Initial teacher training courses and non-native speaker teachers

Abstract

This article reports on a study contrasting 41 native speakers (NSs) and 38 non-native speakers (NNSs) of English from two short initial teacher training courses, the Cambridge Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults and the Trinity College London CertTESOL. After a brief history and literature review, I present findings on teachers’ backgrounds, reasons for participation, likely future teaching contexts, participants’ perceptions of which course components were most useful, and how well they felt their needs were met. NNSs are much more likely than NSs to have prior teaching experience and qualifications, they have very different reasons for taking such courses, they are more likely to teach in their home countries after completion, and they prioritize different components of the course. After discussing the implications of these findings, I conclude that current initial teacher training courses are not well suited to the needs of NNS participants, who may require a very different type of course to NS participants.