Job Discussion Forums

[Sashadroogie]

[jpvanderwerf2001]

I'll look into it!
No, but seriously, that's ridiculous.

[gaijinalways]

Some of the non-native teachers I work with use a good combination of exercises for various skills. Some though have very few ideas for what kinds of exercises they should be doing. In other words, some do teach, but their arsenal tends to be limited.

The bigger problem, as addressed by a few posters already, is sometimes an over-reliance on using L1. I've seen this even with experienced nonnative teachers. Sadly, I have also seen it with a few experienced native teachers as well. Their skills with the students' L1 soon becomes a hindrance as they spend lot of class time interpreting or simply practicing their language skills. The students strangely enough sometimes are happy with this arrangement as long as the class work is light and the grades are high enough.

As to who is better, as noted, for some low levels students, their ability to distinguish between nonnative and native accents is minimal. That being said, better models do help for the later stages where students may need to understand native pronunciation (if that isn't the case, then learning nonnative English might be far more suitable and closer to what they will be dealing with in the future). Now some nonnative teachers get around this by using native speaker audio tapes, etc for extended listening practice.

As to problems with students with limited ranges of discourse ability, this is a problem for many students. That and a limited range of pet phrases, leading to their speech sounding too 'rehearsed'.

[tomstone]

[Justin Trullinger]

I'll add, though- while I've worked with great teachers and crap teachers of diverse nationalities and native languages, in Ecuador it's extremely unusual for local teachers to be anything like functional, let alone proficient with the language. This causes a lot of friction between local teachers and native teachers. Local teachers can hide behind their diplomas and tell students that they grew up in Michigan, but the natives know. And that means they don't often like each other.

I feel bad for posting that. Not an hour ago, I got of the phone with an Ecuadorian colleague who is a skilled teacher and a proficient English speaker. But I think she knows she's an exception as well. (Sorry L!)


Best,
Justin

[jpvanderwerf2001]

Interesting point, Justin.
In my experience, there are mostly two types of non-native teachers, as they relate to native ones: 1) excited to work with a native speaker in order to improve their language skills; or 2) threatened by a native speaker, either because they thought they "knew it all", or because they're afraid they won't be as popular or get the hours they once had.
In reference to your point about language level, I would say most teachers in Vladivostok--that is, in unis and private schools, are around the pre-advanced level, with some at advanced and a handful at proficiency. So the levels of English for most of those teachers are actually quite good. In the public schools, however, most teachers I have been in contact with are around pre-intermediate to intermediate levels

[spiral78]

I think the distinction can often be extended to approach and method as well. Many of the non-native English speaking teachers I've worked with are also highly wedded to their teacher-centred approaches, and are far less open to changing the learning experience to reflect what most literature in our field suggests is 'best practice.' I find myself sometimes in the sensitive position of needing to steer them tactfully after my observations....

[gaijinalways]

I think a lot of teachers don't like changing their routine even when it's merited. I sometimes just like doing different things, if for no other reason it keeps me more interested in teaching, i.e still learning. On the other hand, I do like to build up material and exercises I can reuse. Obviously, I do this because of time issues and wanting to have my own life outside of work.

So you really need a blend of the two, new and old, to keep things lively and keep you aware of what is out there that you could have your classes doing.

[AjarnIam]

[coledavis]

[Justin Trullinger]

I guess it makes me cynical. I've heard a lot of local teachers tell their students that the native speakers aren't "really teachers," but are just native speakers.

Undermining isn't cool.


Saludos,
justin

[AjarnIam]

[johnslat]

Dear Justin,

"I guess it makes me cynical. I've heard a lot of local teachers tell their students that the native speakers aren't "really teachers," but are just native speakers."

And vice versa - I've heard some "native speaker" teachers tell their students that the locals aren't "really teachers," but are just hired because of convenience or less pay.

My experiences with "non-native speaker" teachers clearly hasn't been as negative as AjarnIam's has.

Regards,
John

[Justin Trullinger]

I guess I'm balanced in my cynicism- I've had excellent, and terrible, experiences with all varieties.

Ecuador's a funny place, though- It's unusual, here, for the local NNET to be qualified teachers either. THey're often just "people who speak English."


Best.
Justin

[AjarnIam]

OK, if we're going to rant..here goes. Last week I was sitting at my desk and listened to a student and NNET talking. The student was upset by her speaking test results, and asked her teacher for help. The NNET said (no word of a lie) don't worry too much about speaking, as long as you know the structure...and it wasn't "structure"...it was "schuture" and she gave the student some photocopies from a grammar book. BTW this NNET holds an MA in AL and is working on her PHd at a local uni.