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English Teachers and Their English
English Teachers and Their English
Many teachers of English, both native speakers and non-native speakers, worry about
whether their own English is good enough for them to teach effectively, and what
they can do to develop it. Typically, native speaker teachers tend to worry about their
knowledge of language use and grammar, whereas non-native speaker teachers worry
more about their proficiency in the language. Both of these concerns are important
and lead to us to ask: what aspects of their English do teachers of English need to
develop? Some answers to this question are given below.
Target language
The teacher needs to be able to use English to do all the things just mentioned,
perhaps in order to communicate in English for personal reasons, but also because
these are the areas and uses of English (the target language) he or she is required to
teach; they are at the heart of most English language syllabuses and coursebooks. This
is the language our learners need to learn. Let’s call it ‘general English’.
realise that the learner would do better to use the collocation ‘heavy taxes’. In other
words, a teacher needs to know about the systems of language and the rules that
influence how language is used. These systems include its grammar, the meaning and
relationships in vocabulary (lexis), how language is joined into longer chunks at
sentence or utterance level and above (discourse), and how sounds are organised and
used to express meaning (phonology). This knowledge helps teachers to carry out
tasks essential to their job such as planning lessons, presenting language in lessons,
explaining language to learners, responding to their questions and being able to judge
whether their learners’ use of language is accurate or not. We’ll call this ‘knowledge
about language’.
Above we have identified four areas of language that a teacher needs to carry out their
job effectively. They are: general English, English for the classroom, English for
professional development and knowledge about language.
We should also remember that teaching skills such as anticipating the difficulties
learners may have in learning something, or understanding why a learner is making
mistakes or what they are trying to say are invaluable in teaching, and have more to
do with understanding the learner’s first language and learning background than with
being proficient in English. Some experts in language teaching have argued that the
teacher who can speak the first language of their learners and who knows their culture
has a very valuable insight into their learners’ learning, an insight that is not available
to teachers who do not share the learners’ first language. On the other hand, it is
undeniable that feeling confident about our own language use and language
knowledge helps us to operate more freely and independently as teachers in the
classroom.
General English
Observe other people teaching, either live or on video, and note the language they
use for English for the classroom.
Practise (out loud) before class what you will say in classroom management
situations you predict may happen in class.
Take on new roles in your teaching life, e.g. become a trainer or a coordinator in
your school, or an examiner for international exams. This can consolidate and
extend your English.
Discuss language and language use with colleagues face to face or online, e.g.
http://scottthornbury.wordpress.com/
These are just some of the resources available to teachers. There are many more and
using one resource will often help you to find out about others. They don’t require lots
of time to use. Often just using them for ten minutes a day is enough – enough to keep
your English bubbling and fluent, keep you feeling at home in English and raise your
confidence.