When you decide to learn a foreign language under the tutelage of a teacher, it’s not easy to know where to turn, so diverse is the offer.
Age, gender, training, experience, ethnic origin, geographical location or price – each provider has unique characteristics. And yet, among these criteria, there is one that attracts particular attention and sometimes proves decisive in the selection process: the teacher’s status as a native speaker.
Let’s take a look at this supposed privilege first, before examining what makes us choose one teacher over another.
Two distinct portraits
If conventional wisdom is to be believed, the mere fact of being “born” into a specific language and culture makes every native speaker a potential teacher.
The native speaker would have a very large vocabulary, which he or she would use appropriately. They would be grammatically correct and have perfect pronunciation. They would be able to understand all types of discourse, from the most formal to the most colloquial. Through his knowledge, behavior and values, he would also be an authentic prototype of a different culture.
This is more or less how we imagine native speakers. And if they were to start teaching their language abroad, they’d be called “native”, driving up their price on the market.
As for the non-native teacher, he or she doesn’t have the luxury of being a true ambassador for the target language (the one we’re learning). Instead, their value is determined by their qualifications, experience and familiarity with the target language/culture, validated by a number of years spent abroad. They obviously don’t have the same degree of mastery as the native speaker, but their major advantage lies intheir ability to explain.
In fact, unlike his counterpart who handles his language without knowing the rules, he, having studied it formally, can bring out its nuances. He can do this in his pupil’s language if they share a common linguistic background, and even provide elements of comparison between grammars or pronunciations.
The icing on the cake is that he has mapped out the tricky passages and pitfalls of the learning journey, having faced them himself in the past. As a result, he’s in a much better position to imagine his student’s trials and tribulations, and to offer support in difficult moments.
The native teacher, between myth and reality
The first point concerns the native teacher’s training.
Although this is not systematically the case, it should be borne in mind that a good number of them work as teachers without having obtained a diploma to do so.
Indeed, when you’re in a foreign country for academic, professional or tourist reasons, giving lessons is a great way to make ends meet, or even earn a living. And if being a native speaker is enough to attract enthusiasts who are willing to pay for your services, then there’s no compelling need for certification.
This opportunism is possible for foreign languages, because in this field, many learners see the need to call on a specialist whose knowledge and know-how have been attested by professional training as optional.
On the other hand, we mustn’t forget that linguistic competence in our mother tongue is to a large extent shaped by the nature and diversity of the socio-cultural environments in which we’ve been immersed since childhood.
This often explains the differences between speakers in their ability to formulate complex sentences, organize their discourse, or respect spelling rules. It’s hardly surprising, then, to find non-native speakers performing better than some native teachers in both speaking and writing.
Finally, native speakers are commonly considered to be in the best position to teach their own culture.
On this point too, not everyone has the same capital of knowledge, and we can once again insist on the preponderant role of frequenting rich and varied socio-cultural environments.
On the other hand, when it comes to teaching a culture, it’s mainly the fact of being identified with it that makes you a stakeholder, and therefore not very capable of hindsight and objectivity.
The best teacher, then, is no longer necessarily the native speaker, but as Michael Byram tells us, the one ” […] capable of making his pupils grasp the relationship between their own culture and other cultures, of arousing in them an interest and curiosity in otherness, and of making them aware of the way in which other peoples or individuals perceive themselves and their culture.”
How do you choose your teacher?
Evaluating the quality of a specialist without being one oneself confronts us with a problem of legitimacy. Logic would dictate that we should only be able to assess a specialist’s competence to the extent of our own knowledge of the subject. A lawyer doesn’t have the measuring instruments to give a verdict on a doctor’s worth; only another doctor can possibly do that.
A language learner doesn’t necessarily have the necessary expertise to judge the quality of the content and teaching methods on offer. Nor is it logical for them to diagnose their teacher’s linguistic mastery.
He bases his choice on the information he has at hand, such as training or experience on a CV, and on the impressions left by a podcast, promotional video or website.
You can also rely completely on “gut feeling”, or on an outside opinion.
For many, notoriety on social networks, quantified in the number of subscribers, is sufficient proof of value. You may also want to look for feedback from other learners, testifying to a concrete, personal experience. If you have the opportunity, the enlightened opinion of another teacher can prove invaluable.
In the end, it is only during the first lesson that you can get a tangible idea of the teacher’s professionalism (punctuality, organization, involvement…), as well as their human qualities: patience, benevolence, self-confidence…
The concrete experience of having the person in front of you, even if only for the duration of a course, is often enough to fix your choice.
The moment of choice
In the end, whatever the source of information available to us, it is above all on the basis of our own conceptions that we choose our teacher. This is due to confirmation bias, which, more often than not without our being aware of it, makes us prefer data from our environment that validates our worldview to data that contradicts it.
For example, if you think of foreign languages as a subject to be studied in the same way as geography or maths, you’ll naturally opt for a specialist who puts the emphasis on explanations.
On the other hand, anyone who acquires a new idiom through intense practice without superfluous commentary will opt for a “communicative” configuration.
In the event that the teacher’s teaching style doesn’t match the learner’s expectations, compromise is rarely an option.
The influence of each other’s beliefs often leads to fixed views and unequivocal attitudes.
To return to the question posed in the article and conclude, there is obviously no definitive answer. As in love, it’s better to have a relationship that works, despite its possible limitations, than to pursue an unattainable ideal. As long as the courses provide moments of pleasure and keep you motivated, you’re on the right track!
