What would you do in this situation (native speaker vs. non native dilemma)? [Archive] - Audio & Video Forums

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PAUL
05-22-2014, 11:35 PM
I want to be an elementary school teacher but I also love Spanish and am studying to hopefully become fluent. I think I might want to become a Spanish teacher but as a student, I've hated being taught by non-native Spanish speakers. As I am not a native, it would be kind of hypocritical for me to teach Spanish. Should I go for it anyway? What do you think of non-natives teaching their non-native language?
Thanks!
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ForeverAutumn
05-23-2014, 06:11 AM
Hi Paul,
I moved your post from the Speaker forum to the Off-Topic forum. I don't think this is what the Audio forum meant by "speaker". :)

Cheers!

Feanor
05-23-2014, 06:50 AM
I don't think it would be hypocritical of you to teach Spanish provided you speak completely fluently and with relevant local accent and vernacular -- this might not be so easy.

I remember, many years ago, I was supposed to be learning French in high school in Montreal in the province of Quebec, Canada. Of course, the French language, specifically French Canadian-style French, was the majority language there, though there was (and is) a substantial English-speaking minority. None of my teachers were French Canadian and the school board sanctioned teaching only Parisian, or so-called cosmopolitan, French. The direct consequence was that non-native French speakers like me graduated without conversational ability in the French Canadian language.

That was the travesty of non-native and -- more particularly -- non-vernacular language instruction.

GooseWashington
04-29-2022, 06:08 AM
Well, in my school, foreign languages were taught not by native speakers, and I don’t see anything wrong with that.

HardissonHard
04-29-2022, 06:24 AM
Nevertheless, I think that it is better to learn a language with a native speaker or even on your own, especially now there are cool services and platforms for learning romance languages (https://lingopie.com/blog/what-are-romance-languages-and-where-are-they-spoken/). I like Lingopie, which I found on the advice of my friend. The learning consists in watching series and films, and I really like this approach.