We are in the same page that
teachers of English play a prominent role in the success of students’ learning
process. They should become a good role model for their students because the
students value the input they receive from their language teachers and L2
learners, indeed, rely on models provided predominately by their teachers.
Hence, not only should the teacher possess a positive attitude towards language
teaching and learning, but they should have a high level of proficiency,
pedagogic skill, and linguistic competence as well to become an ideal language
teacher. Additionally, it is often argued that we should recruit more native
speaker-English teachers (NESTs) because they represent an ideal language
teacher with their extreme language proficiency while non-native
speaker-English teachers (Non-NESTs) often represent linguistic handicap
meaning that they are not an ideal language teacher. However, I am not favor of
this supposition because I believe that non-NESTs can be an ideal language
teacher.
To be taken to extremes, some people
argue that NESTs have the ownership of English so that they are the right
person to teach language. However, the fact that the number of second and
foreign language speakers of English far exceeding the number of first language
implies that English is no longer the privilege of native speakers. Indeed, a
growing number of researchers have discovered the ambiguities with which this dichotomy
is loaded. We know that English is an international language, which also
implies that it is not a possession which native lease out to others. In
similar way, Norton (1997, p 427) contends that English “belongs to all people
who speak it, whether native or non-native, whether ESL or EFL, whether
standard or nonstandard.” Moreover, according to Canagarajah (1999), it has
been estimated that proportion of non- native speaker teachers of English
world-wide is more than 80%. Hence, the assumption that NESTs are the only
suitable teachers in ELT should be questioned. The “the native speaker
fallacy” should be taken into account. We should be no longer trapped in
the fallacy that the ideal teacher of English is a native speaker. A high
degree of English language proficiency alone is not a guarantee for successful
teaching because teaching the language is far different from speaking the
language as your mother tongue. Indeed, not all NESTs have teaching
qualifications, professional skills and also experience. In certain countries
and historical circumstances, even backpackers with no teaching qualifications or experience are
extended warm welcome and even hired because of the native speaker fallacy. I
do hope that this fallacy is not adopted in Indonesia in which English is a
foreign language.
Many people also believe that NESTs
are the ideal language teacher because they have superior English competence.
They have spectacular ability to use the language spontaneously in the most
diverse communicative situations. On the other hand, many people view that non-
NESTs are not an ideal language teacher due to their linguistic impediment. It
is true that NESTs make better language models that non- NESTs since they are
unrivalled in the area of linguistic competence. However, based on Medgye’s
basic claim any language teacher can set two kinds of models before their
students: a language model and a learner model. Indeed, not only do language
learners need a good language model, they also need a good learner model. The
bright side of being non-NESTs is that they provide a better learner model.
According to Krashen (1998), only non-NESTs can be set as proper learner models
since they learned English after they acquired their native language unlike
NESTs who acquire English as their native language-two completely different
processes. Consequently, non-NESTs can teach language learning strategy more
effectively. As successful learners of English, non-NESTs are supposed to be
conscious strategy users, able to tell which strategies have worked for them
and which have not. Thus, they stand a better chance of sensitizing their
students to the employment of strategies that NESTs do. Their ability consists
in imparting their own learning experiences as well as providing assistance for
students to discover other strategies that should work specifically for them.
Therefore, non-NESTs can be an ideal language teacher because they are also a
good learner model.
To be clearer, non-NESTs are found
to be more insightful than NESTs. This follows from the differences in the
process of mastering the English language. Because their acquisition are
perceived as being largely unconscious, NESTs are unaware of the internal
mechanism directing language use, therefore, less able to give their students
relevant information about the target language. On the other hand, non- NESTs
have amassed a wealth of knowledge about the English during their own learning
process. Indeed, having jumped off the same springboard as their students, non-
NESTs are intrinsically more perceptive about language difficulties than NESTs.
Non-NESTs are also more sensitive to their students; they can be more
responsive to the students’ real needs. They are also more cognizant of the
constraints of the national curriculum, the teaching materials available and
the examinations to be taken. Considering those elements, I urge everybody to
shift their perspectives toward non-NESTs because they have the same potential
to become an ideal language teacher.
All in all, non native speaker
teachers need to be welcomed with open arm because they can be an ideal teacher
as well that can inspire their students; they are also language learners who
have undergone many phases in learning English. They make excellent role models
for second and foreign language learners. Because of their experience learning
another language, they are generally more aware of helpful strategies, pitfalls
to avoid, language learning difficulties and social need of learners;
therefore, I believe that non-NESTs can be an ideal language teacher.
By: M.Bintang
Arrival
Academic
Argumentation
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