Native vs. Non-Native Language Teachers of Spanish: a brief review.

A Thorny Issue.

At my school this year, the language department, and particularly the

Spanish faculty, will see some significant changes. As a veteran

teacher enters her retirement or “Jubilation” (jubilación), we are compelled to find a teacher to replace

her who brings many of the same qualities and skills to the classroom.

As the department undergoes these changes, we

want to ensure that the quality of instruction across the language and

department remains strong. As the department evolves we must seek to

define our teaching of the Spanish language in ways that will lead to

increased student achievement and deep enjoyment and satisfaction in

language learning.

One significant language teaching component that we have enjoyed with

The retiring teacher  is that Spanish is her native language. In fact, she is only

teacher of Spanish at our school who speaks as

her first language the material that she teaches. Over the years, she has

been be an excellent resource both to students and colleagues. As her

understanding of the language is so complete, she has long been a point of

reference for the department. For this reason, as we lose this veteran

teacher this year, we must consider how best to replace what she has

brought to the teaching of Spanish as a second language.

This brought up for me an essential question: as a language instructor, is

the best teacher a native or non-native speaker?

Native speakers have levels of language competence themselves which is

seldom matched by non-native speakers. Native speakers by definition have

a fundamental mastery of pronunciation and an ear for what "sounds

right".  In other words, they hay a complete understanding of

descriptive, what Chomsky calls Deep, grammar.  Truly great

native-speaking language teachers also develop in their professional

practice an understanding of Proscriptive grammar, as well, that is, what

the Real Academia Espanola deems officially correct usage.

Certainly, simply being a native Spanish speaker does not automatically

make you a competent teacher in general, nor a competent teacher of the

language. Being a great teacher is a learned skill, not a fixed or innate

quality. As Robert Phillipson (1996) has explained, “Teachers are made

rather than born, whether they are natives or non-natives.”

Non-native teachers have advantages too.  Because they have gone through

the process of learning themselves, they have empathy for language

learners, and a very clear understanding of the problem areas for language

learners (such as using the “to be” verbs Ser and Estar in Spanish). They

also can present themselves as models to their students of successful

models of non-native speakers who have achieved language competence. A

great advantage of a non-native teacher is his language awareness. This

teacher, as a result of his or her own experience with learning the

language, can help language learners to think about the language and about

the process of  language learning itself.  Incidentally, these advantages

also apply to native Spanish speakers who have achieved a high level of

proficiency in English as language learners themselves.  Because they

understand the process of learning a second language, they are able to

bring that knowledge to bear in the classroom.

In the hiring of a non-native teacher, however, one must also be vigilant

to ensure that the candidate is in fact truly competent in the language.

Sadly, a university degree in the language, or the accident of place of

birth does not always ensure competence in the language.  Because not all

members of the hiring committee are necessarily experts in the language, it

is important that the candidates be vetted through an interview in the

native language by other department members who are known to be competent

in the language.  I vividly remember being interviewed by

members of the department in Spanish for over an hour before my hire

eight years ago.

Student perceptions are important too. Hertel and Sunderman administered a

questionnaire to 292 students of Spanish at Florida State University. The

results revealed that “students perceive native speaking instructors to

possess advantages over non-native speaking instructors with regard to

pronunciation and culture, but not with regard to the teaching of grammar

or vocabulary.” English language learner forums on Englishbaby.com also

revealed some interesting perceptions.   On this discussion board, the

overall consensus seemed to be that non-native teachers were often most

useful as lower-level classes because, “he can explain differences between

languages, he can clarify the basic rules, grammar etc. in you language.”

This same contributor also stated,  “But a native speaker can help you

with pronunciation more then non native speaker, because his ears are used

to listening his own language, so he can easily correct your pronunciation.

Then you must talk with him in English, so you practice your speaking too.”

Clearly being a native speaker or non-native speaker does not predict your

success or competence as a teacher. In this sense, the question has an

easy comparison in sports:  Who is the better coach:  A former

professional athlete or a professionally trained coach who has played the

game recreationally?  Certainly we can think of many examples where

successful coaches have come from either background (for example,

Barcelona’s Guardiola and Real Madrid’s Mourinho). In his work contrasting

Native and non-native English teachers, Medgyes (1992) has noted that both

native and non-native teachers bring different advantages and

disadvantages to the table, and in the end, they have essentially an equal

chance of becoming successful language instructors.

For me, the element that is most important in a teacher of any material,

be it language or anything else, is passion and enthusiasm.  For a

language teacher, I believe the best teachers seek ways to be involved in

the langauge.  Whether native speakers or not, these lifelong students

view the language in the context in which it most often appears: a life

skill and a pleasure. They make connections in music, friends, lifestyle,

entertainment, food that they can use to inspire their students to take a

true interest in the material.

In summary, the best language teachers have a combination of excellent

training, rich experience with the language, and enthusiasm about the

material, the culture, and learning itself. It is important that they love

the language they are teaching, whether they are native or non-native

speakers.

Phillipson, R. (1996). ELT: the native speaker’s burden ? Power, Pedagogy,

and Practice.

     Oxford: OUP.

Medgyes, P. (1992). Native or non-native: Who's worth more? ELT Journal,

46, 340-49.

Hertel and Sunderman accessed February 10, 2012 at:

http://mailer.fsu.edu/~gsunderm/Research/Hertel%20and%20Sunderman.pdf

Englishbaby.com Forum topic: Native speaking teacher vs. non native

speaker http://www.englishbaby.com/forum/AskEnglish/thread/434175