Non-Native English Speakers Teaching English

An extremely active discussion on a LinkedIn professional group called English Language Services Professionals has caught my interest. This group is one of the most active English teaching groups on the Internet, with almost 13,000 members. Heres the question that begins the discussion: Ive been looking for a teaching opportunity for two years and Im sick of the typical Native speakers only phrase. Why do they allow TEFL certificates for non-natives then? This is a discussion that needs to be had in the world of English teaching. I have my own opinion on the matter, but lets first start off with a quick overview of the current situation in the English teaching world. To be very general, as well as to oversimplify the discussion, lets admit that there is a perception by some that native speakers of English are better English teachers. Arguments Against Non-Native Speakers as English Teachers This idea that only non-native speakers of English need not apply for English teaching jobs comes from a number of arguments: Native speakers provide accurate pronunciation models for learners.Native speakers innately understand the intricacies of idiomatic English usage.Native speakers can provide conversational opportunities in English that more closely mirror conversations that learners can expect to have with other English speakers.Native speakers understand native English speaking cultures and can provide insight that non-native speakers can not.Native speakers speak English as it is actually spoken in English speaking countries.Students and students parents prefer native speakers. Arguments for Non-Native Speakers as English Teachers Here are some counterarguments to the points above: Pronunciation models: Non-native English speakers can provide a model of English as the lingua franca, and will have studied correct pronunciation models.Idiomatic English: While many learners would like to speak idiomatic English, the fact is that most of the English conversation they will have and should have will be in non-idiomatic standard English.Typical native speaker conversations: Most English learners will be using their English to discuss business, holidays, etc. with OTHER non-native English speakers for the majority of the time. Only true English as a second language students (i.e. those living or wanting to live in English speaking countries) might reasonably expect to spend most of their time speaking English with native English speakers.English speaking cultures: Once again, most English learners will be communicating with people from a wide variety of cultures in English, that doesnt mean that UK, Australian, Canadian, or US culture will be the main topic of conversa tion.Native speakers use real-world English: This is perhaps of importance only to English as a Second Language learners, rather than English as a foreign  language learners.Students and students parents prefer native English speakers: This is more difficult to debate. This is purely a marketing decision made by the schools. The only way to change this fact would be to market English classes differently. The Reality Of Non-Native English Speakers Teaching English I can imagine that a number of readers might also realize one important fact: State school teachers are overwhelmingly non-native English speakers in non-native English speaking countries. In other words, for many this is a non-issue: Non-native English speakers already teach English in state schools, so there are plenty of teaching opportunities. However, the perception remains that, in the private sector, native English speakers are preferred in most cases. My Opinion This is a complex issue, and having benefited from the fact that I am a native speaker I admit to having had an advantage for certain teaching jobs throughout my life. On the other hand, I have never had access to some of the cushier state teaching jobs available. To be blunt, state teaching jobs offer much more security, generally better pay and infinitely better benefits. However, I can also understand the frustration of non-native English speakers who have gained mastery of English, and who can help students in their own native language. I think there are a few criteria for making a hiring decision, and I offer these for your consideration. The native / non-native teacher decision should be based on students needs analysis. Are the learners going to need to speak English in native English speaking countries?Qualifications must be considered: Just Speaking English doesnt make a teacher qualified. Teachers need to be judged on their qualifications and experience.Non-native speakers have a distinct edge for teaching lower level students as they can explain difficult grammar points in learners native tongue with great accuracy.The perception of native speakers is best seems antiquated in the global English speaking environment. Perhaps it is time for private schools to revisit their marketing strategies.Native speakers do have the edge when it comes to idiomatic language skills. Imagine an English learner is going to move to the US to work in a company, a native English speaker with a bit of knowledge about that industry will be able to quickly latch on to idiomatic language, as well as jargon that the student will need. Please take advantage of the opportunity to express your own opinion. This is an important discussion, that everyone can learn from: teachers, both native and non-native speakers, private institutes that feel the have to hire native speakers, and, perhaps most importantly, students.

Critical Analysis of Hamlet Character Analysis and the...

The play Hamlet is a text that despite its age and Elizabethan linguistic style is still resoundingly relevant to today’s modern audience due to its ability to move past time related contextual barriers and capture the universality of the human condition with its infinite confusion as evident in the character of Prince Hamlet, its ability to influence and manipulate as well as its reaction to such manipulation, revenge. The character of Hamlet himself is very relatable today especially to young students, the reason that the play still thrives today is due to the universal relevance that his conflicting emotions hold for us. Hamlet being a university student of Wittenberg; intelligently tries like men today to justify his life, as can†¦show more content†¦Due to the Elizabethan use of complex language to portray this play and the need for a deep understanding of Hamlet to gain a greater understanding of the text, the play lacks a level of textual integrity that has only heightened the views on vengeance portrayed in Hamlet. This is due to each society’s context being projected onto the play. Evidence of these can be seen when juxtaposing the Elizabethan views of Hamlet as purely a Hero against our modern views influenced by psychology where he is viewed as confused, even irrational, â€Å"he is full of purpose but void of that quality of mind which accompanies purpose† (Colerid ge) or even earlier against the 20th century Freudian views of an Oedipus complex fuelled revenge plot. All of these differing views on the one play show the universality of vengeance, and Hamlet’s continued relevance to today’s audiences. Prince Hamlet has been portrayed by critics such as Goethe as â€Å"unfit† for revenge, this is not the case, as previously demonstrated in an analysis of Hamlets character, it is his intelligence that undercuts his quest for vengeance, which adds to the tension that Shakespeare creates and elaborates on in each soliloquy. Events in the play such as in Act iii Scene iii that prevent Hamlet from killing Claudius which while viewed as merely tension building today ,have a powerful effect on the responder when viewed through theShow MoreRelatedVengeance and Dramatic Conflict in Electra and Orestes1843 Words   |  8 Pagesreceived great critical acclaim they have been extensively approached and discussed in terms of characteriza tion, themes, symbols, plot, incestuous love, demolition, betrayal and especially lamentation. 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Marino Faliero monologue from the play by Lord Byron Essay Thesis Example For Students

Marino Faliero monologue from the play by Lord Byron Essay Thesis A monologue from the play by Lord Byron NOTE: This monologue is reprinted from Lord Byron: Six Plays. Lord Byron. Los Angeles: Black Box Press, 2007. ANGIOLINA: Sage Benintende, now chief Judge of Venice, I speak to thee in answer to yon Signor. Inform the ribald Steno, that his words Ne\er weighed in mind with Loredano\s daughter, Further than to create a moment\s pity For such as he is: would that others had Despised him as I pity! I prefer My honour to a thousand lives, could such Be multiplied in mine, but would not have A single life of others lost for that Which nothing human can impugn—the sense Of Virtue, looking not to what is called A good name for reward, but to itself. To me the scorner\s words were as the wind Unto the rock: but as there are—alas! Spirits more sensitive, on which such things Light as the Whirlwind on the waters; souls To whom Dishonour\s shadow is a substance More terrible than Death, here and hereafter; Men whose vice is to start at Vice\s scoffing, And who, though proof against all blandishments Of pleasure, and all pangs of Pain, are feeble When the proud name on which they pinnacled Their hopes is breathed on, jealous as the eagle Of her high aiery; let what we now Behold, and feel, and suffer, be a lesson To wretches how they tamper in their spleen With beings of a higher order. Insects Have made the lion mad ere now; a shaft I\ the heel o\erthrew the bravest of the brave; A wife\s Dishonour was the bane of Troy; A wife\s Dishonour unkinged Rome for ever; An injured husband brought the Gauls to Clusium, And thence to Rome, which perished for a time; An obscene gesture cost Caligula His life, while Earth yet bore his cruelties; A virgin\s wrong made Spain a Moorish province; And Steno\s lie, couched in two worthless lines, Hath decimated Venice, put in peril A Senate which hath stood eight hundred years, Discrowned a Prince, cut off his crownless head, And forged new fetters for a groaning people! Let the poor wretch, like to the courtesan Who fired Persepolis, be proud of this, If it so please him—\twere a pride fit for him! But let him not insult the last hours of Him, who, whate\er he now is, was a Hero, By the intrusion of his very prayers; Nothing of good can come from such a source, Nor would we aught with him, nor now, nor ever: We leave him to himself, that lowest depth Of human baseness. Pardon is for men, And not for reptiles—we have none for Steno, And no resentment: things like him must sting, And higher beings suffer; \tis the charter Of Life. The man who dies by the adder\s fang May have the crawler crushed, but feels no anger: \Twas the worm\s nature; and some men are worms In soul, more than the living things of tombs.