Teach English in Yudian Zhen - Zhumadian Shi

In the current era, it is of no surprise that countries become more and more eager to let their people especially the workforce to gain literacy in English. This is because the use of the English language in communication is becoming widely spread due to globalization. Countries such Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Japan, Korea, Philippines, United Arab Emirates, Spain, Venezuela, Morocco, Kuwait and many more are only a few of those who continuously opening their doors towards learning this language not only as a luxury but as a necessity to acquire. In an article from Academia dated in 2011 cited 8 among the many important advantages of using the English Language and these are the following: #1: Without question, English is one of the most widely spoken languages. English is used in many parts of the world and is often the language that is common to people who have a first language other than English. #2: When it comes to business and matters of trade, the English language tends to be the common currency. #3: Arguably the greatest advantage of studying English is that your career prospects and employment opportunities can vastly increase. #4: With the world becoming so much closer and more connected, opportunities to travel and explore different parts of the world are more available and, as a result of having studied English, travelers are better able to communicate. #5: In terms of academia, English is the language most commonly spoken by academics worldwide. #6: Technology is vital and significant in the day and age in which we live. English is very often the language used for many software programs and for those that are technologically minded and ambitious, the study of English can provide them with useful benefits and knowledge. #7: Australia has many English schools that are renowned for their success in teaching students’ English and the quality and range of the English courses that they provide. Successful English schools and colleges tend to offer great value for money and support structures to assist students to learn effectively and grow in knowledge, skills, and confidence. #8: English courses are available and specifically tailored for people of varying levels of English proficiency and for those who wish to study English for different purposes. In line with this, the demand for English Language Teachers is also shooting up. The academe and other fields such as business and commerce, tourism, etc. bombard both the online and offline platforms with the recruitment of English Language Teachers in almost all parts of the globe. Furthermore, highly reasonable compensation and attractive benefits for this job add more excitement to this career choice. In so speaking, the argument as to who could deliver the English language teaching better revolve between to hire Native English Speaker Teachers (NESTs) or Non-Native English Speaker Teachers (NNESTs). This issue has been withstanding ever since time immemorial, claiming that the effectiveness in teaching the language comes with the “nativeness“ of the teacher. If one would visit any recruitment sites of an English Teacher, 70% of these require the teachers to be fully native speakers. So if you are an English Teacher but not a native speaker, back off! Rejection is on the way! An article written by Marek Kickowiak dated July 18, 2014, cited the most common reasons behind this notion and these are : 1. Students prefer NESTs 2. Students need NESTs to learn “good English” 3. Students need NESTs to understand the “Culture” 4. NESTs are better for public relations. On the contrary, other studies resulted to the fact that learners value more personal traits of a teacher such as being respectful, a good communicator, helpful, well-prepared, organized, clear-voiced and hardworking rather than his or her “nativeness”, Therefore, one could confirm that it is only the recruitment agencies who are specifying such group. As to the proficiency of the students, schools should realize that both native and non-native could provide this intelligible language model. Proficiency is not tantamount to whether the teacher is a native or non-native English speaker. A person could be fluent but it doesn’t mean that he/she is always fully aware of the language structures and knows how to deliver it to the students. Moreover, the “native English speaker culture” doesn’t exist. As Noam Chomsky, a veteran Linguist, said: “English belongs to the world” meaning to say nobody solely owns the English language not the Americans nor the English. Lastly, the best attribute to hiring an ELT shouldn’t be based on any of these groups (NEST or NNEST) but based on qualifications, experience, and demonstrable language proficiency. Hiring an NNEST teacher might bring more of an advantage in teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language as these teachers could easily identify students’ problems in the acquisition of the target language. This is because they have the experience of being once a second language learner and they know how it feels. Alongside this, they also know how to counteract with these situations and be able to provide better and more effective teaching and learning strategies. As the need of the English Language Teachers becomes increasingly apparent, schools and recruiters must not only consider the mother tongue of the teacher applicants but also the qualification and the skills toward teaching the subject. Let the previous belief and myth that only NESTs could teach the students good English to be changed to the paradigm that English belongs to everyone and that teaching it doesn’t only limit to native speakers of it.