Lately, there has been an increase in the promotion of native teachers in academies worldwide, often exclusively offering classes taught by them. But to what extent is being a native speaker truly a guarantee of quality?
Learning with a native teacher might seem appealing because we automatically think we will speak like them, with a native accent, and that no one will notice our country of origin. But is this always true? And why then is the work of non-native teachers often undervalued?
Many non-native teachers are better prepared and have a deep knowledge of the language, including grammatical rules and teaching methodology, whereas some native teachers, despite speaking the language naturally, lack the necessary training to teach their mother tongue. This can make learning less effective than expected. So, a direct question: do you think you could teach your mother tongue without any training? Probably not, right? Try it and you’ll see it’s not as easy as it seems.
Being a native speaker does not automatically imply knowing how to teach the language. This doesn’t mean there aren’t excellent native teachers, but being a native speaker should not be considered a qualification. However, unfortunately, nowadays language academies prefer to sell a product rather than offer quality in teaching.
Does this mean that non-native teachers should be undervalued? Absolutely not. Many of them have learned the language from scratch, through methodical study, and with passion and a vocation for teaching. They know the difficulties and can put themselves in the students‘ shoes when the process becomes complicated, in addition to sharing tricks and strategies that worked for them. This experience and empathy can be a real advantage.
In short, being a native speaker is not a qualification. A qualification is preparation, training, and the ability to teach. Native teachers without training should not be sold, but the value of both qualified native speakers and non-native speakers with solid preparation should be recognized, the latter often unjustly criticized.
