Is it necessary to know a foreign language to teach English as a second language?

MSgt Ken "Airsoldier" Collins-Hardy — Mon, 24 Apr 2017 13:20:31 -0400

Response by MCPO Roger Collins made Apr 24 at 2017 1:43 PM

MCPO Roger Collins — Mon, 24 Apr 2017 13:43:53 -0400

But, I would be satisfied with educators that could speak properly in the first language.

Response by CPT Lawrence Cable made Apr 24 at 2017 2:30 PM

CPT Lawrence Cable — Mon, 24 Apr 2017 14:30:33 -0400

I would think it would be a requirement that you speak the language of those you are teaching English.

Response by SSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 24 at 2017 2:41 PM

SSgt Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 24 Apr 2017 14:41:19 -0400

I am working on a total of 14 more.. I know english, german and Korea (In progress). The Social worker asked me why? I want to do something prolific. They dx as Bipolar 1 hahah

Response by PO1 William "Chip" Nagel made Apr 24 at 2017 5:33 PM

PO1 William "Chip" Nagel — Mon, 24 Apr 2017 17:33:01 -0400

I would say Yes.

Response by SCPO Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 24 at 2017 8:02 PM

SCPO Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 24 Apr 2017 20:02:55 -0400

None of my son's ESL teachers have been able to speak Japanese. This did not seem to impede his ability to learn english. Quickest way to learn can be through total emersion.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 25 at 2017 4:24 AM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 25 Apr 2017 04:24:34 -0400

I'm not sure about Stateside, but I've been finding interest in teaching English abroad. In my research on the topic, they usually don't require you to know their language, but do require that you be from a recognized country whose primary language is English. From what I've heard from other teachers is, they use teaching aids (objects, pictures, flash cards, etc) so that you don't need to know how to say it in their language, so long as you can say and repeat it properly in English.

https://www.internationalteflacademy.com/faq/bid/103906/what-are-the-basic-requirements-to-teach-english-in-korea

What are the basic requirements to teach English in Korea?

What are the legal requirements to teach abroad English in Korea? Proof of Degree, Citizenship, Health, TEFL Class and more.

Response by SSgt Jim Gilmore made Apr 25 at 2017 5:09 AM

SSgt Jim Gilmore — Tue, 25 Apr 2017 05:09:23 -0400

While it helps, it is not necessarily a requirement. I live in Thailand where most of the foreigners teaching English have little more than what I call Bar room Thai ~ enough to just get by with basics of hello, order food and ask directions.

Response by CPT Jim Schwebach made Apr 25 at 2017 10:36 AM

CPT Jim Schwebach — Tue, 25 Apr 2017 10:36:39 -0400

Probably not. After retiring from the University of Wisconsin my mother taught ESL to members of the Muong community for almost twenty years. She did not speak their dialect but that did not stop her from becoming a fixture in their community.

Response by SGM Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 25 at 2017 3:24 PM

SGM Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 25 Apr 2017 15:24:50 -0400

It's not required in many places, but it is required for certain certifications, and some jobs will require it of their instructors. I taught English classes in Korea before I had learned Korean, and I did reasonably well. As my Korean improved, my English teaching got better. By the time I left and my Korean was extremely strong, my English teaching was also much better. So while it wasn't required, I found it certainly helps.

Response by LTC Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 27 at 2017 8:19 PM

LTC Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 27 Apr 2017 20:19:20 -0400

MSgt Ken "Airsoldier" Collins-Hardy I taught a English as a second language math teacher for Algebra I and II in a high school and I had to dip back to my high school Spanish and learn a few words here and there from my coach so I could talk in broken Spanish for some to "draw them out" a bit to get them to speak to me in English, but also have them understand what I was talking about. I could not order a pizza but I could talk people through a math problem.

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 14 at 2017 3:38 PM

SGT Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 14 Sep 2017 15:38:15 -0400

It depends on where you are. I have a friend preparing to take a job in another country as an English teacher and they prefer that they not know the specific language so as to force the children to learn to speak English to communicate with their teacher.

Response by SFC Ralph E Kelley made Oct 19 at 2019 8:12 AM

SFC Ralph E Kelley — Sat, 19 Oct 2019 08:12:16 -0400

Here's a tale from a a buddy of mine.

"My wife is bi-lingual Spanish-English. In the 1990s, she was working for one company, but because she only had a 'certification', she was given other duties under a new hire. Lets call her 'Sue'. After a few frustrating weeks working for 'I have a degree in Spanish but you don't my wife' my wife left their employ.

She had allowed herself to leave a job she loved to be hired away at much higher pay and benefits by another company that mainly worked via verbal telephone - because the new hire did not speak Spanish, but stumbled her way about in the language. . She quickly shot up the incentives pay-scale and soon was given a higher position. It was at a different department and the pay was even better but was more salary but less rewards.

After a month in the new position she mentioned to me that she was definitely happy with the salary as now she didn't have to hustle so much BUT she missed the interplay between herself and the customers at the first job I mentioned. After few minutes discussion, I off-handily said maybe she should buy out the old business (it was a local shoe-string operation), other than that I didn't know what she could do about it but support the new company. She agreed.

A couple months later she was invited to a mid-level corporate meeting. It seemed that each side was to provide a translator, but her executive also wanted her to interpret the customers 'real needs' - because he was having problems with the engineering specifications. They had been translated with the person doing it had just made notes beside the Spanish comments.

My wife got the documents and realized her old company had done the translation and they had used her old supervisor 'Sue'. She quickly wrote out a bunch of sticky notes and put them by the notations that she had highlighted. They went into the meeting and it was a slam-dunk. Three hours later the other company was asking if that my wife could translate all their business when needed. An eight million dollar a year contract.

My wife was very happy. Her executive was very happy. The customer was very happy.
When asked what she thought about her old company (Yes the executive had known), my said joking that her husband (me) had told her she should buy the company.
A week later my wife's company bought her old company. She was placed in charge.

She reorganized the company by having several 'good translators' placed in their own departments according to mechanical, electronic, textiles, legal and social specialties.
Even her old supervisor had a place in the textiles (I actually think my wife deliberately created the department for her), since THAT was her forte'. not the mosh-mash she had been assigned prior.
She flipped it from a 'We have degrees' to a 'We can speak your language' attitude.

All of the above is background for what my wife faced everyday. You see, my wife knew that there was a problem with both her ESL workers and her US school trained workers at the her new position in her old employer.

She has expressed to me that ESL is not adequate but the people who take the courses do get daily out-of-classroom feedback. However many of their teachers are the same as her old supervisors - which was company executives not understanding that there is no 'general' translator. The people doing the translations, especially in a language they did not grow up with, a doing their best but until many years pass are not the people that truly understand the languages they're, their, there basically using.

My wife is constantly vexed by people hired by government to translate for court rooms, organizations and businesses. Four years of 2 hours twice a week for 3 six week semesters a year only adds up to 288 hours of non-concurrent class-time.
She has said that its as if the college tests were written by the C-minus graduates.

My wife's opinion says - it can't hurt but most of the programs are over funded, poorly staffed and and if they were in a whorehouse in Nevada - incestuous with family favors. (She was in the Army - where I met her) and can be rather blunt."

That's his story - You may have noticed on RP that I am a storyteller, either verbally or with memes. It's my way of learning (or teaching) lessons. It is my opinion that if there is time then it is in the long term more effective than set-piece, time-hacked, sequenced training when you want understanding of the concept.
That type of concept thinking is what you need with ESL. Not throw a test at them and then grade it to 'check-their-progress'.