NESTs versus Non-NESTs

Nests are teachers who speak English as a native language, also called mother tongue or L1 (First Language). That is to say a native speaker of English is an individual who was born in an English-speaking country. Non-Nests are teachers who do not speak English but learned to speak the language. Nests and Non-Nests both have advantages in their own ways.

The advantage of Non-Nest is being taught by a Non-Nest, the fact that both teachers and students share the same culture, they explain better grammatical rules, serves as the role model for successful language learners. The advantage of Nests is that being a native teacher provides at least three advantages in general: they have better profiency, better at explaining cultural issues in the target language, and are more flexible for topic changes. It is no doubt that learning first language is done automatically for native speakers. This helps them teach communicative skills easily. In conclusion both groups of teachers serve equally useful purposes in their own ways and in a good school this is a good balance between Nests and Non-Nests who complements each other in their strengths and weaknesses where students can only gain.

Nests have had study more grammar while Non-Nests have had to work a bit harder at improving their vocabulary and pronunciation. Each one has their own advantages and disadvantages. They have to be learned accordingly through certain skills: reading, writing, listening, and speaking. Non-Nests tend to focus harder on pronunciation and vocabulary because these are the most important points for communication.

The accent is another advantage the Nests have because they listen and speak English since they were born while Non-Nests have problems with their accent.

I think that native speakers are better teachers because they know how the language really works, and Nests are much more likely to give learners better examples of phrasal verbs, idioms, etc. but also Non-Nests are better, too, because they teach grammar rules, etc. but basically both teach and prepare learners.

A good teacher, Nest or Non-Nest, will probably realize that it is a lot more sensible to rely on corpus research in terms of usage than on his or her personal experience which might be limited.

Non-Nests have a lot of opportunities to become more proficient in the language through the effective use of the technology that is available these days because they can communicate with Nests through social media and establish a good communication and learn from it. Fortunately, nowadays, everybody have access to the internet.

I think that both Nests and Non-Nests have got always look for ways to improve. Reading and listening of native speakers are also an advantage for Non-Nests.