Are native teachers better? Non-native teachers and self-esteem

Teaching is not always a walk in the park. In fact, it is not only stressful but also draining as teachers give so much of themselves. I would argue that non-native teachers have an added stress: low self-esteem. “Are they good enough? Are they doing their jobs properly? Are the students happy? Are the students judging them based on their accent?” These are common questions that most non-native teachers ask themselves. It is true that native teachers ask themselves these questions too. However, non-native teachers might ask themselves these questions once too often, and they will probably give a negative answer...

Read more

Wandering Blindly into my Teaching Career - An American in Spain

Spain is a wonderful country and one that has been my home for over 12 years now. Having come from the United States with a Bachelor’s of Arts Degree in History / English Literature and with little ability to speak the languages of Spanish or Catalan (the primary language of the area I was moving to), I knew teaching was going to be my main job option. I had had lots of business and management...

Read more

Freelance Teaching.. Is there an easy route?

The problem with being a Native English speaker is that, by and large, we have no idea how the English language works.

Oh, we know how to use it fine well, and we know when people are not using it correctly, we can even point out to those people how they should say what it is they are trying to say. What few of us can do though is to explain exactly why and how what they are saying is wrong, what they need to do to correct it and why, and all the rules that control usage and structure which they need to know, understand and be able to apply to be able to use good English.

Read more