People seemed to keep telling me I had a knack for teaching. It started as a child when I helped the neighbors’ children with their homework. Then, as a teenager, my English teacher asked struggling students to sit next to me. When I moved to England, I instinctively helped other non-native English speakers whenever they needed. And even in 2010, when I finally summoned the courage to walk in a room full of native speakers who were also training to teach english as a second language, the trainer asked me at the end of the class, “Have you taught before? You’re a natural!”
Of course not, I wasn’t good enough— at least, so I thought. I decided to keep my TEFL certificate in a drawer. I had learned how to teach ESL, but I was still a non-native English speaker. I was eager, but too afraid to give it a try. My I-can’t-do-this attitude haunted me for the next 18 months.
It was only in Mexico, after having accidentally bought a flight from Honduras for the wrong day, lost $400 in a house robbery, and cracked the headlight of a rented car while leaving a car park in Merida that I reconsidered what it would be like to teach English abroad as a non native speaker. It felt like I had been playing a game of chess in quicksand, and it was time to try something new. Were non native English teacher jobs out there? Maybe it was time to face my fears and finally start teaching ESL abroad, and so I did.
This is what my journey of teaching English as a non native speaker taught me:
4 lessons from teaching English as a non native speaker
1. Accents are not a problem.
I used to ask myself, “What if I had ‘an accent?’” I mean I certainly had one, but what if my future students could not understand me? In the end, the time I spent worrying about it was a waste of time. I could speak faster or slower depending on the students’ levels and they always understood me, even those who also had classes with American and British teachers. Actually, after a few months of teaching ESL abroad, a new native teacher came in from the Midlands in England, and she was the one who had to deal with what I used to fear. Having lived in the UK before, I didn’t have a problem understanding her, but the same could not be said for the students.
Your accent – contrary to what you might think – will not be as big of a barrier between you and your students.
2. Non-native English speakers know what it is like to learn English.
The other question I used to ask myself was, “What if didn’t know the answers to my students’ questions?” It was obvious I didn’t know the answer to all of them, but neither did the other ESL teachers, not even those who had high academic degrees and previous teaching experience. In fact, one of the perks I, myself, could bring to English teaching jobs for non native speakers is the ability to deeply empathize with their learning experience.
Just as every student is unique and has a different perspective on life, so are their doubts. No one knows the answer to all possible questions. Naturally, sometimes natives struggle in explaining something they’ve always just, I don’t know, known. They do not know what it is like to have to learn their own language—an awkward truth I also had to face when I was asked to teach my mother tongue. But, as a non-native English speaker, I had to figure English out too. That makes me all the better at my job when I teach English abroad as a non native speaker. All those things that didn’t make sense to the students, at some point, were confusing to me too.
As a non-native English speaker, you have the advantage of knowing how to learn English.
3. Travelers are great teachers.
One warm, humid day, the school supervisor and I headed into a hotel to teach English to a few groups of students who were very frustrated with their teacher, and consequently very unhappy with the school. We prepared four classes together to prevent disaster and decided I would teach first. As I started, the students pointed out they had already learned that. It turned out the notes left on the folders for those classes were all wrong. Suddenly, a light went off for a moment, the supervisor’s face looked panicked. I stood up for a moment looking at the right page, I thought of one activity. The light came back on. I presented the new terms and while the students were working on that activity, I quickly worked the next one out.
When the class was over I turned to my supervisor and I said, “It’s your turn.”
“No. You do it,” he said.
“But I haven’t planned,” I replied in panic.
“Are you going to tell me you planned that class?” We laughed.
Maybe my Portuguese heritage had something to do with this, maybe it was the inherent quick creativity of being a non-native English speaker, but I attributed the cause of this achievement to being a traveler—ready to face whatever comes my way (I just never anticipated I'd have these kinds of opportunities during ESL jobs for non native speakers!).
Travelers make the best teachers, we’re quick on our feet and know how to roll with the punches.
4. Teaching English as a second language is an exercise in care for others.
I know now that many non-native English speakers are put off from their dream because it seems to us that English natives are blessed with the opportunity of quickly and easily teaching English in a foreign country. Nonetheless, good ESL teachers come in all shapes and sizes, and that’s not always defined by certification or nationality. A good English teacher cares about their students and has a genuine interest in helping others. Teaching ESL abroad is not about dumping information, it is about helping students think in a new language. It’s about being compassionate when a student struggles. And, in the case of a non-native teacher, it’s to remind them that’s it’s okay.
If we can do it, they can do it too. And we show them that even more when we teach English abroad as a non native speaker!
Teaching English abroad is all about being able to connect with students and keep them engaged.
3 amazing organizations with ESL jobs for non native speakers
While you may not be from the USA, the UK, Australia, or any other of the countries deemed as home to “Native English Speakers,” but you still want to teach abroad. No sweat! Here are three companies that can help connect you to teaching jobs for non native speakers.
1. Premier TEFL
Premier TEFL has a slew of programs that support folks who want to try teaching English as a non-native speaker. Options range from South American destinations like Argentina, Brazil, and Chile, not to mention Cambodia, China, India, and even Romania.
2. International TEFL Academy
The International TEFL Academy is a heavy-hitter in the world of TEFL—they get thousands of students certified and ready to teach English abroad every year. They "keep it real" when it comes to job prospects for individuals who aren't citizens of the following countries: USA, Canada, UK, Ireland, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand. The road may be less lined with job opportunities, but the ones that are there can be pretty great!
3. i-to-i TEFL
Are you on the hunt for English teaching jobs for non native speakers in China? Look no further! i-to-i TEFL offers a vast variety of paid teaching English internships and jobs for non native speakers in China and beyond. If you've got five months to spare and an appetite for adventure (and dumplings), this experience of English teaching jobs abroad for non native speakers is the one for you.
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So, the cliff notes are: a native english speaker does not an English teacher make. There will always be advantages and disadvantages as a non-native English speaking teacher teaching ESL abroad, but that shouldn’t prevent anyone from realizing their dreams, getting that TEFL or TESOL certification, and starting a meaningful career abroad as an ESL teacher. Take it from this non-native English speaker— it can be done.
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