Session 1 

English as a Global Language 

Warm Up Activity 

Read this online conversation about English native and non native teachers.

It is a genuine conversation from the discussion forum website Reddit. Only the names of participants were changed.

Think: 

Who do you agree with? 

Do you think that for higher level learning a native speaker is better? 

Why?

You may also think about sharing this discussion with your own students. 

Please use the Discussion forum to share your thoughts. 

A

I recently came across some discussions about how non-native speakers shouldn't teach a language other than their native language (ex. Someone who's native language is English shouldn't teach Spanish). How do you guys feel about that? On one hand I kind of understand it, but on the other hand... not so much. So what is your guy's opinion on the subject?

B

Practical point: Almost all of us who speak English as a non-native language learnt English from non-native speakers in school.That said: For higher levels (C1 or so) where idiomaticity is so important, having a native speaker or truly near-native teacher does really have benefits.

C

I think up to and including B2 non natives are perfect but once you get to the Cs it would be a lot better to have a native

D

Non-native speakers often have a different approach and they know better how to learn that language because they've done it before. Some non-native speakers have a much more profound understanding of the language than the vast majority of native speakers, because they're interested in the language, including grammar, literature, and everything else.That said, a non-native speaker should have to be competent enough to correctly teach pronunciation

E

In my opinion a foreigner fluent in the language and prepared to teach people is way better than an average native speaker. Like, okay, I'm a native speaker of Polish. But would I make a great Polish teacher? No! I know what feels correct, but that's it. No way in hell I can explain why some things are the way they are. "How should I learn how to decline nouns?" - "Duh, I don't know, it's natural to me, so I don't know what to tell you."

I can guarantee you that once I'm fluent in one of the languages I'm studying, I'd make a better teacher of a language foreign to me than Polish. Because I'd actually have experience learning it myself and I could relate to the people I'd teach. I can correct people on Polish, but I can't teach people how to learn or speak Polish from scratch.

F

Almost the opposite of the truth. Almost every good teacher I know is a foreigner, both in English and the languages I'm studying.

As a native speaker, learning English is not only something I have never done, it's literally impossible for me to do. I've learned another language to a reasonable degree, and I know basic Second Language Acquisition theory, so that puts me ever-so-slightly above other English natives, but there's still that fact that as an English teacher I'm selling lessons in a subject I've never learned.

In fact, a great deal of private foreign language schools spread the native teacher argument precisely because it helps them sell useless, unqualified teachers who are easier to find and replace.

Saying that native speakers are the best language teachers is like saying you should learn zoology from a cat.

Video

Watch the following videos and consider the accompanying questions. 

You may want to put the subtitles on.

Reading

• Did anything Crystal said surprise you?

• Which accent did you find hardest to understand?

a reminder: please post at least twice this week in our Discussion forum