Can teachers of English as a second language (ESL teachers) teach English as well as native English teachers?

I have been studying English for 13 years and for most of this time, I am mostly taught by Vietnamese teachers. Actually, it is popularly thought that English learners should learn English with native English teachers to learn English better. However, my personal experience shows me a truth that teachers of English as a second language (ESL teachers) can also teach English language as excellently as native English teachers do.

Personally, it is obvious that both ESL teachers and native English teachers are conscientious people. Concretely, most of my Vietnamese teachers and native English teachers invest a lot of time in the process of preparing lessons before each class and always make all efforts to provide us with the most exciting and effective lectures in the classroom. For example, Mr. Bill, an American lecturer who taught us the subject of English-American Culture last semester spent much time on searching materials as well as visual aids to support the lesson. Similarly, our other Vietnamese teachers also tried their best to find out meaningful activities related to the content of each lesson and combine them reasonably to attract students’ attention in the classroom and help them access to the new knowledge and skills more flexibly.

Many people are suspicious of their ESL teachers’ English language competence. They suppose that teachers of English as a second language cannot equip themselves with appropriate language knowledge and skills to teach students effectively, which is not perfectly true. Simply, ESL teachers are rich of experience than ever. Even though their English might not be as skillful as native English teachers, they do have lots of experiences to of learning English because they themselves used to be English learners before working as ESL teachers. More than ever, they understand their students the most, especially in term of students’ difficulties in learning English because they used to be in their students’ position as real English learners.  Hence, they actually know what their students should do to comprehend a new language well. They can also suggest the best kinds of English books or other useful materials that their students should refer or give their students good advices to get over some definite obstacles when learning English. For example, our Vietnamese teachers at high school always advised me to buy some reliable dictionaries and  English books at prestigious book stores or get access to the best website addresses to learn English online and improve our English skills. Likewise, our lecturers at School of Foreign Languages (SFL), Thai Nguyen University (TNU) usually show me common mistakes that English learners often make when learning English based on her experience of studying English at school time.

Besides, it is a fact that ESL teachers are also friendly colleagues with their students. For native English teachers, teaching English is probably the process of developing English skills and understanding for English learners. However, to ESL teachers, teaching English to their students gives them a new chance to learn English again. Teachers can be seen as classmates of their students in case there is the cooperation among them and students through teachers’ playing the role of a partner to their students in practicing an English conversation or in some games inside and outside the classrooms, which makes English classrooms become a friendly and learning environment where both ESL teachers and English learners can exchange English knowledge and practice English language skills naturally and passionately

In general, as a position of an English learner, I myself believe that in learning English, whether my teachers are native English teachers or not is not important anymore. The most important thing needs considering here is the quality of the lectures that my teachers can bring to me and other English learners, which is proved by our attention to their lessons in the classroom, the results we get for each English test or exam and our ability to communicate in English in daily life.

Bui Thi Chi - Thanh Huong