LIna France, Mauritius
I started learning English when I was two years, it is the official language of my country but I speak French and Mauritian creole fluently too. Am I a native speaker? I don't know. English and French people tell me it's amazing that I have such a neutral accent. I think that if we start categorizing people, specially teachers, we are putting barriers and being "native speaker" doesn't automatically mean that you speak correctly the language. Since the world is a global village we cannot claim that these or these people speak better. English is an inernational language there is no native speaker, it's a a dynamic language.

Ximena Pérez, Colombia
I agree somewhat for three reasons mainly. Firstly, There are some advantages about having a native teacher that cannot be denied, namely, the input that the person provides, in terms of pronunciation and language usage. But here comes my second point, the native teacher is better when s/he knows both her/his language and the language of the people being taught. if not, there might be some misunderstandings and some lackness on the students part. Finally, I consider that the pedagogical preparation and an appropriate approach to the teaching-learning process is what determines whether a teacher is good or not regardless of being or not a native speaker.

Mr. Rob Lloyd, Australia
My experience has shown me that native English speakers when trained to a good level are far superior to non-native English teachers. I personally have worked with "teachers" from various European countries who blatantly flaunt the laws of grammar. Why? Possibly, they have not been taught by native English speakers who should have been pedantic on their use of grammar.

Lucy, Spain
I have taught both my native language (English) and a language I acquired as a teenager (Portuguese). A crucial part of the teacher/ student relationship is the confidence that the learner places in their teacher. I felt that my students lacked that confidence when I was teaching my second language because I didn´t always know the answer. However, I think non native speakers do a much harder job and perhaps by working that bit harder are providing their students with a better service.

Rajesh Vasudevan, India (teaching in Thailand)
If it is all about pronunciation, may be native teachers have an edge over the non native teachers. However, when it comes to systematic learning, methodologial applications and moreover, commitment I firmly believe non native teachers are the best.

Elena, Spain
I'm a teacher of English. I'm bilingual. I think native teachers have a disadvantage. They don't normally understand why people are having problems at understanding certain aspects of the language. To be a good teacher, you need to know about grammar, pronunciation, culture, etc. I don't think you need to be native to teach English.

Yolanda, Spain
I think that once you've got a good command of a language, teaching it well is not intrinsic in this idea. What I mean is that the teacher must have a good attitude towards teaching, have knowledge about methodology and didactics. Speaking about any topic may be quite easy, but having the right abilities to explain what you pretend to teach is not so easy.

Marianna, Hungary
I believe that native English speakers are not the best teachers. In my oppinion, non-native teachers are a lot more aware of the interconnection of the Students' native language and the English language (of course, if they're native speakers of the same language), and can decide on which areas are more problematic and which are less. Thus, these teachers can put more emphasis on certain constructs. Secondly, the cultural similarity is also crucial; non-native speakers are more aware of the conduct of behaviour of their students. Thirdly, as I see it, native speakers are more confident in their knowledge of their native language (which I partly accept), and put less work in lesson planning.

Simon Gill, Czech Republic
I agree with DL from Belize and Nina from Russia. I think both native and non-native teachers have certain intrinsic advantages and disadvantages but it depends far more on the individual and their abilities. There are good and bad teachers, both native and non-native, and to lump all of them together on the grounds of what their native langauge is greatly oversimplifies a very complex issue; it's just one of many factors involved.

Nicky Timlick, UK
I think that native speakers of English need to be as well qualified in their subject as any other teacher. Language can't just be learnt by osmosis. I learnt very little about grammar or tenses at school, so I have had to learn the language in a structured way. This way I hope I can give my students the grounding they need. I have sympathy as I have learnt some German. As an ESOL teacher, I have students in my class from all over the world.I teach at below Entry 1 level as well as teaching ESOL through the computer and the internet. It would be impossible to learn all the languages. My hope is to be able to help my students to live in the UK and have some survival techniques and to see a steady progression. Other colleagues in the department are not native speakers but teach perfectly well, as many have lived in the UK for years. We are lucky to have an excellent mixture of both.

Cristina, Catalonia
Non native teachers have been learners of English themselves which is a plus when forseeing potential mistakes students make. We are aware of what errors to expect, and therefore what to tackle. As for native teachers, ideal for slang, help with pronunciation, use of a more varied number of phrasal verbs, etc.

Hans, Belgium
Some native speakers are excellent, others have terrible local accents, far removed from "Standard English". The same can be true for non-native speakers.

Aeddan, Poland
As a 'Native speaker' I fully accept and realise that I am far inferior to my 'non-native' peers. Us Natives have a lot to learn...

Valeria, Mexico
I have found that students generally seek native teachers, but it does not necessarily mean they are better. True, they KNOW how to express themselves naturally, but can they TEACH it? I believe that you need training and dedication, whatever you teach.

Viviana Muñoz, Chile
I think that when you teach people that speak your own first language you have gone through the same mistakes they are doing and you are better prepared to face and beat them; but at the same time when the learner has reached a certain stage it is important to make contact with a native speaker to deal with the real English. The problem I think is that, at least in my country, almost anybody, from the USA or England, teach. Pedagogy seeems not to matter.

Maria, Belgium
I think it all depends on what a student wants, If they want to SPEAK English fluently then a native speaker is best. I find that non-native speakers tend to concentrate on grammar, which is essential but small children learn languages by only hearing it.

Giovanni Temporin, Belgium
A native speaker feels the language as he/she has learned it for many years

Yasmine Hasnaoui
Three years ago , I prepared the CELTA certificate. there were teachers from many foreign countries. I can assert that a native speaking teacher found difficulties in the Grammar tasks since she did not fully studied the grammar at school( middle and high school)

Lee, Australia
If language learning was only about listening and speaking then maybe native speakers would have an edge. But there are so many other issues...what about "English as an international language"? Surely there are a great number of people out there who only communicate in English (or a type of English - e.g. Singaporean English) on a regular basis with other non-native speakers - who would make the better teacher in such situations?

Arancha, Spain
In my experience, native teachers are good because the students don't ususally try to use L1 in class (in monoligual classes) but they have more problems to explain things such as grammar than non-native speakers with a good command of the language.

Denise, Italy
As far as teaching grammar is concerned I think non native speaking teachers are best. Many native speakers do not know their own grammar very well! As a native speaking teacher myself I think use of English, vocabulary and pronunciation is best taught by a native English speaker.

Jean Stocker, Germany
Native speakers have the advantage of completely internalised structures and syntax, as well as slang, buzzwords and so on. However, they are only the best teachers if they can teach! A non-native who has been through teacher training and has a good command of English is better than a native who has no idea how to teach, or even any idea of how the language funtions, and just speak English as their own language.

R.G.Renes, The Netherlands
I have got a native speaker as a colleague. Her Dutch is not perfect. She doesn't always see why her students make certain mistakes and can't explain them to her students. When the students have to translate something into Dutch she sometimes doesn't recognise the Double Dutch mistakes.

Inez Rufus, India
Though I am by birth an Indian, Hindi is not my mother tongue. It's English. However, I have learned Hindi via formal education and that gives me an understanding of why syntax, article usage etc. is incorrect when learners of ESL in India make mistakes in their speech. While this might help native teachers, it is very important that the native teacher speaks globally accepted English and has strong grammar.

Victoria, Ukraine
A non-native teacher knows what a student needs, as in the past he/she was such a student also and now he/she undestands what he/she needed at that time

Jennifer Gordon, New Zealand
I think that to the term "native" or "near-native" speaker, should be added the rider "who are fairly fluent in the L1 of their students" make better English teachers. This epiphany came to me the other day while teaching a Dutch speaking student from Suriname. Frustrated at not knowing a word in English she said "springkaan" and, having been forced to study Afrikaans at school in South Africa some 30 years ago, to the utter amazement of both of us I immediately said "Oh you mean a 'grasshopper'". So quick and easy - no need to have majored in Latin!

T. Nguyen, originally from Vietnam
Almost 'automatically' native speaker teachers have a natural advantage teaching cultural issues as well as speaking, listening, and writing skills - given that they are trained teachers, of course. However, since native speaker teachers have not gone through the process of learning English as a second or foreign language, they do not 'automaticaly' make better learner models than non-native teachers would. From my personal experience, non-native teachers often have a better understanding of learners' problems, have better explanations of relevant difficulties, and provide more useful information (e.g., rules of thumb) about the target language.

Liana, Brazil
I am Brazilian, I speak Portuguese very well (better than an ordinary person), but I don't think I'm able to teach Portuguese. So I think what makes the best teacher is studying hard not only being a native speaker.

Bob Lejkowski-Clark
I have had the pleasure of working with native and non-native speakers and both can be equally effective if well-trained. It is often easier for non-native speakers to explain grammar as they have conciously had to learn it for themselves first. Depending on a students needs, bearing mind the international stage that most English comunication takes place, a competent non-native teacher should be more than adequate.

Jorge Murillo, Ecuador
Teaching requires more skills and preparation than the mere knowledge of a subject matter, therefore, Education Institutions train future teachers with pedagogical tools that will enable facilitators to do a better job. Being a native speaker of the target language is an advantage, but not the only requirement to become a good teacher. There are thousands of excellent teachers of foreign languages who do a great job, though they have never visited any of the countries where that language is utilized. Specialized training is indispensable.

Gabrielle, Sweden
I think native speakers who are trained ESL/EFL teachers have the upper hand when it comes to teaching English. Non-native speakers/teachers will never be able to top natives (there are a few exceptions, though). I love teaching English since I love the language but I have decided to give up teaching ESL/EFL. It is just too hard and difficult to try to maintain a certain level.I wish I had known before trining to be a teacher.

Pratiba Velummailum, Malaysia
It is rather difficult to say if native speakers make the best teachers.In order to be a good teacher one needs to be equipped with certain attributes of a good teacher.I believe being a native has its advantages in terms of context of the language. However, this alone is not sufficient enough to make a good teacher. On the other hand, teaching non native speakers is definetely easier if the teacher is able to converse in the non-native's language. It depends on individuality as a good teacher is someone who can make the teaching lively and interesting.

Mami, Japan
I don't think that native speakers can be the best teachers.I believe that you can be a better teacher than native speakers in your country. Because you know what are the problem for students learning English. It must be a hard point for native speakers to understand. I know there are many native speakers who cannot answer our questions, otherwise some Japanese teachers can. I also teach Japanese to foreign people, and it is harder for me to teach language. But this is the case in your country. Thinking about teaching English in another country, the situation would be different.

Mrs Roach, Turkey
While teaching a foreign language one has to know his/her mother tongue very well; whether it's French, Turkish or English. I know many native speakers who don't know the grammar of English or ways of teaching. So just because you are a native speaker, it doesn't make you a good English teacher. Teaching is a different job than speaking.

Idit, Israel
Being a native speaker of English is certainly an advantage for those who want to be teachers, but not all of us can be teachers. We need more than vocabulary or pronunciation or even grammar to bring the student to a high performance in the use of the language. this is called a well trained teacher with natural gifts to teach.Not only what he or she teaches but how he or she teaches the student to manage with high proficiency in English

Philo, U.S.A.
I'm a non-native ESL instructor & I've been teaching here in the U.S. for the past 18 years. I feel confident in my teaching and my mentors and peers have never doubted my competency. It's unfortunate that some people tend to think that to acquire the language skills, it's imperative to have a native speaker as an instructor. The important thing is for the teacher to know how to be effective in keeping the students focused and engaged.

Vicente Aguilar, Paraguay
I agree with Craig from Greece. It's mainly a matter of trained and non-trained teachers is what makes the difference.

Steven in Mexico
A good English teacher is a person "fluent" and practiced in both using and teaching English. They must also ENJOY teaching English. I own a small English language school and only employ people with a recognised English language teaching qualification. Because of the qualification requirement almost all my teachers are native speakers ... American, Canadian and British.

D.L., Belize
The problem with this question is that it looks at just one factor rather than the many that go into being a good teacher. Personally, I think that being a native speaker is an advantage, but doesn't necessarily guarantee that someone will teach well. Training, understanding of language, and even personality and enthusiasm are all equally, if not more important. At the same time, I know that my students want to learn from a native speaker -- in part because some of them have experience learning from non-native speakers that has been problematic, especially in the area of speaking, pronunication, etc. But clearly a non-native speaker who has developed a high level of proficiency could overcome these problems. So I suppose I get back to my first comment -- being a native speaker is an advantage, but only one of several important factors. And I agree with some of the other comments that only being a native speaker (without training or experience) is far from sufficient.

Adel, Iran
As a non-native teacher of English I would like to say that for beginners, presumably a non-native teacher with appropriate education in EFL seems to be better than a native one because he knows the language of his students; he is more likely to solve most of the problems faced by students. On the other hand, a native teacher would be much more suitable for advance-level pupils since s/he seemingly has more knowledge and experience over the language and culture being taught.All in all, I can say a mixure of both in a given school appears to be optimal.

Isabel, Spain
Being a native speaker is an advantage that I envy. I am always trying to look for jobs abroad as a teacher of English and I know for certain that in many countries they only admit native teachers. The training teachers need is open to both native and non-native, so that is not the issue. We non-native need a lot of study if we want to have near-native like proficiency, and that is my aim: obtaining native-like proficiency so that I can teach anywhere in the world even to proficient levels of adults and be able to compete with natives (maybe a chimera).

Emre, Turkey
I think it depends on their education. Sometimes non-native speaker teachers teach better than many native speaker teachers.

Louise, The Netherlands
I think it totally depends on the situation. Officially I am a teacher of French but have now been teaching English (my mother tongue) for a couple of years too. French is easier to explain as I too have had to learn it as a foreigner so at a basic level, a non-native speaker is better, in my opinion. At a higher level, I firmly believe that you cannot beat a native speaker.

Margaret, USA (teaching in China)
A good teacher is a good teacher no matter what their own first language background. A tourist is a tourist.

A native speaker of a language knows instinctively what sounds right. Non-native speakers have learned the rules of their target language.

The standards for teaching should include being a good language model for the language that you are teaching. The standards for teaching a langauge should also include courses in methodology, pedagogy, and the language as a subject.

Diana Osabutey, Ghana
I teach in Accra and I don't teach my native language as well as I teach the English Language. On the other hand, I think the problem with the ESL teachers here has to do with accent and the cultural aspect.

Leonor Olano Chávez, Perú
I think that a native English speaking person who is a qualified teacher of the English Language can have some more advantages than a non native speaker teacher.

I don't think that an English native speaker can be a better teacher just because he/she speaks English. English Language Teaching needs much more skills that that. To master the language is just one of the skills required. A good teacher has to get some theoretical framework on linguistics, phonetics, morphosyntax, grammar and also methods, approaches, strategies and techniques involved in the language teaching - learning process.

Milan, Slovenia
native speakers are, in my opinion, better for conversation practice but then again, some non-natives are almost natives (they spend considerable amount of time abroad), I guess it all depends upon the teacher - some are good others are not, it's as simple as that.

Nina Koptyug, Russia
A good teacher is one who, a)knows the subject b)is willing to share the knowledge c) loves the job d) is always ready for the unexpected e) has plenty of patience. Nationality is not an issue.

Clive Rolls
All language is fundamentally an oral skill to enable people to communicate. Whilst non-native speakers might be better at teaching the technical aspects of grammar and can understand the difference between past simple and past continuous tense, native speakers USE the language and can speak it. Why is Wrotham pronounced "rootum" or Cholmondely pronounced "chummlee" I don't know - it just IS! A native speaker just pips it for me, they have more familiarity with "the exceptions to the rules" and use of common phrases.

Craig, Greece
Rather than see this debate in terms of native/non-native, I prefer to think of trained versus untrained. A well-trained, well-educated teacher will always be best, whatever his/her native tongue may be. Unfortunately, the EFL world is often filled people whose only teaching qualification is that they know the English language. This is clearly not enough.

Sandhya Sahoo, India
I dont agree that native speakers will make best teachers of English. But I do agree that while teaching in class the language comes naturally to them unlike teaching through grammar-translation method. They use much simpler words and appropriate to the situation and we struggle with book language which sounds more contrived and hence artificial.It is my experience attending online conferences and workshops organised by British Council.

Alison, France
I was born in France and teach both French and English. I find it more difficult to teach my native language because I never thought over it, the way it works, linguistics, phonetics etc. and I often find it hard to explain. Whereas in English, I'd say I can explain nearly everything! And my students enjoy it. The difference with a native teacher is probably the cultural aspect, I didn't grow up in the same country, but with the medias, internet, even DVDs, we're in touch with foreign cultures aren't we?

Jill Koppel, Australia
In an ESL situation (where there might be many first languages represented in the class), you can't possibly explain using students' first language. However, native speaker teachers will benefit from having learnt another language and understanding the idiosyncracies of the first languages represented. A good teacher must have a love of language and a continuing interest in improving one's own language performance. If the non-native teacher makes an error once in a while, it doesn't matter - more importantly, it's valuable to students to see that teacher isn't always 100% correct and that teacher can deal with his/ her fallibility!

Beverley, France
I would say that in the lower and intermediate and non-technical courses, pedagogical skills are at least as important as language level. I don't speak great Spanish but I'm sure I could do a better beginners' course than a native speaker with no teacher training because I know how to organise a lesson and how to explain things using only the language that the students know. As a coordinator I prefer the teacher with the best teaching skills to the one with the higher language level except in specialised courses eg computer English where I'm limited to the teachers who know the vocabulary but maybe don't have such good teaching skills.

Kathleen G. USA
I think it is easier for native teachers to be better at teaching their first language, especially of they have learned a second language. Non-natives need to plan and focus much more on how to teach and the results can be devastating when there is not careful planning.

Nasreen Hussain, Pakistan
Trained Non-native teachers will be able to understand the language difficulties of their students better becauase they had to go through second language learning process as well. Moreover, they will appreciate the learning styles and approaches of their students so that they can guide and support them in their learning process.

Andrew, Brazil
Non native speakers are often better equipped to teach the language. They understand the problems and learning difficulties of the students they are teaching. However, there is no reason why native speakers shouldn't become adept at teaching English provided they are aware of these learning difficulties and that they possess the necessary teaching skills. It is also important that native speakers have a good command of the language of the students they are teaching.

LS, United States
Native speakers make the best ESL teachers. How can students understand heavy accents if I can't? I have sat in classes where I have not understood many words spoken by non-native teachers. My students have said they can't understand non- native teachers. They don't usually tell the teacher this, but students will inform other teachers and administrators. Why expose students to listening and pronunciation from those who may use incorrect vowel sounds, stress, rhythm and intonation? I have had to reteach what non-native teachers explained because of errors. Their English was excellent in some regards but not in pronunciation, vocabulary or cultural references. Students need to learn these English components from the purest, most natural sources. Non-native speakers cannot know all of the elements native teachers do. Ideally, students need to learn from both native male and female teachers with accentless voices who have studied intensive English grammar. Incidentally, I am a native ESL teacher.

Divya Mehta, India
A non native language teacher, if well equipped with the grammar and literature is as compatible as any other native teacher.Along with mastering the language it is important to possess all the teaching skills with creativity and innovative skills well integrated.

Cassandra Lau, Malaysia
A native speaker will be an effective language teacher provided he/she has been briefed and trained cross-culturally in the particular ESL country. Having an understanding of the first language of the students is an added boon because teaching language is under the whole umbrella of teaching communication. Communication itself is a vitally broad area which includes discourse markers,localized Englishes, body language, etc....

Geetha Muralidharan, India
Language teaching revolves around development of the four skills namely reading, listening, writing and speaking. A language teacher will be very successful if she had undergone training in these aspects so that she could guide her students accordingly. Most importantly she must be an active facilator.

Alex.J, Russia
When non-native speakers are learning English from scratch it may be best for them to have a teacher who shares their own native language but knows English to a high level. Obviously L1 interference is always going to be a problem when the teacher is a non-native speaker but the advantage of having a shared perspective of L2 could be of great help especially in the early stages of learning. For example, a native Russian with a good grasp of English may be able to explain English constructions in a "Russian way"...as in: "when i learnt this construction...it was easiest this way...". A native speaker lacks this perspective of his/her native tongue as they have learnt it subconsciously. I believe it's a great advantage when the English teacher knows the student's native language (& culture). It lends deeper understanding and empathy.

GSteed Lodz, Poland
Most important, teacher must have teaching skills. Teacher should have English skills. Native speakers often lack the ability to converse in accepted understandable forms. Many English TV speakers are not understandable. Try having students listen to an English weather report and then retell it. Yes, a native speaker with an English major and an ESL teaching certificate will usually be a superior English teacher. English teachers with experience living and working in the USA or England will usually be better teachers of English than teachers without similar experience. I would like to invite an airline pilot to visit my classroom..They shoul be able to demonstrate 'basic English'.

Farshad, Iran
Non-native teacher is better than a native speaker because s/he knows the common mistake in his/her language. Native speaker knows his/her rule of language unconsciously and may not pay attention to it, but non-native teacher must know all the things that a native speaker uses without thinking about it.

Pedro, Argentina
Native teachers do not make necessarily the best teachers, however I do agree a bit with D.C. on the use of old fashioned vocabulary local Argentine teachers use.

It helps having lived in an English speaking country as I did in order to be able to use the right words and pronunciation in this globalized world.

Anna, Australia
I think the best teachers are in fact bi-lingual teachers. Native teachers can go only so far with their simplpfied explanations and body language.

BE Bloom, Spain
I feel that non native speaking teachers have first hand knowledge of learning another language and are better equipped to teach from own experience. Must be high level non native speakers, though, and academically trained.

Rozina Jumani, Karachi, Pakistan
Teaching language and having proficiency in any particular language, both aren't identical to each other. Teaching is a skill,that not every one is capabale of doing well, however, a TRAINED native speaker of English language does impact the learning language in its true sense. Though, non native language teacher also a catalyst fosters love for language learning specifically English language proficiency.

Silvia Bestilleiro, Argentina
Native speakers are better teachers only if they teach conversation courses.Otherwise it is highly improbable that they know enough grammar to teach elementary students.

Mariar
You dont need to be a native teacher to teach well, I have met many excellent teachers and they are not from a Country where English is spoken. They master the language very well , have lived there (countries where Enlgish is spoken) and have excellent English methodology. You can be a native teacher but maybe you dont know how to teach and that is what really matters.

Mariana, United Kingdom
I totally disagree with the assumption that native speakers make the best teachers, as compared with non-native teachers. I do believe native speakers have the advantage of having a native accent that is regarded as quite important for many institutions teaching English to foreigners (thus, the difficulty for non-native teachers to find job sometimes). However, I do believe that the focus on grammar and subtleties of the language that non-native teachers acquire through their teaching education prepare them to teach English as well as a native teacher, holding a Teaching Education, of course.

Eric, Thailand
Some of the most qualified teachers I've met are non-native speakers. I've met many non-native speakers who speak English surprisingly well and who have never had a native English teacher or been abroad. In Asia, however, English is a big business. So, to attract students, a foreign face is usually more important than a qualified teacher. Sad, but true.

Minoo, Iran
A language teacher should be trained academically for teaching that language. It does not matter s/he is a native speaker or not. However, a trained native teacher may teach more naturally, but we should not ignore in case of beginner and intermediate level students, a trained non native teacher may be more helpful if s/he knows the language of learners as well.

Buhari Zurmi, Saudi Arabia.
The most important thing about teaching is not how much the teacher knows, but how effective he is in attaining the goals of teaching. Therefore, the best teacher of English is the one that has acquired the knowledge, native or non-native, and skills in language teaching. He should combine principles and practice of education.

D. C. Austria
As a native English teacher I believe we do make the best teachers. We teach vocabulary that is in constant use ( I have met non native teachers who used words in the wrong context and words which are old fashioned and therefor not readily recognised) and give the pronunciation that is in use and can teach the variety of pronunciation. Many students don't want and don't need perfect grammer and perfect understanding of the rules of English but do need to make themselves understood and to gain confidence in speaking with native speakers. In business English I think we all need to review our jargon and keep up to date with trends in the fast developing language of the office.

Duncan McAlister, Romania
Though a native speaker, I've had to learn a great detail about the lexical & structural systems of English, which perhaps if I'd had to learn EFL, I wouldn't have had to struggle so much with learning my own language's structure. However, one advantage a native speaker can have is the almost instinctive regognition of errors, having such a wide exposure to not only the grammar, but also idiomatic and fixed phrasal expressions.

María Laura, Argentina
I totally disagree with this idea that all native speakers of a language are better teachers than those who have studied it formally. It is a wrong assumption and one which must certainly be changed in most countries. Being a native does not necessarily equal knowing how to teach your own language. And there are thousand examples of natives who make a terrible use of their own mother tongue. We, non-native teachers, should start doing something in our classes to prove this point!

Tina, Canada
a non-native teacher is aware of the difficulties a non native can encounter thus makes the teacher more efficient in his/her remedial work, moreover, can teach his/her learners strategies to overcome the difficulties I have been a teacher for over 23 years (even have had natives students) and my students and their parents are very satisfied by my teaching.I am not supposing a native teacher cannot be an efficient teacher but a non one save time thanks to his/her own experience in addition of the studies to be a teacher : courses in Methodology, Pedagogy, and English language as a subject as well. Hope my comments would be taken objectevely and the issue based on an efficient teaching and not on a controversy between natives and non-natives teachers.

Mohammad Fayyaz, Pakistan
If a native speaker has not formally studied his native language, and has not known how a language is taught, then he cannot be a better than the non-native one who may have formally studied the grammar of a language and the language itself.