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Thursday, April 11, 2013



                 Myths about teaching and learning English


  1. Only native speakers of English can teach English as a foreign language.
Well, this is a widespread misconception which has become very popular in recent years mostly because of the learners' desperate need to improve their English and become competitive in the global market. 
Incompetent non-native teachers of English who didn't expose their students to the target language enough, but taught in L1 (=their mother tongue) instead was another reason for this trend to emerge. Learners were sick of drilling grammar rules without being able to actually speak the language.
As a result, native speakers of English whose educational background is sometimes irrelevant to teaching, have been travelling the world and teaching English as a means to cover their travelling expenses. Some of them don't know anything about teaching methodologies or how to design a lesson plan and make a student-friendly communicative lesson.
Of course, many of them take teacher training courses, but the majority of them last for just one month. 

Our suggestion for the learners is to have critical thought when they choose where or with whom to study.
Being a native speaker of English doesn't necessarily make someone a good teacher.
On the other hand, a university degree in teaching English doesn't make a non-native speaker a good teacher.

A good teacher is a combination of things. 
  • A degree in teaching English as a foreign language is always good, but never enough. It certainly means that the teacher have some (theoretical) knowledge of teaching methodologies.
  • Teacher training courses are always good, but never enough. They certainly familiarise  newly qualified teachers with the classroom environment and how to apply teaching methods. However, they usually deal with just one or two methods.
  • In our opinion, a combination of the two would be ideal
  • Make sure that your teachers are passionate about teaching and love what they do. They should enjoy teaching you to say the least!
  • What about the teachers' accent? Generally speaking teachers should have a neutral accent and clear voice. Strong non-native accent or strong colloquial (native) accent and mumbling are highly not recommended. 
So, choose your teachers carefully!! 
More myths to follow soon......


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