Non-native English speaking Teacher success?

[PaulinaP]

Hi all,

Would non-native English speaker have less chance to be sussesfull?

[kaithegreene]

Sorry - your question is not very specific. Be successful in what?

[PaulinaP]

To be less successful as a teacher than a native English speaker

[Alex Case]

It depends what you mean by successful and what kind of situations you are speaking about. Perhaps the most common situation where native and non-native speakers are comparable is taking a 4 week TEFL course like the CELTA and then looking for language school work after. Non-native speakers often know the grammar jargon etc better than native speakers and are sometimes better at grading their language but have sometimes been taught old-fashioned English or in an old-fashioned way and try to pass that on, but none of those things are always true. Some non-native speakers find struggling with the language and the teaching at the same time just too much, so Cambridge Proficiency really is the minimum level to enter the course.

Native speakers often have a better feel for what language sounds natural and are more of a "blank slate" willing to accept ways of learning a language presented in the course, but again it really depends on the person.

The next stage is getting a job. There it is much more difficult, but not impossible, for non-native speakers (just as it is often really difficult, but not impossible, for foreign native speakers to get permanent state school teaching positions).

[RUdoniV]

If you are a non-native speaking teacher in Russia it seem as if they have no problems finding work here in Sankt Petersburg, Russia. As a native American speaker (TEFL Cert.) It has definitely been easy finding work. I can work as much or as little as I like. Good luck to ya!

[kaithegreene]

I have met and trained a number of EFL teachers who are very effective at their job. What is important is that, as a teacher, you can provide good models of language and communicate/construct/convey meaning effectively to your students.

As Alex says, both first and second language teachers have plenty to offer their students, and often with different talents.

If you apply to do a CELTA course you will have to complete a pre-interview language awareness task and participate in an interview. This will allow whoever deals with applications in that organisation to assess whether your level of English is sufficient and whether you demonstrate sufficient aptitude to be likely to make a success of the course and develop into an effective EFL teacher.

Some countries and organisations do seem to have different levels of bias for or against 2nd language English teachers. I think that what matters is whether or not you can do the job - so, good luck, and I hope you find what you are looking for.