Most English learners believe they must study
with a native English teacher. But is that actually
true? The answer might surprise you. Welcome
back to the Learn English podcast. The podcast
teaching English in context so you can learn
naturally. On today's episode, I want to explore
this issue, whether or not you need to have a
native English speaker be your teacher and help
you on your English learning journey. If you
are new to the podcast, you might not know that
I teach English online to students who are learning
it as a foreign language. And on today's episode,
I want to go over the pros and the cons of having
someone who is not a native English speaker so
you can determine if it would be good for you
and when you might want to use someone who is
a non -native English speaking teacher. So if
you're interested in learning about these pros
and cons and trying to figure out whether or
not it might be a good fit for you, then follow
along because we're about to begin. Before we
get started, I want to remind you to look at
the description of this podcast episode. There
you will find the words and phrases that I use
in the episode, so you can take them and start
building your English vocabulary. Let's start
talking about having a non -native English teacher,
and we're going to start with the pros of why
this might be a good idea. I've had a number
of students tell me that they have used someone
who does not speak English natively, but who
speaks it at a very high level. I think the biggest
pro is when this type of teacher speaks your
native language and when you are just beginning
to learn English. If you are at the beginning
of your English learning journey, then maybe
you have difficulty understanding a native speaker.
Maybe you're struggling to understand what I
am saying now, and it would be difficult to have
an entire lesson in English because you wouldn't
be able to understand. everything. If you have
a teacher who speaks your native language and
speaks English to a very high level, then they
can communicate with you and you can better understand
them. They can explain concepts to you. They
can answer any questions you might have. This
is not really possible if you have someone who
does not speak your native language. I can say
from personal experience, I took lessons to try
to learn Spanish. And when I was a beginner,
I did take a lesson with a native Spanish speaking
teacher. He did not speak English and it was
challenging. I only did that one time because
I did get a little bit confused. this might be
a really good use of your time and of your resources
if you decide to use someone who speaks your
native language but then also can explain those
english concepts to you the second pro is that
this person would also be able to explain the
grammar to you when you have someone who is a
native english speaker A lot of the time, they
do not know the grammar rules. They speak English
very well. They can tell you what sounds right
or wrong, but they might not be able to explain.
why. They don't know the names for all of the
grammar rules, for example. And that's because
we don't actually learn those in school. We do
learn some, we do know some basic grammar, but
if you were to go up to the average American
and ask them, how many verb tenses do you have
in English? They'll probably look at you a little
bit funny. But if you have a non -native English
speaking teacher, they have studied those grammar
rules. They have learned English in a way that
is different from the way a native speaker has
learned it. So they're better able to explain
those grammar rules to you because they know
they exist, they know what the reasoning is behind
them, and they can give you a really good explanation
about why something is said one way versus another.
The third pro is that they're able to make comparisons
between English and your native language. If
you have someone who knows your language and
knows English to a really high level, they're
able to tell you about the similarities and the
differences. When I teach someone who is a Spanish
speaking student, I am able to make some comparisons
between Spanish and English because I do know
some level of Spanish, but I'm not able to make
that comparison, which can be really helpful
when you are trying to learn a language. The
fourth pro is that they can provide really good
study material and can be a good role model for
you. If they know your language and they've learned
English to this really high level where they're
able to teach it themselves, you know that they
have used a lot of material to study from along
the way. They have resources that they can tell
you about. They can tell you what study material
they used. And that material is most likely going
to be in English, but also in your native language.
They can tell you exactly how they got fluent
in English. And that can be a really good source
of inspiration. That can help you stay motivated
because you have someone who speaks your language,
but also speaks English to the level that you
want to reach. And that's really a good thing.
I think having someone who can show you that
it is possible. You can reach that really high
level of fluency of English. and the last pro
is that they're able to empathize with you they
have gone through this exact journey that you
are on right now they know exactly how difficult
it was to learn english i know i am able to empathize
a little bit with my students I know exactly
how difficult it has been for me to learn Spanish,
so I understand how difficult it is to learn
a second language. But I'm not able to relate
exactly to what they are going through. For me,
English is my native language. I learned it as
a child, so I don't know that struggle exactly.
I'm able to relate because I am learning a second
language, but I don't understand everything that
they're going through. If you have someone who
has gone through that journey, they are able
to empathize with you. They know where you might
make mistakes along the way. They can tell you
where they made mistakes because of the differences
between your language and English. And that is
a good resource to have. It's just sometimes
nice to have that support, have someone who can
relate to you and understand what you're going
through while you're learning English. Now let's
turn to the cons. The first con of having a non
-native English speaking teacher is that sometimes
the pronunciation or the phrases that they use
can be a little bit odd. Over the years, I've
had a number of students from China, and I've
been told from my Chinese students that the English
teachers that they have when they are in school
are not native English speakers. They are Chinese
people who have learned English and who are now
teaching English. And that's great. That's what
you have to use if that's what's available. But
I have heard over the years some mistakes when
my students are speaking. I've heard some weird
phrases that they use in conversation. And they
have told me that the pronunciation that they're
using or the phrases or rules that they're using
came from their non -native English speaking
teachers. For example, with many of my... Chinese
students, when they're saying that they want
to be more fluent when they're speaking English,
they have told me they want to improve their
oral English. A native English speaker, at least
in the United States, is never going to say oral
English. They will say speaking ability. I don't
know where oral English comes from. I don't know
if maybe that's a British term or something from
a different country, but an American speaker
will never say that term. And I've heard it from
multiple students, and they have told me that
that is what it is called in China. In the education
system, they use the term oral English. Again,
that is odd to me. It's not something I would
ever say. And I have told them if you were talking
to someone who's from the United States, don't
say that. Instead, say you want to improve your
speaking ability. I've also had students tell
me about some... grammar rules, some differences
between some words that they were taught from
their teachers in China or in whatever country
they're in when they were learning English. And
the rules that they told me were rules that I
had never heard of. And the examples they gave
me were just not correct. The second con is they
just naturally don't have the same level of depth
in the language as a native speaker would. Now,
I am not talking about grammar rules. Like I
said, most Americans are not able to explain
every grammar rule of the English language. We
are just not taught that. But we do know our
language and how it's used. We can tell you what
sounds correct versus what sounds incorrect.
We can tell you the difference of two very similar
words and why you would use one versus the other.
We can tell you what One word has for its context,
whether it's negative or positive versus another.
So two words might have the same meaning, but
one might be a more negative term and one might
be a more positive term. For example, I did an
episode on advanced English words to help your
English vocabulary. And I did them in pairs where
I used two similar words or terms and I talked
about the differences, even though they meant
the same thing. What the context differences
were, what the very subtle meaning differences
were between the two. That's what I'm talking
about when I'm saying this level of depth. A
native speaker just naturally knows that. And
a native speaker also knows just what sounds
natural when you're speaking. I've had students
who have come up with very odd rules for why
they would use one word versus another. For example,
I had a student from China who talked about the
differences of using thus or therefore. Now,
these are terms that we use usually when we're
making an argument or trying to explain something,
the reasoning behind something and why something
is the way that it is. And they're very similar.
However, my student was trying to say that they
were very different and you only use one in one
context and one in a completely different context.
And she said that her teacher had explained this
and was very strict about the rules. And I was
listening to her and I thought, no, that's completely
wrong. That is not what an American would say.
Again, maybe they were learning a different type
of English from a different country. But in the
United States, we use those two words the exact
same. Thus and therefore are interchangeable.
And I learned that when I was in school that
you could use either one of those. So sometimes
when you do have a non -native speaking teacher,
they could make the mistakes right it's possible
for them to not be able to fully understand the
differences between similar words maybe they
make some odd rules that don't really exist or
they think something is a particular way when
it might not be and that's just something again
to watch out for if you are using this type of
teacher the third con i have already mentioned
but it is the over reliance on grammar rules
I think grammar gets taught way too much to people
who are trying to learn English as a second language.
We do not learn grammar to that high of a level
when we are in school. We can tell you the difference
between a noun and a verb and an adjective, of
course. We know what pronouns are, but we don't
know every single little tiny rule. And I don't
really know why when you are learning a second
language, grammar gets taught so much. Why verb
tenses get stressed so much. I don't think that
is really necessary. One time I saw another English
teacher. And he was saying that every time he
teaches his students a new verb, he makes them
write the verb in a sentence in every single
verb tense. So they have to give him 19 different
sentences with all of these different verb tenses.
And I just thought that was a little ridiculous.
Maybe that is your style. Maybe you really love
grammar, but I thought it was a waste of time.
I think it is so much more important to acquire
a language, to listen to native content, to have
your brain absorb the material by having that
contact time with a language. And I think that's
really way more important than learning every
single tiny little grammar rule about the English
language. We have talked a number of times about
the input hypothesis about Steve Kaufman and
Steve Krashen. I will leave links to the episodes
where I have talked about the input hypothesis,
but I think it's so much more important for your
brain to be exposed to the language and just
naturally absorb the language, and I don't think
that if you're spending all of your time on grammar
that it's an effective use of your time. And
the last con is the risk of relying on your native
language. Now, I said it was a pro that someone
who speaks your language is able to explain something
to you if you're confused. If you don't understand
what they're saying in English, they can switch
and explain it to you in your native language.
And that's really a huge pro. I think that is
a great thing. However, If you are relying on
that too much, that really risks wasting your
time. If you are spending the entire lesson in
your native language and not in English, that
really is a waste of time. You want to try to
spend as much time as you can in English. This
can be very difficult as a beginner, and I understand
that. But once you get to the point where you
can spend more time in English, you really want
to do that. It is much easier to speak in your
native language, right? We all know that. I am
the most comfortable speaking in English. But
if I'm trying to learn another language, I want
to try to speak and listen to that native language
as much as possible. I don't want to spend my
entire lesson in English if I don't have to.
And I've had this experience. I have had students
who are Spanish speaking students who want to
speak Spanish with me. I will ask them a question
in English. They will struggle to try to answer
and then they'll just go right into Spanish and
want to stay in Spanish. And they'll start talking
to me in Spanish. And when they say something,
I will respond in English because I am trying
to push them out of that habit. it is a lot easier
it would be fun to just have a conversation in
spanish but they can already do that you have
friends you have family members who speak your
native language if you are taking a lesson you
want to try to live with that uncomfortableness
of speaking a different language it is uncomfortable
it is a struggle but you have to embrace that
so if you are going to use someone who is not
a native english speaker but speaks your language
as well as English, really push yourself and
just keep that in mind to try to spend as much
time as you can in English. I hope you enjoyed
this episode. I hope it helped you with the pros
and some of the potential cons of having a non
-native English speaking teacher. I hope I was
able to cover a lot of the benefits and some
of the potential challenges so you're better
able to decide what type of teacher you would
like to have on your next stage of your English
learning journey. I also hope you were able to
reflect and think back on the types of teachers
you have had in the past. If you have had a non
-native speaking teacher, please tell me about
it and let me know. Let me know if I missed any
of the pros that maybe you experienced or any
of the potential cons. I would love to know more
about people's experiences. Like I said, this
list was really... from my students who I've
had who have told me about this and their experience
with having a non -native English speaking teacher.
But tell me about it if I missed anything or
if you agree or disagree with anything that I
said. If the podcast is helping you overall,
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