Koi
Native or No?

Are Native Speakers better Than Non Native Speakers When Teaching You a Language?

<em>(This is my opinion, and I will not argue if you think otherwise...)</em>

Many people believe it is absolutely best to study from a native speaker when you are learning a new language. Regardless of how many years and days foreigners have taught themselves their fluency in something, people still go with native speakers. 
  Now, I can tell you that people who have submerged themselves in the <em>culture</em> and <em>environment</em> of that language are bound to be able to tell you what is often said and what is not. For example, some things are taught in text books or programs online for language that aren't actually spoken in the country itself, and perhaps slang is known to substitute it. 
  Honestly, we all know we want to take language sessions from someone who knows what they are doing and is familiar with the grammar and complicated parts of the language, but we all are bound to experience hardships in studying beyond your native tongue, and someone who just shares and instructs without having dealt with that stuggle themselves can often be a downside. You want someone who is able to slightly heal the difficulties you are having, and can at least <em>slightly understand your confusion</em>... While a person who has, since day one, heard [insert language] and learned to speak [insert language] throughout the rest of their years will not easily give you that plus of 'understanding'. Now, obviously, to communicate, you need to understand what that individual is speaking. And if you natively speak English and are teaching it to someone who speaks Spanish, <em>you must be able to speak Spanish yourself</em>. From that case, it seems like that would immediately crash my theory on that individual being unaware of language-learning struggles, but at the same time, not every language is the same, neither is every person, and there are many different subjects and parts that may confuse an individual that are separate from what you have learned. You literally learned Spanish to speak to them, right? Well, again, they natively speak Spanish, taking away that immense struggle for fluency that is felt when you are trying to learn a whole new tongue in your later years. 
   I'm not saying that natives aren't the right people to go to! I completely agree, but you also want to make sure that the individual that you are contacting can be able to satisfy your needs personally. 
  This is what makes online programs and non-human learning strategies most likely the last of your needs. For my example here, I am going to slightly bash Rosetta Stone. I have learned from native and experienced Japanese speakers that half of what I learned on the program was incorrect, yet I still wonder if maybe it is simply how I interpreted it that was wrong. The thing is, <em>I cannot ask Rosetta Stone questions</em> or resolve some sort of milestone blockage that I am coming across, for a learning program of the such isn't a <em>person</em>. Many Japanese learning books and programs that you can find are made by native speakers, and will obviously dare not to teach you incorrectly, yet still, personal struggles with your progress cannot be easily helped, for you can't <em>talk</em> to a book.
  Honestly, there are so many methods out there to how you can learn a language, yet my best suggestion isn't necessarily someone who natively speaks that language you are looking to perfect, but someone who just knows it well and has put themselves in <em>the</em> surroundings of that kind of culture so they can help you with slang or terms that are not existent in the actual use.

Jul 8, 2015 4:05 AM
Comments · 5
3

You make some very interesting points. Personally, I think it's extremely beneficial to have successfully learned a foreign language oneself, before presuming to help others learn yours.

July 8, 2015
2

You actually mentioned so many points, but i agree with your main point that natives are not necessarily the best teachers, neither are non-natives. The matter of teaching a language is a complicated one, there are so many variables. So a teacher should be familiar with all those variables. Knowing the target lnaguage is just one (necessary) part of all those variables. Most of the time non-natives can be more helpful because they have gone through the same process and can help learners skip some obstacle they may come across.

 I also believe that speaking with a native can be one of the exercises one can do to master the target language. If the native you are talking to is familiar with the way of teaching a langauge and all thsoe complicated and at times weird theories of language and learning, then so much the better!

Overall, i would prefer a non-native with good teaching skills over a native who just can speak the language. Notce that even an iliterate native can speak the language!

 

July 8, 2015
1

I agree with both of those comments, and I thank you for agreeing with me as well. Overall, finding a teacher who is upmost best for <em>you </em>is what matters. Not everyone wants this and that, and there are preferences people make... So when people say native speakers are the 'best' when teaching... It isn't always necessarily true, yet you don't want someone who knows little of the attempted language either. 

July 8, 2015

Dona, not only is it that some people are correcting it wrong, but simply even what a number of them <em>don't </em>correct. I saw someone correcting a notebook entry that was written in English after I already corrected it, yet they decided to leave many huge mistakes present, even though claiming to be an amazing English speaker.
"My friends creates a picture". That was sort of like the sentence they didn't correct, yet it is obviously wrong

July 8, 2015

On this subject, regardless of your preference...

I've spotted a few people on Italki pretending to be native Italians and correcting notebooks/answering questions wrongly.

Others openly stated that they were non-native professional teachers, and still made basic mistakes when correcting notebooks. A professional teacher even had grammar mistakes on her video introduction...

My advice would be to pick your tutor very carefully! Look at the feedback, and ask a native user to check out their video if in doubt!

 

My personal preference is for a native teacher, someone very experienced in teaching foreigners, including people with the same mother tongue as you. They will truly understand what your difficulties are.

However when I learn a new language from scratch I like someone who can communicate with me, so that they can explain/translate things, so a near-native with an excellent accent would be OK. But some people prefer full immersion from the beginning, so that would not be an issue for them.

 

I think on Itaki there are enough native qualified native speakers for most languages, and I would not want to pick up the wrong accent from a non-native speaker. 

Regarding English I'd say it's also important to pick the right variety of English e.g. UK/American, depending on who you need to speak to.

 

 

July 8, 2015