Why non native speakers are better EFL teachers by Joana Arzberger
Channel: ELT Ireland
Date: 05/01/2018

EFL students learn English for different reasons: deal with the businesses of everyday life, be able to communicate ideas and feelings etc. If they choose to learn with a teacher, in many cases, they opt to do so with a native-speaker one on the belief that they will learn more and even faster. This may be the case for more advanced students who wish to perfect their pronunciation and speed of delivery; however, when it comes to more elementary students, a non-native teacher may understand how the language ‘works’ and where the students’ main challenges come from because they were once in their students’ shoes.

Joana was born in the USA, being in contact with both Portuguese and English since birth because of her American father and Brazilian mother. She moved to Brazil at the age of six 2016 when she moved to Ireland. She has been an EFL teacher for over 15 years.