Non-Native Speakers Make Great Language Teachers, Too! Here’s Why

Written By Lana Schrock

I started learning Spanish when I was around 12 years old. At the time, I had no prior experience with the language. However, as time went on, I absolutely fell in love with learning Spanish and with language learning in general. As my Spanish improved, I constantly received praise from my teachers. I remember feeling as if I had made it to the big leagues when, on a trip to Cuba, a local woman asked me where I was from. When I told her I was from the United States, she was surprised, and told me she thought I was from Latin America because of how well I spoke Spanish. 

I knew that I wanted to become a Spanish professor to help others experience the same passion for the language that I had found. I never really thought about competing or comparing myself with native speakers of the language. This all changed with a comment that a well-meaning friend made to me at the end of a Spanish class. Upon telling her that I had my sights set on becoming  a Spanish professor, she informed me that landing a job could be more difficult than I thought simply because I was not a native speaker of Spanish. She said that most schools and universities preferred to hire native speakers in their world language departments, insinuating that they were more credible than non-native speakers. 

At first I was taken aback and—to be honest—a little offended. Was she saying that all my hard work to learn a language would be thwarted just because I was not a native-speaker? That seemed ridiculous. However, I later learned that this friend’s opinions were most likely influenced by what is known as the native speaker fallacy, which is used to refer to the “unfair treatment of non-native speaker teachers and [identifying] as fallacious the belief that the native speaker is the superior instructor. Generally, native speakers are viewed as the more qualified language teachers regardless of their teaching skill, and their privileged status is favored ” (Dutra 28). Essentially, this phenomenon supports the idea that native speakers are automatically better at teaching a language simply because it is their native language. Nevertheless, this is proven not to be true. 

Here are some reasons why non-native speakers are also really great language teachers:

We’ve Been There Before

As a non-native speaker of Spanish, I distinctly remember feeling like becoming fluent in the language was just impossible. How was I supposed to learn and memorize thousands of words, develop the listening comprehension to understand multiple accents, and feel comfortable using the language in any situation? Many people quit learning a language because of these overwhelming thoughts and feelings. If you’re a non-native speaker that has become fluent in a foreign language, you are showing your students that it is in fact possible, as long as you don’t give up!

We Know How To Help 

Non-native speakers understand which elements of a foreign language are the hardest to learn, as well as which techniques, tips and methods to use to overcome these issues. These solutions are deeply rooted in personal experience from someone who has struggled just like a current student of a foreign language, making them highly effective. Despite their efforts, native speakers, on the other hand, may not be able to directly relate to the parts of their language that are hard for non-native speakers, since—obviously—they have known that language since birth. This leads to a glaring disconnect in the classroom that can lead to  frustration for the instructor and the student alike. In fact, I remember being a student in a foreign language class and the instructor getting increasingly frustrated with us because we were not understanding the lesson. The attitude of the instructor made me feel incompetent and a bit discouraged. Looking back on the situation, I realize that the feelings I had—as well as the irritation the teacher experienced–—were due to her not understanding why the concept was so hard for non-native speakers, as well as not having the tools to help.

We Show That There are Always Opportunities to Keep Improving

The number one reason why students may not be progressing in their language learning skills is fear! Many students are afraid to make a mistake. I believe we can help students get over this fear by sharing with them that as non-native instructors, we are still learning, too, and yes, we still make mistakes from time to time. I will admit that while I am fluent, I probably do not speak Spanish with 100% accuracy all of the time (even native speakers don’t). However, that is okay! None of us are perfect, and by being instructors of the language, we’re letting our students know that you can still reach fluency, even if you make mistakes. 

Ultimately, as a non-native Spanish tutor, I think the key is collaboration. Rather than comparing ourselves or pitting ourselves against native speakers, it is possible to collaborate and learn from each other as people who are passionate about language and teaching in general. Coming together helps us create learning solutions to bridge language gaps.

So, if you are thinking about learning a foreign language and you feel that you must have a native speaker, it may be time to expand your horizons and explore the possibilities of a non-native language instructor. You may be surprised at how much your language skills can improve!

Sources


Dutra, Orsola Giovanna, "Understanding the Lived Experiences of Tenured, Non-native Spanish Speaker-teachers: A Phenomenological Investigation of the Native Speaker Fallacy" (2023). Theses & Dissertations. 182.https://digitalcommons.molloy.edu/etd/182


Lana Schrock
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