Native-Speaker vs. Non-Native-Speaker:
Why It Matters to Your Fluency Success
Hello. Happy Saturday! As always, I hope you are well and that you have had a great week (if you aren’t or haven’t, please let me know and tell me how I can help you).
Today’s topic is straightforward so, our visit today will be short. I’ve been frequently getting the question, “What does it matter where my English teacher is from, as long as he or she is fluent in the language, I’ll be getting a good education, right?”.
Well, yes and no.
Yes, in the beginning you will certainly learn a tremendous amount about the mechanics of English and you will be able to become conversational with an English teacher who is not a native-English-speaker. The one thing you will be missing, however, if you want to become truly fluent in English and see significant progress in your fluency, is the invaluable cultural knowledge that only a native-English-speaker can give you.
When I say “native-English-speaker” I am referring to someone who was born in an English-speaking country and who grew up there. So, for example, if you will be needing to communicate primarily with Canadian people, it is wise at some point beforehand to begin working with a teacher who was born and raised as an English-speaking native Canadian. Likewise, if you will be interacting primarily with Americans, you need to hire a teacher who was born and raised in the United States if you are going to be able to navigate the complexities of the American culture.
Here are a few other issues that you may run into when working only with non-native-English-speaking English teachers:
More often than not, the teacher will have been taught by a native of his or her country, which means that you will not be getting proper training in pronunciation, nor of the tone, intonation, and rhythm of native English. Unless the teacher has been thoroughly trained in the correct physiology of how English-speakers form their sounds and how to shape and tense the mouth, tongue, throat, and nasal cavities properly, any English pronunciation you learn from them will be unclear to English speakers. A foreign accent is the result of trying to produce English sounds while using the mouth mechanics of your native language.
BONUS TIP: If you can find a native-English-speaking English teacher who also knows other languages, you will have found a treasure because this teacher will understand the struggles you face with mouth mechanics and will be more able to clearly explain to you what is holding you back and how to overcome your struggles.
Although the teacher may have advanced degrees in English from his or her native country, this does not guarantee that the education was complete or comprehensive. One of my students, a masters degree in English candidate who was a long-time secondary school teacher in her country, joined one of my group conversation classes because in her country’s educational system, the students never speak English except to repeat the pronunciation. After our first week, which equaled three hours of class, she said, “Cathleen, I was never taught any of this in all my years of learning English.” In her country, she was considered fluent in English. Her gift as a teacher was evident. She is an amazing teacher who simply didn’t know what she didn’t know about English. And there’s no easy way for you, as the student, to find out whether your non-native-English teacher will have the complete and comprehensive training in English that will help you progress successfully in your English fluency.
If you have specialized needs in dealing with English-speakers, (giving interviews or for example, or maybe you write songs or give speeches for a living) without a native-English-speaking teacher or coach you could end up making damaging mistakes or offending people needlessly because a teacher who is not a native of the English-speaking culture you’re working in will never have the deep, cultural understanding of your words and actions and how they are received by your English-speaking audience.( Read this post on nuance and innuendo. Listen to this podcast episode for more on the topic). Additionally, if you are being interviewed by the media of an English-based culture, YOU need to know what to expect from the interviewer, what the interviewer is looking for when he/she asks you certain questions, and how to know when the interviewer is being rude to you.
FOR EXAMPLE: With the explosion of the K-Pop (Korean Popular music) and K-Drama (Korean soap-operas) industries these past several years, Korean musicians, singers, and actors have been interviewed by western cultures on an ever-increasing basis - English-speaking cultures included. Watch these interviews (1), (2), (3) and pay attention to how the interviewer reacts to the responses and actions of the artist being interviewed.
In the last one, the K-Pop group is well-trained in the English cultural way of interviewing.
The second one shows two interviews with the same group. In these interviews, you see the culture clash of Korean manners and the American interviewer’s lack of respect through her insistence on getting an answer to her highly invasive question and in pulling a prank that the band members did not appreciate (but hid it well).
In the first one, the artist is not familiar with how interviews work in English culture as well as the expectations of each person involved in the interview. In the Korean culture, the concept of Aeygo (or coquettish flirting and cuteness) is expected of K-Pop Idols, therefore, it is an integral part of Korean interviews. In English cultures this behavior is considered childish and immature. English interviewers have no idea what to do with this behavior. If the Korean artist had been coached by a native-English-speaking English teacher or fluency coach, he would have known how to act within the English interview culture so that he and his work would be seen in a more professional and mature light by those giving and watching the interviews. When it comes to your career, don’t mess around.
“Trusting your message to someone who was not raised in the English-speaking culture you’ll be working in jeopardizes your solid foundation in English fluency.”
- Cathleen Elise Rossiter -
So, in the end, your decision to hire a native-English-speaking English teacher or not depends entirely on what your goals for learning and becoming fluent in English are. The more authentically fluent you want to become in English, the more you would be wise to hire a native-English-speaking teacher. You can still start out with a non-native English teacher, particularly if waiting for the perfect teacher would stop you from learning and become an excuse to stay stuck. But, if staying with someone who wasn’t born and raised in an English-speaking culture will stop you from achieving your goals and realizing your dreams then you need to ask yourself, “What’s stopping me from hiring a native-English-speaking English teacher or coach?”.
Let me know in the comments (or via e-mail):
What do you want?
What is your dream?
Why do you want it?
How does becoming fluent in English fit into this dream?
(If it applies to you,) What’s stopping you from working towards this dream to make it happen?
The Newsletter at @CathleenElise is our time for a comfortable chat, a time to ponder life’s happenings and to connect them to our journey to true fluency. Nothing scripted or formatted. Nothing connected with algorithms or keywords. The Newsletter at @CathleenElise is my personal communication to and with my subscribers.
All my content will walk you through my 4 Pillars of 360-Degree Fluency. And, although all subscription levels will learn the basics, consider upgrading to get the full impact and value of my knowledge, expertise, and experience. Also, at the Founder’s Level, you’ll get live classes, events, and challenges plus all sorts of other benefits. Check out the About page for everything that’s included in the different levels so you can make the best decision for you.
Also, consider gifting a subscription to someone you know who would benefit.
As always, I’d love it if you could help me spread the word about The Family at @CathleenElise here at Substack. Thanks for your help.
I send you all my best. Until next time, have a lovely day!
Thanks for reading CathleenElise’s Substack! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.