Opinion and Advise wanted from Native English Speakers

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pdutta102
Posts: 4
Joined: Thu Sep 27, 2007 4:21 pm

Opinion and Advise wanted from Native English Speakers

Post by pdutta102 » Fri Sep 28, 2007 6:53 am

Regarding english teachers, some countries are looking for native englosh speaking persons rather than english teachers. I don't know what is the explanation behind this theory ? A student may be good in his study but that does not necessarily mean that the student can be a good teacher. Is it possible for a native english speaking person to be a good teacher ?? Does he/she knows the techniques and methods that are being applied in the Tesol Class room ??
It is a true fact that Indian accent is quite different from American accent. But I think that does not create any problem because many Indians are working in foreign countries, If Indian accent is not understandable then it would have been difficult for the Indians to work in foreign countries like China, Japan, Europe, America. So it may be concluded that Indian accent is understandable everywhere.

Let me introduce myself as a TESOL qualified ( from The American Tesol Institute, USA) english teacher from India. I am willing to teach english as a foreign language to the students of Asia, Africa, Europe. I am enthusiastic and adoptable with good social skill. I am a natural optimist and positive about new situation. I am dedicated to meeting the challenge of learning in order to become a highly capable educator of english as a second language. The students enjoy my teaching.
My contact e-mail: [email protected]

Please see my video( displaying my english speaking) at:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6Hkg1fFP4g

bethany27
Posts: 15
Joined: Wed Sep 30, 2009 4:26 pm

Post by bethany27 » Thu Oct 15, 2009 9:41 pm

Hi pdutta102,

I understand why they want native English speakers to teach ESL. It's easier to pick up the native accent from a native speaker. You do speak English well. It's kind of hard to hear you very well in the YouTube video, but it sounds good.

I can tell you from my experience in Mexico. I went there as a native speaker and ended up teaching some lessons to adult who wanted to learn English. I had NEVER had any professional training in teaching ESL or teaching anything for that matter. I just jumped in and did what I could and it ended up being a great experience for both me and my student! My boss hired me to teach because his students were asking for native English speakers. I caught on really quickly of how to explain things that I've just grown up around my entire life. I may not have always been able to explain things grammatically or professionally, but my student understood my explanations. And if I couldn't explain something immediately, I went and looked up on the internet the best way to explain something. It really wasn't that hard.

I've also much preferred having Spanish professors who are native speakers because I can hear their accents & pronunciation easily and they can naturally explain to me the aspects of their language & culture better.

If I were learning an India-based language, I would surely ask you to teach me because I know it would be easier to learn from you than a non-native speaker.

lolaintexas
Posts: 4
Joined: Mon Oct 19, 2009 10:32 am

Post by lolaintexas » Tue Oct 20, 2009 9:11 am

I think the reason is that the accent is different. Second, an immigrant to the US will want to learn American English- not Indian English. No matter how beautifully you speak English, you will not have the same nuances and accents and word choices as a native speaker. Countries that are hiring English teachers usually want their students to learn American or British English. I'm in India right now, and the educated people here speak English perfectly, but the accent and nuance and word choice are very different from the English spoken in the US or the UK. I've found that Indians believe they are speaking British English but they are not. Indians have been speaking English for so long that their English has its own distinctive sound and nuance. This is not bad- it's just different. But if I were a student in Korea and wanted to learn English for business purposes, I would want to learn American or British English.

It's just a matter of where the business is and what your needs are. I am learning Mexican and Central American Spanish. Spanish in South America and Spain is different. I very rarely work with South Americans or Spaniards, but I work with Mexicans and Central Americans all the time. So it would not make sense for me to have a teacher from Argentina or Spain. I need a teacher from Mexico or Guatemala. It is the same for English students in other countries. They need teachers from the US and UK, not India. It has nothing to do with which way of speaking is better.

Also, your English is very good. It's obvious you are fluent. But it is also obvious that you are not a native English speaker. You've written some things that a native English speaker, even in India, would not naturally write. For example:" I don't know what is the explanation " and "Does he/she knows" My guess is that you learned English in primary school but that at home and with friends you speak a different language.

The Indian accent is a very understandable accent, but not everyone understands it right away. Americans are famously frustrated with Indian accents from call centers, for example. Also, it is one thing to have a profession with an accent. It is another to teach English with an accent. A person who speaks fluent Indian English will have no trouble being an engineer or an accountant but might have trouble teaching English language to students who wish to learn American or British English.

I recommend hanging out with some Americans or Brits in India and talking with them. Also work on your accent or spend a year in the US or UK and talk to locals.

Gosh languages are really hard and it's hard to know when you are ready to teach. I wonder about Spanish in the same way. My Spanish is not so great and I probably will be seeking a job in a multi-lingual classroom despite this fact. But my primary goal will be teaching English so I hope it is OK. There is such a big difference from speaking a language fluently and speaking it like a native. Most of us never get to that point.

Well best of luck to you.

Sally Olsen
Posts: 1322
Joined: Thu Apr 08, 2004 2:24 pm
Location: Canada,France, Brazil, Japan, Mongolia, Greenland, Canada, Mongolia, Ethiopia next

Post by Sally Olsen » Tue Oct 20, 2009 1:33 pm

It sounds like pdutta102 wants to teach somewhere else than the USA so it doesn't matter what kind of "English" he speaks in most of those countries. It used to be that people wanted only British English and then they added Canadian/American but now the world is recognizing the power of India as a global partner and the possibilities of working there.

Just go to Dave's ESL Job Forum and apply for jobs that you would like. Of course you will have a better chance in countries that most people don't want to go to because the pay is poor (but the experience is rich). I would recommend Mongolia because I have been there and loved it. We had many Indian teachers at the University of the Humanities. The students came out speaking with a Canadian accent because that is the natural adaptation to English although they did use some words I would never use but understood.

May I suggest though that you get someone to look over your covering letter and resume because you have some major mistakes in your email that would cause the recruiter to throw your application in the trash/garbage can/bin before they had a chance to see your qualifications.

Might I suggest that you take off your Youtube posting as well. It is not professionally done and is hard to hear with children in the background and the echo of the room. You come across as too serious and lacking in emotion because you are reading what someone else has written for you. You only look at the camera once or twice. You need to talk to your audience.

You need to show your teaching in the classroom if you do all the things that you say that you do.

I don't think a recruiter would be impressed at hearing you haltingly read a passage of English. A more professional reading with emotion and theatrics is probably required and you would have to practice one piece so that you were able to put your heart into it.

I wouldn't complain about not being hired because you are from India. It comes across as negative and they might think that you are the complaining type. Teaching in other countries takes a lot of work and adaptability and recruiters are looking for someone who is flexible and still enthusiastic after having to adapt to a strange culture.

Sally Olsen
Posts: 1322
Joined: Thu Apr 08, 2004 2:24 pm
Location: Canada,France, Brazil, Japan, Mongolia, Greenland, Canada, Mongolia, Ethiopia next

Post by Sally Olsen » Tue Oct 20, 2009 6:23 pm

I found something that I recorded during one of my classes at Carleton about non-native teachers and their strength. You might want to use some of it in your resume. Don't just copy it though or it won't sound like you. Write it in your own words.

Although English and a Second Language (ESL) and English as a Foreign language (EFL) literature is awash with, in fact dependent on, the scrutiny of non-native learners, interest in non-native academics and teachers is a fairly recent phenomenon. The Belcher (et. al) 1995 colloquium is one example of this interest. Braine, 1999, ix
Situations are unique, first language backgrounds, level of education and training, teaching methods, aspirations, career prospects and the status of English in their country.
English has been their passport to better educational and career propects and the gateway to career, economic, and social betterment.

Through teacher training NNS can be fluent, use idiomatically correct language forms, learn about the cultural connotations of a language. The can learn insights into the language learning process, the correct forms and appropriate use of language, the ability to analyze and explain the language.
The very fact that NNS of a language have undergone the process of learning a language gives them an advantage. Tape recorders and other equipment can effectively replicate native speakers in the classroom.
have multilingual persepctives on the target language, its literature, and the culture.
When emphasis is moved from the contexts of use to the contexts of learning NNS is better aware.
Qualified, competent
Better understand their language problems
Bring multiculuturalism and diversity, multilingual experiences.

By most accounts, there are at least four NNS to every NS of Enlgish. (page 1 Braine).
Need to cultivate and insider’s and an outsider’s
attitude toward English.
NNS can see through the norms of the English language and test their limits.
Rather than socializing NNS into the ways of the natives, the written language can offer the opportunity to express human thoughts and feeligs that NNSs have experienced particularly accutely.
Often students are offended or hurt by statements made by NS such as the identifying with white middle class students (p. 7)
We learn to value what we see valued and undermine what we see undermined.
We recognize and have experienced how high the stakes are when an individual struggles to acquire, not just any language, but language of immense power. (p. 12)
We can not only empathize with our student’s struggles but also share our stories as well.
You are role models, success stories, you are real images of what the students can aspire to be.


Just some ideas.

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