On native speakers

I was interested to read the letter from Maik Hinganaday Native 'speakers' on Aug. 19, in which some observations were put forward regarding the employment of "native speakers" as teachers of English. The main theme of the letter seemed to be to reject, apparently out of hand, any suggestion that to be a native speaker might be a suitable qualification for those wishing to offer their services as teachers of English.

Whilst I do not disagree that, as sole qualification, being a native speaker is clearly inadequate to the task, I strongly believe that this is a qualification that ranks highly among other more formal ones. A perfect knowledge of grammar and an extensive vocabulary are almost useless in spoken communication if correct pronunciation is lacking. Special constructions and idiomatic phrases abound in the English language and these are almost always employed effortlessly by the native speaker (be he or she a waiter, a wall painter or an aircraft cleaner).

Using English for communication in business, technology, travel, social purposes, etc., often across national boundaries, in contrast to developing an efficacy in the language in order to pass an academic examination are generally objectives of different kinds. I believe it is the former use of English that requires most attention in Indonesia.

It seems that most well-educated Indonesians have an excellent knowledge of English grammar. Quite often this is better than that of some native speakers. On the other hand many of those same Indonesians seem to have great difficulty in actually putting the language to practical use. They are reluctant to speak. One reason for this state of affairs appears to be lack of practice in listening and speaking and, presumably, the wish not to make embarrassing mistakes in talking to other speakers of English. Neither are they keen to practice, in case they are thought to be showing off in front of their non-English speaking friends.

I often tell my students that, if they wanted to learn to ride a bike, probably the last thing they would do would be to get an instruction book on bike riding from the library; no, they would jump on the bike and try out.

The English language is a practical tool of communication. The theory (i.e. grammar) is very important but it is not an end in itself. Its importance lies in giving regularity, accuracy and precision to the language in its use as a means of communication. And, of course, as in learning to ride a bike, practice (listening and speaking) makes perfect.

The would-be teacher of English must be sympathetic to these difficulties and use a teaching method that is designed to address them. I would suggest that an academic qualification in the English language, whether held by a native speaker or anyone else, would only go a small part of the way in equipping a person to teach English as it is needed in Indonesia.

FRANCIS R DENSON

Jakarta