Job Discussion Forums

[almuze]

What's the point of having a non native speaker be the yabanci teacher for your school?
If english is not your native language, what has driven you to Turkey to teach it?
If you are responsible for hiring these people, what are you thinking?!?!
Why Why Why? Sad but true, the non native speakers I have met who teach here certainly speak english well, and thier english is (often, but not always) better than my turkish, but it has NEVER been as good as a native speaker. Their english isn't even as good as my husbands, and he is not responsible for teaching it to impressionable young minds.
Why? is my anguished cry! why!

[tekirdag]

Economics. Non-native speaker is cheaper, probably, but can be passed off as a native speaker. And, believe me, they ARE being passed off as native speakers.

I know a guy from Albania who fled from there with his wife and kid.

The schools he works at lie about where he's from. Now he's a Brit. No one can tell the difference, apparently.

He is very popular and cleans up in privates because he's a "Brit" but (yaaay!) teaches JUST like a local!! He even uses Turkish in his lessons, therefore he is very friendly. Get a native speaker but ya don't have to work any harder! yahoooo!

I say if ya can't get the native speaker then give the job to a Turk because, god knows, there are enough unemployed here who deserve the work.

[scot47]

It is a scientific fact that native speakers of English BY THEIR MERE PRESENCE IN A CLASSROOM facilitate language acqusition.

Something to do with pheromones.

[almuze]

The current non native speakers I know have been flown in from the Philipines, how cheap are tickets? maybe they bought them in bulk?
Yes, the kids have to use english to talk to them, but the teachers are learning the vocab along with the kids! Their only secert weapon of wisdom is access to the teachers book, but when I try to talk to them (me of many words not found in the teachers book,) the conversation is painful. I just think the whole situation is very strange. but truth is stranger than fiction, ay?

[ghost]

Non native speakers of English are often very effective in the classroom, and many of them are far more proficient than your average backpacker whose main concern is 'where is the beer?'

Non natives study English 'bottom up' - with a heavy focus on grammar and structures in the early years. This means that non-natives are very effective when it comes to teaching Elementary level English, because they can actually explain the workings and mechanics (and exceptions) of the English language, which few native speakers are capable of.

Philippinos possess an accent, truth be told, but it is a charming one that would not, in general, detract a foreigner from learning English.....no more than would be the case of a foreigner being exposed to a teacher with a heavy Scottish, Irish, Welsh, or other regional accent from U.K. or elsewhere.

In the Philippines, many schools are now opening to cater to Koreans and Japanese, who have cottoned on to the fact that the Philippinos are good teachers, in addition to the fact of saving vast sums of money by learning English in the Philippines, compared with First World Countries.

Ghost in Taichung, Taiwan

[tekirdag]

[Sheikh Inal Ovar]

[dmb]

[saloma]

[ghost]

[saloma]

Hmmm... You might be onto something! If they could set up an English school in a 5 star resort, then the Taiwanese would go, but I still feel they wouldn't easily accept a local as a teacher. They would import by advertising on Dave's.

I liked the Phillipines too, but it may have changed a lot since I was there....9 years ago!

[dmb]

[saloma]

Pre or post tsunami? (I can think of a few teachers I'd like to jettison down there. )

[saloma]

I wasn't thinking about the teachers being caught in a tsunami, I was thinking more that the Maldives are far, far away from here.