I'm currently taking an online teacher trainer (tutor) course with the British Council and through this course I have been fortunate enough to "meet" (virtually of course) many EFL professionals from all over Brazil. In the first week we have been actively participating in forums, discussing our professional backgrounds and sharing our experiences. Reading about my course colleagues has got me thinking about the validity of the EFL field, especially for native speakers.
Being
a native speaker, teaching English as a foreign language is often the
"fall-back" for people just out of college or University who want to
travel and who often use it as an excuse to spend a few months in a
country or make some quick cash. While there's nothing wrong with this
(everyone has the right to choose their own path), sometimes I feel this
devalues- without being too dramatic and generalising- the field. Some
native speakers don't feel that an EFL teacher is a "proper" teacher and
that the only qualification that you need is to know the language
however how can you expect to help your student to their full potential so that they can effectively communicate in English without any pedagogical orientation? The spectrum of specialisations is great and I think that this diversity of the EFL field should be celebrated and appreciated more.
No comments:
Post a Comment