Dear members,
As a native speaker and a teacher trainer for the Trinity CertTESOL course here in Valencia, I really feel for Elena and I think her observations are generally accurate and her experience of being made to feel "second-best" to a native speaker teacher is, regrettably, the case for many NNS English teachers in this Comunidad.
So, if we accept that this is going on, perhaps the most constructive thing to do is consider WHY this is happening and HOW to counter it effectively. As a self-confessed phonology freak, I think students, parents and institutions are all still focussing on the native-speaker model for pronunciation. Whilst this is understandable, it is also based on ignorance, in my humble opinion! These groups of people need to be educated about English as a World Language and need to be told that English is spoken around the world with a huge variety of accents............AND IT DOESN'T MATTER provided the English is intelligible!
They also need to be educated about the USEFULNESS of the teacher sharing the same mother tongue as the learner!! You can still experience "total immersion" in the English language classroom with a non-native teacher but you have a HUGE ADVANTAGE as a NNS of being able to explain the nuts and bolts of English and compare and contrast the target language with your mother tongue. All students at all levels love this!!
If it serves as any consolation to Elena, I know many successful NNS teachers in the world of TEFL who have found work in Spain and in other parts of the world. During the teacher training course I deliver, I always show a DVD of native and non-native TEFL teachers working for a very prestigious group of schools in the UK. The non-native teachers all comment on how much the students appreciate their teacher being able to use 2 languages. Does the teacher in the clip have a Spanish accent - Yes, she does! Is she a brilliant teacher - Yes, she is! I rest my case.
Perhaps the world of TEFL is less prejudiced but I suspect it's also because there are no politicians involved in the Teaching of English as a Foreign Language.
Never give up!!
Best regards to all
Christa Mundin
Dear members,
One of our aims as an Association is to share members' concerns for all the rest to be aware and act if necessary. We are passing a mail by member Elena Brosed who raises a very sensitive issue. The question of "native" English Teachers being given priority by employers.
Should you like to contribute to the debate write to us with "Native Fever" as the SUBJECT/ASUNTO
Dear APAVAC
I´ve been doing job interviews and/or applying for teacher positions in some private or semi-private schools (not bilingual) but they can only offer you a position in Primary education because they have a policy that states that only native teachers can teach in Secondary education. And not only happens this in schools but also in language schools (academias), it seems we have the "native fever", mostly in Valencia; I met once an English teacher from Salamanca and she told me that the demand for native teachers is higher here than in other regions (Salamanca or Soria, for example) and the below link shows that Madrid is suffering from this virus, too, although I shouldn´t be surprised since Valencia and Madrid have so many issues in common.
Am I the only one who feels that English teachers from Spain are being underestimated? didn´t we receive a good training at University, most of my teachers were Spanish and highly qualified. I understand that a student who has a C2 level needs a native conversation, I did it but only when I reached that level not before and only for conversation. I´m not saying that native teachers are not qualified but it seems to me that private schools think (and persuade parents to think the same) that English teachers from Spain are less qualified and this is a huge problem for us, I mean, if this goes on, what´s the point in studying "Filologia"?. I wish this was only an issue happening to me, not applying for the right schools or whatever but I have the feeling that it is a contagious virus.
This link is only a piece of news happening in Madrid http://www.elboletin.com/Nacional/99199/sindicatos-figar-tribunales-1880-nativos.html
Best regards,
Elena Brosed (desperate non-native teacher)
Now APAVAC is on Facebook; follow us !!
Now APAVAC is on Facebook; follow us !!
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