Why do Some Native Speakers Hate your English?

Why is it that some native speakers don't like successful learners of English? On YouTube there are even channels dedicated to mocking the mistakes of non-native teachers of English. We explore.

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[EM-qxhx]

I am a non-native English teacher, and my accent reveals it as soon as I open my mouth. Before I became a teacher, I worked in the corporate world for many years, and found myself constantly proof-reading, correcting and improving the grammar, expressions and vocabulary choices of my English speaking colleagues, so much so that it became one of my main duties within the company. I live in an English speaking country with a dozen different local accents, where a couple of them are very hard to understand to other nationals of their same country. When I was studying to become an English teacher, the instructors always displayed blatant preference and special praise toward the native English students, based only on their native speakers condition, regardless of whether their teaching skills or test scores were better or not. Thank you for this video. It redeems us from the stigma, the fear and the frustration that those wrong appreciations put on us.

[just_marrie]

Gideon, you are so great. Your moral principles and your grace are definitely unique

[eeriejones]

Hi Gideon. Even though a native speaker, I often watch your videos. The information, insights, humor, and grace are appreciated. Carry on!

[ndrmkhn]

As a father I tried to teach my daughter but soon realised that a pressure I put on her during our English lessons is inevitably impacts our relations. So I searched for a private teacher and visited her first trial lesson. Her pronunciation was a bit awkward to me but her friendliness to a child (and very good recommendation from other parents also) defined my choice. She did in what I would have definitely failed - she fostered my daughter's interest in studying English. Many years gone since then and my daughter still is having an interest and studying English as a hobby. Now she admits that she could understand my concern I told her about back then as she clearly sees her shortcomings in a received pronunciation. But she also understands how good the teacher was who managed to involved her in studying the language.

[Vikas_Shukla]

Respected Gideon, you are not only a good teacher of English but also a good human being. Certainly, in my lifetime, I would like to meet you. Regards from India.

[maryjackson]

I'm often amused by how many Americans don't realize the number of countries where English is an official language. Native speakers of English come with lots of different accents. Some Americans also overlook how many accents and dialects there are within the US. I married a Kentucky boy while going to college on Lake Superior. My husband couldn't understand a word the bagger at the grocery said, and they couldn't understand his drawl. I worked for a small company with an international staff. I remember sitting in meetings translating English to English, among the Canadian, Mississippian, Indian, Mandarin, Cantonese, and Spanish speakers. How many ways can one say "project"? "Module"?

[s.h.]

Thank you for the encouragement. I'm a native German teaching German and English at a language school in the Middle East. It's easier for me to teach German because I simply "hear" what's wrong and what's right. However, I have loved and spoken English since childhood, read tons of books and studied the language at University, and thanks to many painful years of studying Latin, my grasp of grammar is passable. So let's hope I'm doing an okay job.

[englishwithmaria]

Gideon, what a great topic to bring up in your channel. I'm a language teacher. I teach both Spanish (my native tongue) and English.
A few years ago I was hired by a company in Spain to give a course in English pronunciation. I was surprised by the offer, and suggested to them that they hire a native speaker instead. Their reply was a life-changer for me. They said:
But we want you. You see, you know both English and Spanish pronunciation, and can compare them in detail. Most native speakers can't do that. 
Then they finished off with: Besides, with you there's hope.
My impostor syndrome vanished into thin air, and a year later I set up an English teaching business.

[krystianwasylka]

I'd say native teachers are better for advanced learners who focus on ordinary, casual, day-to-day vocabulary and pronunciation to sound more natural. For other students it either does not matter or it is even better they have teachers who speak their native tongue. Such teachers are usually more trained in grammar and can explain it more easily in the students' languages.

[adammoore]

As a native ESL teacher, I agree with you. I've met great non-native teachers, and they work well with the beginner to upper-intermediate levels. Ironically, as a language learner (currently Spanish), I've gotten a lot of insight from a non-native Spanish teacher on YouTube. Come to find out, non-native teachers of your target language (who are native speakers of your language) can often help you overcome your difficulties a little better.

[priori]

I'm a non-native teacher, and I suppose it' s the best choise for beginners to start learning English with someone who can speak their mother tongue.. first of all to be motivated and supported in proper way❤ thank you Gideon for honest and balanced talk, and you're so inspiring teacher

[gustavoa.belfiore]

Thanks for this video Gideon. I'm a non-native ESL teacher and I tried for years to get a job at a language academy here in Spain (I'm from Latin America, which for some people makes things worse for some reason). Eventually I just started working as a freelance private tutor/teacher out of sheer frustration, and hope that word of mouth would do the rest. Forward 6 years and I'm turning students down, so I must be doing something right! Also, when I took the CELTA both my trainers said something very similar to what you're saying here, they were actually very encouraging. Both of them were native British English speakers.

[nikipapdi]

Hi Gideon, I loved the story about your first job as an English teacher. And I'm so glad that we didn't lose you, but instead you trained yourself to become a truly knowledgeable teacher.

I have been following you for a while and frankly, I am amazed by your insight into the English language and how passionate you are about it.

You have even inspired my to share my own story in a nutshell:
I used to work as a non-native English teacher in Hungary and in Spain, and luckily I never felt being discriminated against due to not being a native speaker.

Interestingly, what I saw and what struck me when I was studying for my BA in English language and linguistics at a uni in London was that non-native students (Polish, French, Spanish and Hungarian (myself)) highly outperformed the majority of the native students in all subjects, even in phonology.

In general, based on my experience, I would say that advanced learners can benefit more from learning with qualified native teachers than non-native ones, however beginners can save a lot of time and accelerate their progress with a teacher who speaks their language quite well.

In my opinion, my biggest shortcoming as a non-native teacher was my accent (I started learning English when I was 25, as a result my native accent has had a huge influence on my English), but luckily now I have the opportunity to make it sound more neutral, needless to say, with a native teacher.

Oh and I live in Spain now and I absolutely love learning Spanish as an autodidact obviously with a mixed Hungarian and English accent.

To conclude I would say that whether one should consider a native or non-native teacher, depends on their language learning goals, their current level and of course their personal preference. What is crucial though irrespective of where the teachers are from is that they must be qualified and knowledgeable.

[ronald]

I'll be adding "piss and vinegar" to my list of binomials.

[psicologiajoseh]

It takes a lot of courage, confidence and humility to share a story like that. Pretty funny and enlightening!

[samanthaabreu]

I've studied French for foreigners when I was in Switzerland, and I can say that learn from zero a language without any support of your own language is not only the harder way to learn but also the more time consuming. For a beginner, I think a non-native speaker (and a speaker of your language) is more important, not only because they speak your language, but also because they understand where you are struggling, as certain languages have patterns that are harder to overcome when trying to replace to other pattern in a new language. If you are an advanced learner, a native speaker is better, because you are at a point to refine what you've learned.

[javifontalva]

I am really glad that you have touched on this topic. Thanks mate!

[Daniula]

As a non native English speaker trying to be a teacher I agree with you 😁
In my opinion, native speaker "teachers" are great in conversation classes, but for beginners a non native teacher could be more helpful. What I do want is that a teacher of language is in fact a teacher and knows how to teach 😊

BTW, your students (even the first ones) have been very lucky to had you as their teacher because you're adorable 🤗

[Niky]

Thank you so much for this video. I'm going through a rough time because I've been facing some career challenges connected to the 'issue' you addressed, and your insights have been incredibly helpful. I'm feeling better already, and hearing perspectives from 'the other side' has definitely given me food for thought.

[AnnaAnna-ucff]

When I was taking Japanese language lessons at the community centre, I preferred the teachers who were not native Japanese speakers.
The native speakers had not the slightest idea what it is like to try to learn Japanese as an adult.
The non-native speakers could remember what that was like.