Can any native teach?

Any native speaker can teach a language. Usually, they can do it well, if they are seriously intent on teaching it. Methods and effectiveness may vary.

Yes, why not? If native speaker is passionate to teach about his native language, then it's so possible. But if the learner wants a formal type of class and particular about grammar, he must find a speaker with a degree.  

Depends to what degree, I believe native teachers teach better than in native speakers, but once you are into a B2 level territory youneedto know what you are talking about. I know plenty of native English speakers who can't tell their there's from their they'res. People who don't understand phrasal verbs, people who use much more quicker, and can't explain why we use words in a clausal manner. I think you can teach to a certain conversational level but never enough to get them through an official exam. Especially when questions are presented asking you to change intense for another etc

1) Should we include natives that are somehow disabled of just bad at the language/illiterat? After all, you said any native.

2) Define "teach". Help someone practice thier conversation? Teach someone to write a novel? 

Hmm... The question is rather broad. Even if you're native, it'd also depend on the level of your language. Can someone who never attended school, and only lived in a small community (and hence, only speak that language particular to that community) teach a language? I doubt so. My Vietnamese friend is from a small village in central Vietnam, where their language is quite unique. Also, she never learned Vietnamese as a written language. Hence, while she's conversationally fluent in Vietnamese, she's actually functionally illiterate - she can't actually spell in Vietnamese. 

It certainly helps if he's native speaker, but I don't think that necessarily means that person is a good teacher.

Teaching someone a certain language is not an easy job for you.

So I may answer this question politically but Yes and No. It's easier for the person to teach the language but that doesn't necessarily mean the person will be a better teacher for the language than someone who never spoke the language. 

I don't think any native can teach formally and properly. You have to have some educational background to be able to teach someone the important stuff about a language. But in the other hand if it is informal conversation, I believe that anybody can be teach other person the basics of speaking. So it depends:grin:.

If a native speaker is a well-educated person and has preferably some experience in learning foreign languages himself, then yes, certainly! If not, this native speaker would be very cool to practice speaking with, but regarding grammar he or she may not be such a reliable source of information. 

Pearson PLC, makers of the Versant spoken language test take the approach that spoken language has a content component and a structure component. You could generally say that the first part is the ability to understand, respond and express appropriately. You could also say the second part is grammar and structure, the logical construction of the spoken language. Any person who grew up speaking a language can be strong in content but not necessarily structure, yet that person can teach that language to a non-speaker.

Berlitz rates people's written/spoken language ability on a scale that mirrors the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR). They assert that anyone can teach a language, but only up to the teacher's level of ability. This makes sense because spoken language is part knowledge and part skill, and you can't transfer a skill to another that you don't already possess. I've seen this in practice and I tend to agree.

Expatriots have lived in a foreign country and picked up the language from speaking with the natives. Men and women can teach their spouses how to speak their native tongue. Basically, anyone can teach their language to another, as long as the learner wants to learn it. The only question is how *well* they can learn it.

Finally, I would assert that native speakers are better teachers than non-native speakers of a language, even without the formal training, for the simple reason that they understand the language better and know the nuances of how to use it.

Phillip.Laplana wrote:

Any native speaker can teach a language. Usually, they can do it well, if they are seriously intent on teaching it. Methods and effectiveness may vary.

That's a good point I failed to consider. Of course they can teach it. They might suck at teaching it though, haha. Maybe a better question would be "Should language teachers be native speakers?" Hey - new topic.

I asked this question because I've always hated grammar (in a technical way), one of the main reasons is because it can be quite confusing once you start learning the different time tenses. There're so many and if you don't have a good teacher (or enough curiosity), it can be stressful. As natives we tend to forget rules just because we use our languages daily and it's natural to use them. I feel like a language teacher must have a good preparation before diving into that world, I don't feel like I'm capable of teaching my language even though I'm a native or I have a formal education.

Jess.PWinkler wrote:

I don't feel like I'm capable of teaching my language even though I'm a native or I have a formal education.

Same here. I can correct someone, but I can't explain why and I don't know the actual rules.

I voted for "no" because I believe that in order to be an efficient language teacher, one has to know something about the rules and the effective methods of teaching (this is for formal learning). Any native speaker can speak the language well but teaching your native language to somebody is another thing. 

This is also one reason why I voted "no" to the previous poll.