact that
should have been expected since the fifteen interviewed teachers are in charge of
the hiring process in their respective schools. This was particularly evident on
questions 1 and 2, where characteristics of what it is considered to be an “ideal”
teacher were described. Moreover, despite the coordinators expressed how NESTs
and NNESTs have advantages, it was stated that neither of the two is better than the
other.
Nevertheless, as answers in question 5 show, it is evident the teachers still think
students and the community do not share their opinion, as in their responses it was
clear that according to them most of their learners will rather have a NEST than a
NNEST. This situation might be a consequence of previous marketing strategies that
still linger in today’s society (as mentioned before, NESTs were really popular during
the 90’s), a topic that will be interesting to study in future investigations.
REFERENCE
● Arva, V. & Medgyes, P. (2000). Native and nonnative teachers in the
classroom. System, 28, 355-372.
● Brutt-Griffler, J. & K. Samimy (1999). Revisiting the colonial in the
postcolonial: Critical praxis for nonnative English-speaking teachers in a
● Phillipson, R. (1992). Linguistic imperialism. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
● Seidelhofer, Barbara (2011). Understanding English as a Lingua Franca.
Oxford: Oxford University Press.
● Villalobos, Nuria (2011). Insights towards native and non-native ELT
educators. Bellaterra Journal of Teaching & Learning Language & Literature
Vol. 4, Jan-Feb 2011, 56-79. Costa Rica.
● Walker, Robert J. (2008). Twelve Characteristics of an Effective Teacher: A
Longitudinal, Qualitative, Quasi-Research Study of In-Service and Pre-
Service Teachers' Opinions. Educational Horizons, Vol. 87 n1 p61-68, fall
2008.
APPENDIX 1 – Survey
Survey to Coordinators of Language Centers
The intention of the following survey is to collect information on the perceptions that exist among people in charge of language centers about the advantages or disadvantages of a native English speaker teacher and a non-native English speaker teacher. Thank you for your help!
1. For you, what is an ideal teacher like? ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
2. Do you think speaking a second language helps teachers better understand their students’ learning process?
6. Is having an “accent” something that could negatively affect a language educator’s teaching?
a)Yes b)No c)Somewhat d)Not sure
Why or why not?_________________________________________________
7. Is an English teacher’s native language important for students?
a)Yes b)No c)Somewhat d)Not sure
Why or why not? _________________________________________________
Source: Villalobos (2011).
APPENDIX 2 – Questions’ opened responses
All the opened responses for each of the questions are found below.
1. For you, what is an ideal teacher like?
● A teacher who can make a student speak fluently the language.
● Dynamic, well prepared, native like pronunciation and has at least a BA in pedagogy education.
● A committed teacher to the students and the institution. Always looking for strategies to help their students learn and improve all English abilities to accomplish goals of the student, level and institution.
● A person who can convey his/her expertise in a meaningful and unforgettable way, native or not.
● The One who love being in a classroom
● Responsible and Committed
● An ideal teacher is capable of transmitting the passion and desire to learn. And of course, has the knowledge in the subject he is teaching, as well as the context where he and his students are immersed.
● A teacher who shares his/her knowledge and experience and helps to develop the students’ skills.
● A responsible individual, proactive about his professional development and institution’s needs. Asking for help and helping peers, a dedicated individual. Passionate about his job.
● In my opinion the ideal teacher has to have first and foremost the correct set of values and personal traits required to teach. Teachers need to not only know the language and how to teach it, they also need to be able to establish a rapport with the students and make them feel willing to participate while constantly encouraging them. Teachers also need to be responsible, committed and ethical because teaching also includes planning, assessing, grading and paperwork!
● I could summarize my answer by saying that my ideal teacher is a reliable person, but an ideal teacher is also an open-minded person, an innovator and an expert, as well as a coach and a “former” of minds.
● For me an ideal teacher is a teacher that is able to motivate his students towards learning, by helping them to overcome the obstacles that don’t allow them to improve in their English.
● An ideal teacher is the one who plans for every situation, is always ready to teach, doesn’t allow his personal problems to interfere in his classes, etc. All of those characteristics that are on the books.
2. Do you think speaking a second language helps teachers better understand their students’ learning process?
● To show them the logic of learning a language.
● Because that way the teacher knows what's involved in the teaching - learning process and the different learning styles.
● Somewhat, as it can also be a disadvantage, depending on how much L1 interference the teacher has in his spoken English.
● Scientists state that multilingual people think differently depending on the language they are speaking at a certain moment, so multiple languages give you a different mental skill set, which in turn may make it easier for you to understand your students or even give more plasticity to your brain. And that's always helpful.
● Knowing themselves, they are able to construct sentences, also they know better the way they think
● Everyone learns differently. However having a first-hand experience of the obstacles an ESL learner can face, could be considered to be an advantage.
● A teacher that speaks a second, even a third language, has more awareness about the learning process.
● A teacher that has learned a second language can relate to the cognitive and emotional process.
● I don’t think so, since training is the most important thing a person should have when teaching.
● She someone teaches math or any other subject most of the times that person teaches it the way he/she learned it, regardless of the different approaches he/she uses. Something similar happens in English when you are a non-native teacher.
● To understand the way their students are currently and naturally thinking.
● Id the teacher is teaching people with the same L1, I think is an advantage, cause not only he will be able to understand the process students’ are living, but also the cultural factors that someone from another country will not understand.
3. In your opinion, how necessary is it for an English teacher to be a native English speaker?
● Any person can learn a language even if they are not a native speaker.
● Because it allows the teacher to know most, if not all idioms and have an excellent pronunciation. But if the teacher is not prepared (teaching background), he or she may fail.
● Because teaching English is to transmit knowledge of the language, which you acquire studying and practicing. Pronunciation can come by practicing using other useful tools. As we all learn not only by the teacher but with further practice using different technology.
● Again, it depends on your communication skills. You can be native and a horrendous teacher and you may be a non-native teacher with a great ability to connect with your students
● Just for speaking purposes but besides that there is no problem
● Depends if the pronunciation is on point.
● The fact of being a native speaker does not mean that you can teach English in a foreign county. Other cultural aspects need to be taken into account.
● Native speakers aren’t necessarily better teachers than non-natives. It depends on the professional and academic background of the individual.
● Just a little, cuz it gives the opportunity to talk about cultural aspects of the places where English is spoken, but only that.
● Native speakers are the minority when it comes to the number of English speaking persons in the world. It may be an asset in some cases but in others being native can be a hindrance because the teacher can´t relate to the learning process.
● Because to be native speakers may mean to be a good speaker but not a good teacher necessarily
4. Is it better to be taught by a non-native speaker?
● Is not better and is not worse.
● If the teacher isn’t prepared, he or she will not be able to teach the content. In the speaking or pronunciation may be hindered.
● I think both are good options and have their unique way to transmit the language.
● Same as above
● Because they know and understand better what a second language is, so they might find some activities no that help them
● It really depends on English mastery and teaching ability.
● Non-native teachers really struggle learning the language, so being able to transmit it in front of students, means a great achievement and most of them really strive for students to learn. On the other hand, at least here in México, for native English teachers, teaching is not their end goal, it is simply a way to spend some time.
● For me that does not make any difference. What it matters is how the teacher shares the knowledge.
● It might be a matter of preferences, regarding ‘natural pronunciation’. As far as I’m concerned, there is no scientific background supporting to any advantages to be taught by native speakers.
● When their English level is in accordance to the level they are teaching!
● Both types of teachers have got their favorable things or benefits.
● Yes, as he/she will not only provide with cultural knowledge that a non-native won’t but also the pronunciation.
● Teacher training and practice is way more important that the place of birth.
5. Who do you think students generally prefer to have as an English teacher?
● Because most students receive more confidence from a native. Since, they have come from the native land. Which indicate to have a proper pronunciation:
● They feel support because if they get struggle, their own language can help them
● ESL students / parents would natural. Be inclined believe that the non-native ESL teacher is the better choice.
● In my experience students do not care about it.
● It depends on the teacher’s social skills and the ability to establish rapport.
● In a language center I think that they don’t have a preference, what they want is to learn English.
● If the teacher is proficient, qualified and certified that is enough for the student.
● By if they are at conversation or advanced level a native speaker is the best option.
● Sadly, native speakers as they represent “exotic” persons that they are used to be around.
● If students are looking for a good method to translate, they may prefer a non-native speaker, for instance
6. Is having an “accent” something that could negatively affect a language educator’s teaching?
● Depends of the accent, if the students can’t understand it that would be a problem.
● Depends on how strong is that accent.
● In my opinion, the key here is the ability to communicate.
● I suppose it depends on how thick the accent is.
● Every student makes his own way to learn English and they need to listen to all kinds of "accents" in order to be citizens of world
● Fluency and accuracy is more important than accent.
● Pronunciation is a big part of the conception of ‘knowing English’. A teacher might be perceived as non-experienced if pronunciation is not generally accurate.
● Accents are natural for all learners of a second language. This does not impede communication and their ability to teach.
● It may affect their students listening skills acquisition, for instance.
7. Is an English teacher’s native language important for students?
● Depends of the accent.
● Teacher may lose the confidence from his or her students.
● If want to perfectionist the speaking , of course
● It might be if that language is English.
● Students might feel intimidated by a foreign teacher. This might backlash in the learning process whereas a teacher that shares same l1 as students might be easier to engage and understand. Also, learners feel more confident asking for clarification.
● I don´t understand the question. Sorry !
● It will always be an influence whether you want it or not.
● Sometimes is irrelevant, some students just prefer foreigners as teachers regardless of where they are from.
● If the pronunciation of the non-native teacher is not that good, students
tend to not like the classes, unless the teacher can compensate it by
