Hi! everyone!
I dream that I can teach English over the world.
How can I do to teach English to kids in USA ?
Is there someone who knows the method?
Best regards!
Hi Sunho,
You can achieve any goal you want as long as you follow the laws of success. As for teaching English to kids in the US, here is what I suggest you should do:
Write down how you have been learning English yourself.
This is important because you have know exactly how the language learning process works. You also need to analyze how other people learn languages. Read and study everything on the subject and make notes.
Create your own English learning program.
This step has two benefits: First, you will speed up your own learning process because and second, you will be able to use the system or parts of it with your students.
Connect with native speakers who are working as professional English language instructors, trainers and coaches.
You need to exchange experiences with other trainers to keep abreast of the latest developments in your industry and improve your training skills constantly.
There are probably more steps you have to take to achieve your goal and it’s crucial that you create a plan you can follow. Also, please ask yourself the following question on a regular basis and make sure you can come with the answers: What kinds of kids do I want to teach and how how can benefit from me?
Let me know what you think.
Regards,
Torsten
PS: Your question should read “What can I do to become an English teacher in the US?” or “How can I become an English teacher in the US?”[YSaerTTEW443543]
TOEIC short conversations: Two co-workers are discussing a flight[YSaerTTEW443543]
Hi sunhoek
You are a non English native speaker and would like to teach English in the USA ?
Hi Che,
This means that sunhoek is a native speaker of English from a country other than England such as Australia or the US. I think British and Australian teachers could become very successful English teachers in the US.
Now, I think I know what you actually wanted to tell sunhoek, that is, that it’s strange he or she would like to teach English in the US because of his or her being a non-native English speaker. I don’t think you need to be a native speaker of a language to be a good teacher of that language. There are non-native speakers of English teaching English to students at all levels in the US. Some even teach native speakers.
EU
In addition to EU’s comments, bear in mind that there are apparently over 5 million ESL students in the USA. This should make for plenty of teaching jobs, don’t you think?
Sunhoek, the most important thing you have to do to get a job teaching English in the US is to perfect your English, which right now is not very good. I counted three major mistakes just in that short post, along with some subtleties of word usage that were grammatically correct but did not sound English, and all of those errors would have prevented you from getting an English teaching job here.
As Englishuser says, there are lots of non-native speakers teaching English in the US, but they have their own problems here. First, their English has to be nearly perfect. Secondly, their school administrations and colleagues don’t really care if they have a foreign accent, but if your accent is not American or British – I mean REALLY American or British, not a foreign approximation of it – some students will cause you trouble. At one school where I’ve worked, students ran away from a native English-speaking teacher who had a slight but beautiful Jamaican accent that Americans liked. In another case, students refused to stay in the class because their teacher was from Russia. They didn’t care that her English was good. It was just that they or their parents had spent decades being oppressed by Russia, and they were not willing to have a Russian woman in authority over them.
What if you have an Irish or Australian accent? Will that make some students cause you trouble too?[YSaerTTEW443543]
TOEFL listening lectures: Who are not included as members of the Underground Railroad?[YSaerTTEW443543]
Hi Jamie,
Speaking of sunhoek perfecting his or her English, how would you describe the level of English you need to become an English teacher in the US? I suppose we are talking about someone with an overall IELTS Band Score of 8.5 or 9.
EU
Hi again,
Do you think that your average English student knows if you speak with a “real” American or English accent?
EU
I don’t know in terms of TOEFL scores or anything like that. By the time you get to the point of looking for a teaching job, it’s more about what kind of university degree you have and how your speaking and writing is to the native speaker who is hearing and reading it. People can score high on those tests and still speak and write badly.
Yes, the average English student in my classes, at the low intermediate level and above, can tell a native accent from a foreign one.
Hi Jamie,
I think it’s obvious that your apparent language skills and education are far more important to the person hiring you than any test report forms you might present. There could be native speaker applicants for the position, after all.
Speaking and Writing Sections are part of today’s TOEFL and IELTS tests. I can’t imaging anyone passing the IELTS Speaking module with superficial speaking skills because the Speaking test is in the form of a face-to-face interview with a trained IELTS examiner. To find out more about the IELTS Speaking Bands, just click on the below link: ielts.org/_lib/pdf/UOBDs_SpeakingFinal.pdf
EU
But some native English speakers do not teach English as well as foreigners do.
Hi Jamie,
I suppose you are right. A teacher should always be a good teacher; simply knowing your subject well isn’t enough.
Did you read about the IELTS Speaking Bands? Do you think an IELTS Speaking Score is a valid indicator of your proficiency in spoken English?
EU
Hi, Jamie 
Could you amend them, please? (Just out of curiosity, I’d like to know if I spotted those mistakes too)
I doubt that one is able to master his English that perfectly. And I would be shocked if some foreigner started teaching me Russian - maybe I would file a complaint against those who would appoint him. If you teach a native speaker their native language, speak their language from the beginning and speak it impeccably.
Just my POV - no offense 
Hi lost_soul,
What about asking sunhoek first?
Jamie was referring to non-native teachers teaching other non-native speakers English. I mentioned non-native speakers teaching native speakers, but I wasn’t exactly thinking of them teaching native speakers to speak or write the language. After all, most native speakers do not need such instruction in their first language. I was thinking of university lecturers teaching English literature and linguistics modules at American universities. Surely a non-native speaker of English can know almost all there is to know about, say, Middle English Literature?
All the best
EU
At one of the colleges I went to, one of the English writing teachers for native English speakers was from Austria. She had a heavy German accent, but her command of grammar and English writing far surpassed that of her American students, and she was very good at what she did.
Remember that there are several non-native English speakers who have become famous English authors, including Conrad, Nabokov and Ouspensky.
Yea, but they were talented, i.e. they were exceptions from the rule.
I know that when the average dude takes up writting poems or stories in any non-native language (for him), even if there is no mistakes and the grammar is impeccable, natives while reading his piece, can notice that there is something wrong, something missing… thats why almost all translators translate texts only into their native language (and not otherwise). And I strongly believe that there is some inner feeling, instinct about any language in every speaker, which you cannot be taught.
Hello everyone!
I’ve been watching you guys’ debates.
well as all of you know I am not native speaker.
I also wasn’t born in English-speaking country and I am not enough to teach
English to native speaker. but It is assure that I am eager to learn English very hard so that I can teach English to people whether they are non-native speaker.I don’t care about it. I know that it is very close to impossible to teach English to native speaker.If I were the one who wants to learn English as native speaker I couldn’t decide to get a lesson from me.
I agree with you guys’ thought.
even if I am not good at teaching English to people I will live with speaking English through the world.
I do make my dreams come true.
Best regards!!
Hi sunhoek,
I would feel very put off if someone told me I shouldn’t even think about aiming at becoming native proficient in a foreign language. Like Professor John C. Wells says, it might not be an easy goal to reach. Being an ambitious English student is never wrong, however. I wish you, sunhoek, the best of luck with your English studies. I am convinced that you can become an excellent English teacher to students at all levels if that is your goal.
All the best
EU
The question at hand is whether or not a language can “be taught”. I think you can’t teach a language, you can only learn it and you need to communicate with a variety of people in order achieve a high level of success. Of course it is helpful to have access to English language professionals but in addition you need to observe and study all kinds of native speakers. Listen and absorb their language, analyze what they are saying and how they are saying it. Start imitating them. Try to detect grammar rules and language patterns. Ask questions. Record your own voice and listen to it. There are so many things you can do without a “teacher”, as a matter of fact, if you really want to learn English you have to do most of the work yourself anyway.
TOEFL listening lectures: A university lecture on the history of the English language