There is a stereotype that takes for granted that a native speaker is by nature the best person to teach his foreign language. This assumption leaves little room for non-native teachers. But non-native teachers have some advantages which should be taken into account and they can make effective TEFL teachers.

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‘How can you claim to teach English when it’s not even your own language?’ is the exclamation you hear when you are a non-native English speaking teachers (non-NESTs)  and you try to find work in the EFL industry.

Non-NESTs sometimes suffer from ‘second class citizen’ syndrome from employers, colleagues and English students as well. But most of them can make effective TEFL teachers.

Employers should think again. What stops them from hiring TEFL teachers who have gone to the trouble of learning their language so that they can teach it? They may be in a better place to teach than many of the native English speaking teachers (NSTs). Most likely, such teachers have studied English in far more depth and detail than native English teachers. This will have started at an early age in school and often continued on through university. Some will have gone to an English speaking country to perfect their skills, or had English language training to seek to improve their accent or understand the nuances of the language.

Non-NESTs need to have a very high level of English to be able to teach it effectively or their students will soon realize this and begin to pick them apart and lose respect for them. Non-NESTs do have to try harder than NSTs.

To sum up, are NSTs better English teachers than non-NSTs? The answer has to be negative. No one is by definition better than the other. It depends on the teaching situation and the particular teacher.