native vs non-native English speaking teacher

[dandy]

I'm a native English speaker living in Italy. In my son's kindergarten some questions have been raised about native versus non-native English speaking teachers. Currently the school has a native Italian teacher teaching English to 4-5 yr olds. Some parents aren't happy about this situtation because they feel that their children aren't being taught proper English intonation and pronunciation.
I'd like to have some opinions regarding this 'problem'. Thanks.

[Sally Olsen]

Of course, it depends a lot on that teacher but if the children are actually learning English in a specific time frame - like a lesson - then the teacher can use all sorts of media to give the children native English speaker's experience. I found that in Japan and Mongolia, the children always took "grammar" from the native teachers and had conversation with the native English speakers. It seemed a very effective way to work. I rarely found that the native teachers did something so wrong that it permanently affected the way the chidren learned English. We did have different ways to teach and sometimes the native teachers emphasized British English but that just added to the mix.
Perhaps the other parents see you as a good resource and are just raising the issue to tempt you to become involved in their children's education?