The Native Speaker fallacy Activities for EFL and ESL students.

Who is a Native English Speaker? A Native English Speaker (NES) is… A NES is somebody who was born only in the UK, the US, Ireland or Australia. A NES studied in university in English. A person who passed IELTS 9 or CPE is a NES. A NES speaks English perfectly and never makes mistakes. All NES are white. There are no NES in Kenya or India. Only the English spoken by a NES is the real and correct English. A person born to English-speaking parents who has lived abroad most of their life is not a NES. Set up around the room. Buzz groups

Follow up discussion Is it easy to define who a NES is? Why (not)? Are NES always more proficient than NNES. Why (not)? Is it important that your teacher is a NES? Why (not)? When learning English, is it important to imitate how NES speak? Why (not)? Is a NES the ideal language model? Why (not)? How do you see yourself: a NS of Catalan, a NS of Spanish, both, neither? Why? Pairs. Choose one question you’d like to discuss with your partner.

My ideal English teacher Participants discuss in pairs. Elicit a few answers from different groups. Ask to hold on to their answers. TASK: look at the next slide. It’s a job ad. Do the qualities of the ideal candidate match your qualities of an ideal Teacher? Why (not)?

My ideal English teacher Below is a list of characteristics various scholars consider fundamental in good language teachers. Do you agree with all Would you add any to your list? Proficiency in the language Language awareness, or knowledge about the language High pedagogical knowledge, i.e. knows different teaching methods and how and when to use them Reflects on their own teaching Able to motivate learners Understands learners’ culture, language, needs and difficulties Are any of these qualities connected to being a NES? Does your mother tongue make you a better/worse teacher?

Recruitment in ELT. Imagine you’re responsible for recruiting new English teachers. With your partner discuss: What kind of teacher are you looking for? What qualities should they have? What qualifications are necessary? Is previous experience important? Is there anything you think should not appear on job ads (e.g. gender)? Participants discuss in pairs. Elicit a few answers from different groups. Ask to hold on to their answers. TASK: look at the next slide. It’s a job ad. Do the qualities of the ideal candidate match your qualities of an ideal Teacher? Why (not)?

Recruitment in ELT. Look at the job ad. Read and decide with your partner: Does it mention any of the qualities of your ideal teacher? Is it appropriate? Is it discriminatory? Participants discuss in pairs. Elicit a few answers from different groups. Ask to hold on to their answers. TASK: look at the next slide. It’s a job ad. Do the qualities of the ideal candidate match your qualities of an ideal Teacher? Why (not)?

Recruitment in ELT. Look at the job ad. Read and decide with your partner: Does it mention any of the qualities of your ideal teacher? Is it appropriate? Is it discriminatory?

Let’s hire the best teacher! Imagine you’re responsible for recruitment and you need to hire a new English teacher. With your partner prepare a job ad. What kind of teacher are you looking for? What qualities should they have? What qualifications are necessary? Is previous experience important? Is there anything you think should not appear on job ads (e.g. gender)?

My beliefs about learning English. A NES speaks perfect English. I need a NES to learn important things about the culture of English speaking countries. There are only 7 countries where English is the official language: Ireland, the UK, the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. You can learn good English both from a NES and a NNES. I would like to speak English like a NES. NES make better teachers. Most people who speak English in the world are NNES. I like having a teacher that can speak my first language. It can be helpful in class.

Follow-up discussion. Do you think it’s important to sound like a ‘native speaker’? Why (not)? What are the pros and cons of using students’ first language in the classroom? Do ‘native speaker’ and ‘non-native speaker’ teachers teach differently? Why (not)? Some people think a ‘native speaker’ speaks the language perfectly, while a ‘non-native speaker’ always makes mistakes. Do you agree? Is it possible to speak a language with no mistakes? Why (not)? Is it important to learn about the culture of English speaking countries and people? Since there are over 50 countries where English is an official language, is it possible to talk about the culture of English speaking countries?

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