Profeza

    I   have   met   several   people/prospective   students   who   have   asked   me   whether   it   makes   a   difference   if   one   is   taught   a   foreign   language   by   a   native, or   non-native   speaker   of   the   target   language. In   other   words, is   it   better   to   have   a   native   or   non-native   speaker   of   a    language   as   a   teacher?. The   answer   I   have   always   given   is   that   it   doesn’t   matter   whether   the   teacher   is   a   native   or   non-native   speaker   of   the   language. The   important   thing   is   for   the   teacher   to   be   qualified, to   have   a   complete   grasp   of   the   language   they   teach.    From   my   own   personal   experience, I   have   been   taught   by   both   native   and   non – native   speakers (eg when I learnt Spanish). But   the   one   thing, and   the   most   important   that   they   had   in   common   was   that   they   were   accomplished   professionals

    One   thing   I   can   assure   prospective   language   students   is   that   they   will   face   some   challenges. They   may   be   minor   or   major. And   this   is   normal. One   of   the   biggest   mistakes   a   person   can   make   is   to   compare   their   situation   to   somebody   else’s   without   first   analyzing   it   critically. This   is   what   makes   it   unwise   to   do   so. Let’s   look   at   the   following   analogy, here   are   two   students   who   are   having   a   difficult   time   with   conjugations. At   first   glance, it   seems   like   a   straight   forward   issue. Their   area   of   weakness   is   conjugating   verbs. That’s   a   general   analysis   and   it   may   be   misleading. One   student   may   be   having   difficulties   conjugating   verbs   in   the   present   form/tense   while   the   other   may   be   experiencing   difficulties   with   the   subjunctive   tense.     What   does   the   above