by Marco Faldetta
In the field of language education, the prestige traditionally accorded to 'native speaker' teachers has long influenced recruitment and pedagogical practices around the globe.
Traditionally, a native speaker is someone who has acquired a language from early childhood. Native speakers who have gone on to teach their mother tongue have been favoured for their supposed linguistic authenticity and cultural knowledge. However, global changes in the perception of language, identity, and educational equity are prompting a reassessment of this paradigm. Foundational theories and recent debates that frame the current understanding of 'native speaker' advantages and drawbacks are evolving.
The 'native speaker' model has been extensively debated in linguistic and educational research. Scholars like Phillipson (1992) and Holliday (2006) have critiqued the concept for perpetuating linguistic imperialism and inequality. More recent studies highlight a growing preference for assessing the quality of language teachers according to their pedagogical skills rather than the accidents of birth (Selvi & Yazin, 2011; Jenkins, 2014).
In Europe, Brexit has significantly altered the landscape of language education. Prior to the UK's departure from the European Union, British citizens enjoyed the freedom to work and travel across the EU, which made them a substantial contingent among native English-speaking teachers in European schools. However, since Brexit, this mobility has been curtailed, leading to a decrease in the availability of British teachers in EU countries (see Brexit as a linguistic Symptom of Britain Retreating into its Shell). This shift has forced educational institutions to reconsider their hiring practices.
Canagarajah discussed the challenges and opportunities in language education that arise from significant political and economic changes. This reflection he published in 1999, well before Brexit. These changes can impact educational policies and practices regarding language teaching in international contexts. This, then, is not a new issue: employing more diverse language teachers, including non-native speakers, in response to logistical challenges, and a reevaluation of what qualifications are old concepts that are now more relevant than ever.
In 2021 Lock and Barry published their thoughts on this post-Brexit reality in The Times Educational Supplement (TES). In these articles it becomes clear that schools in European countries like Poland, France, and Spain have reported difficulties in filling positions traditionally held by British nationals, compelling such schools to turn to non-native English-speaking teachers or native English-speaking teachers from other EU countries, such as the Republic of Ireland. This shift reflects the logistical challenges posed by Brexit and highlights an unexpected drawback of the UK's separation from the EU: reduced work and travel liberties for British citizens, which in turn impacts the cultural and educational exchanges that were once taken for granted.
These developments underscore a broader re-evaluation of the 'native speaker' preference, pushing for a more qualification- and competence-based approach to teacher selection.
A couple of examples from Italy and the broader European context serve to illustrate the evolution in policy. For instance, the Italian Ministry of Education's shift in 2018 from a native speaker preference to a qualification-based approach, as outlined in the teaching class descriptor 3/C. Similar trends in European Union policies, particularly the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (2012), underscore a commitment to non-discrimination and multilingual competence over native speaker status.
The broader European policy context, influenced by initiatives like Plan S and open science directives, further supports a move towards more inclusive and flexible approaches to education and employment, emphasising competence over nationality. These policies facilitate a more integrated European educational framework and respond to practical needs arising from geopolitical changes like Brexit, ensuring that educational institutions can adapt to new realities in teacher recruitment and retention. These policy shifts across Europe, influenced by both practical needs post-Brexit and broader EU strategies for inclusivity, reflect a significant transformation in how educational competences and qualifications are valued over traditional criteria such as nationality or native speaker status.
An analysis of hiring trends and teacher performance data from language schools in Italy and other EU countries would be interesting, and would provide empirical evidence supporting this shift. The question is whether schools that prioritise professional qualifications over the traditional preference for native speakers also report higher student satisfaction and better learning outcomes.
What can be seen in the field of IH Schools in Italy is that language students and their families tend to prefer a ‘traditional native speaker teacher’ over the ‘new’ type, who hardly ever holds a passport issued in an English speaking country. This is an important point to bear in mind. When we consider the native speaker phenomenon, teachers and schools are not the only important factors. Market forces that lead to students expressing a preference for one kind of teacher over another are always at play. De-emphasising the native speaker criterion in language education represents a major shift in the ELT world.
The preference for native speaker teachers in language education is not solely a European issue. Across Asia and Latin America, the dynamics of language teaching policies vary significantly, reflecting cultural values, economic conditions, and educational objectives.
In Asia, the demand for native English speakers has historically been high, driven by economic globalisation and the perceived status of English as a key to professional success. Countries like Japan, South Korea, and China have large-scale programs that recruit native English-speaking teachers and in some cases, the emphasis rests solely on the adjective clause, rather than on the noun it modifies, as many of those working in these territories are more ‘English-speaking’ than they are ‘teachers’.
For instance, Japan's JET Program and South Korea's EPIK initiative show a strong preference for native speakers, primarily from the US, the UK, Canada, and Australia. However, in recent years a shift has been seen towards more qualification-based recruitment criteria. Research by Wang and Lin (2019) suggests that in China, there is an increasing recognition of the competences of non-native English-speaking teachers, especially those with advanced teaching qualifications and international experience, who are often better able to address the specific language learning needs of Chinese students.
In Latin America, the situation is somewhat different. While there is a demand for native English speakers, economic constraints and local educational policies often lead to a greater reliance on local teachers. Countries like Brazil and Argentina have developed robust frameworks for English language teaching that emphasise bilingual education and teacher training over native speaker status. Torres and Reyes (2021) argue that in these regions, the focus has been on enhancing the qualifications of local instructors through certifications like TKT (Teaching Knowledge Test) and CELTA (Certificate in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages). The presence of well-trained non-native-speaker teachers has been shown to effectively bridge language gaps and cater to the contextualised needs of learners.
The comparison between Asian and South American approaches to language teacher recruitment reveals a critical insight. The efficacy of language education does not solely hinge on the mother tongue of the teacher. What matters is the qualifications, teaching method, and cultural competence of each educator. Park and Lee showed that in South Korea students taught by highly-qualified non-native English-speaking teachers reported higher satisfaction and better learning outcomes compared to those taught by less-qualified native English speakers.
The educational community must continue to refine and implement policies that prioritise pedagogical competence over native speaker status. A survey of English language teacher hiring trends is proposed. This will be circulated in Autumn 2024 and the results presented again in a future edition of the IH Journal. There are potential benefits to hiring language specialists irrespective of their nationality - enhanced teacher diversity and more relatable language models for learners, alongside challenges, like resistance from traditionalist sectors and the need for revised training programs.
References
Barry, E. (2021), How will Brexit impact EU schools’ recruitment? Times Educational Supplement, 2nd February 2021.
Canagarajah, A. (1999). Resisting linguistic imperialism in English language teaching. Oxford University Press.
Holliday, A., Native-speakerism, ELT Journal, Volume 60, Issue 4, October 2006, Pages 385–387.
Jenkins, R. (2014). Social Identity (4th ed.). Routledge.
Lanvers, U., Doughty, H., and Thompson, A. S. (2018), Brexit as Linguistic Symptom of Britain Retreating into its Shell? Brexit-Induced Politicization of Language Learning, The Modern Language Journal 102/4.
Lock, S. (2021), The impact of Brexit on teacher movement in Europe How has the recruitment of UK-based teachers by international schools in Europe been affected by Brexit? Times Educational Supplement, 12th July 2021.
Park, J., and Lee, H. (2020). Student Perceptions of Non-Native English Speaking Teachers in Tertiary English Education. Korean Journal of Applied Linguistics, 38(3), 88-112.
Phillipson, R. (2018). Linguistic Imperialism, Routledge.
Selvi, A. F., and Yazan, B. (2011). George Braine: Nonnative Speaker English Teachers: Research, Pedagogy, and Professional Growth. Applied Linguistics. 32. 466-469.
Torres, G., and Reyes, S. (2021). English Language Education in Argentina: Moving Beyond the Native Speaker Model. Latin American Journal of Bilingual Education, 7(1), 22-39.
Wang, Y., and Lin, L. (2019). Revisiting Native Speaker Preferences: The Case of Teaching English in China. Journal of Language Teaching and Research, 15(2), 345-360.
Author Biography
Marco Faldetta (BSc, CELTA) has over 20 years of experience in education and IT. He is a teacher and trainer with expertise in English, computer programming, mathematics, physics, and teaching methodology, particularly English as a Medium of Instruction and the adoption of AI in YL teaching, in collaboration with the University of Palermo. Marco is a partner and director at International House - Language Centre in Palermo; he is actively engaged in ELT (English Language Teaching), a committee member in AISLi and a member of the IH World board. He speaks Italian, English, and Spanish, and is continuing to learn Russian, Chinese, mathematics and piano.