English teachers and their English

Many teachers of English, both native speakers and non-native speakers, worry about whether their own English is good enough for them to teach effectively, and what they can do to develop it. Typically, native speaker teachers tend to worry about their knowledge of language use and grammar, whereas non-native speaker teachers worry more about their proficiency in the language. Both of these concerns are important and lead to us to ask: what aspects of their English do teachers of English need to develop? Some answers to this question are given below.

The specific language needs of teachers of English

Teachers of English need to know about and use some areas of English that are similar to those required by the general user of English. Most users of English use the language to get things done (i.e. transactional purposes such as buying a ticket, going shopping, applying for something), to study, to socialise, or to engage in leisure activities such as reading, watching films or TV, surfing the Internet, etc.

Target language
The teacher needs to be able to use English to do all the things just mentioned, perhaps in order to communicate in English for personal reasons, but also because these are the areas and uses of English (the target language) he or she is required to teach; they are at the heart of most English language syllabuses and coursebooks. This is the language our learners need to learn. Lets call it general English.

English for the classroom

But a teacher needs to do other things with the language too. A teacher needs to be able to operate as a teacher in the classroom in English, using English, for example, to present language, correct learners, respond to learners questions, manage the classroom and explain meaning. We can call this English for the classroom.

English for professional development

A teacher also needs another kind of English. When a teacher opens a teachers book or reads a teaching magazine or website, he or she will come across words and phrases that describe language teaching and learning (e.g. interaction, peer correction, jigsaw listening, gap-fill activity, task-based learning, learning style, motivation) and others that describe language and language use (e.g. stress, gerund, coherence, skimming, third conditional, function). They are words that fluent speakers of a language may often not know as they are not common in everyday language, but they are common when teachers talk about teaching, and they appear constantly in teaching magazines, on websites, at workshops and conferences, etc. In other words, this is language which teachers need when they are engaged in any kind of professional development. We can call this English for professional development.

Knowledge about language

Unlike most speakers of a language, teachers need to know about language. They need, for example, to keep up with changes in how English is used. They also need to be able to understand that a learner who says I go to Buenos Aires last week probably means I went to Buenos Aires last week and is not using the past simple tense. When a learner says In my country we have very big taxes, a teacher needs to realise that the learner would do better to use the collocation heavy taxes. In other words, a teacher needs to know about the systems of language and the rules that influence how language is used. These systems include its grammar, the meaning and relationships in vocabulary (lexis), how language is joined into longer chunks at sentence or utterance level and above (discourse), and how sounds are organised and used to express meaning (phonology). This knowledge helps teachers to carry out tasks essential to their job such as planning lessons, presenting language in lessons, explaining language to learners, responding to their questions and being able to judge whether their learners use of language is accurate or not. Well call this knowledge about language.

Cambridge University Press 2011

English teachers and their English

Above we have identified four areas of language that a teacher needs to carry out their job effectively. They are: general English, English for the classroom, English for professional development and knowledge about language.

How important is it to be proficient?

Before we look at how a teacher might develop each of these areas of their English, it might be worth pointing out that teachers sometimes worry about their level of English more than they need to. While it is true that a good command of language can help a teacher to feel confident in the classroom, it is not language proficiency alone that turns an English teacher into a good English teacher. Language proficiency is just one element in effective teaching. It is how teachers use the language in the classroom, what activities they choose to work with, how they deliver those activities, their sensitivity to learners learning needs, and the classroom attitudes, relationships and motivations that they establish that make a teacher effective. We should also remember that teaching skills such as anticipating the difficulties learners may have in learning something, or understanding why a learner is making mistakes or what they are trying to say are invaluable in teaching, and have more to do with understanding the learners first language and learning background than with being proficient in English. Some experts in language teaching have argued that the teacher who can speak the first language of their learners and who knows their culture has a very valuable insight into their learners learning, an insight that is not available to teachers who do not share the learners first language. On the other hand, it is undeniable that feeling confident about our own language use and language knowledge helps us to operate more freely and independently as teachers in the classroom.

Ideas and resources for developing English for teaching

So, what can a teacher do to develop their command of the four areas of language that we identified above? Here are some suggestions:

General English
Get regular exposure to general English by: reading books, magazines and newspapers in English listening to the radio, or watching TV in English watching films in English listening to songs in English (and singing them) using the Internet to read, listen and write in English, e.g. http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/ learningenglish/ joining English conversation groups chatting in English online with friends and colleagues.

Study general English by: attending courses using language improvement websites, e.g. http://www.britishcouncil.org/learnenglish http://www.cambridge.org/elt/resources/skills/interactive/pron_animations/index.htm collecting and recording new vocabulary from your reading or listening, playing games with it, testing yourself on it talking to yourself in English at home, monitoring and trying again recording yourself in English, monitoring your performance and re-recording using dictionaries and exploring what they say about each word. Use lesson preparation as a learning opportunity, e.g. before your lesson: rehearse instructions and explanations paraphrase instructions and explanations in as many ways as you can think of look up new vocabulary, practise pronouncing it, find synonyms and opposites for it check grammar points in a reference book or teachers book, practise saying examples and explanations out loud, paraphrase them listen to coursebook recordings, repeat them after the speakers, paraphrase them read texts out loud, examine their vocabulary and grammar do all the exercises and tasks you intend to set for your students browse teacher sites for exposure to language and ideas, e.g. http://www.britishcouncil.org/morocco-english-teach-elt-resources.htm

Cambridge University Press 2011

English teachers and their English

English for the classroom

Observe other people teaching, either live or on video, and note the language they use for English for the classroom. Read teaching tips in teachers books accompanying coursebook: they sometimes include suggestions for English for the classroom. Practise (out loud) before class what you will say in classroom management situations you predict may happen in class. Read books for teachers and magazines, e.g.: The TKT Course Modules 1, 2 and 3 by Mary Spratt, Alan Pulverness and Melanie Williams, Cambridge University Press, 2011 The CELTA Course Trainee Book and Trainers Manual by Scott Thornbury and Peter Watkins, Cambridge University Press, 2007. Use glossaries of English language teaching terms, e.g. http://www.cambridgeesol.org/assets/pdf/tkt_glossary.pdf Attend professional development workshops, courses and conferences. Read English language teaching blogs. e.g.: Marisa Constantinides http://marisaconstantinides.edublogs.org/ Jamie Keddie http://www.jamiekeddie.com/ Alex Case http://www.tefl.net/alexcase/blog/ Nik Peachey http://nikpeachey.blogspot.com/ Carol Read http://carolread.wordpress.com/ Lindsay Clandfield http://sixthings.net/ Share teaching ideas and problems with colleagues in your staffroom. Take on new roles in your teaching life, e.g. become a trainer or a coordinator in your school, or an examiner for international exams. This can consolidate and extend your English.

English for professional development

Knowledge about language

Attend courses on language awareness and language improvement. Consult pedagogic grammars (grammars written for learners of a language, which often contain exercises) and other reference materials on language, e.g.: English Grammar in Use (Third edition) by Raymond Murphy, Cambridge University Press, 2004 About Language by Scott Thornbury, Cambridge University Press, 1997 http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/grammar-and-vocabulary Grammar for English Language Teachers (Second edition) by Martin Parrott, Cambridge University Press, 2010. Discuss language and language use with colleagues face to face or online, e.g. http:// scottthornbury.wordpress.com/

These are just some of the resources available to teachers. There are many more and using one resource will often help you to find out about others. They dont require lots of time to use. Often just using them for ten minutes a day is enough enough to keep your English bubbling and fluent, keep you feeling at home in English and raise your confidence.

Cambridge University Press 2011