AN OPEN LETTER TO THE GUY WHO ONLY WANTS TO BE TAUGHT BY NATIVE SPEAKERS

I do see your point. But.

Just because you speak a language perfectly doesn't mean you can explain how it actually works. Even if it's your native language. Especially if it's your native language. Imagine, if you will, being dropped into the Yukon Territory (huh? why YT? damned if I know) and having to teach Czech to a random bunch of locals. Where do you even start? Why do we say the things we say the way we say them and not some other way that would make just as much sense?

I couldn't do it, that's for sure.

The most talented students that I have come across in my classes, most of them couldn't teach English to save their life. They'd had it too easy. They didn't have to struggle to understand how English works. It all came naturally to them. As a result, they assume it comes naturally to everyone.

You ask them how this or that grammar is used and they will shrug and tell you that it's so obvious a retarded hamster would get it. (They won't tell you that, not in so many words, but they'll definitely think it.)

Just because you are good at something doesn't mean you can teach it. (Which is not to say you should look for subpar English speakers and low-quality teachers. All I'm saying is, look past their English. See how well they can explain things.) You are probably going to point out that it's also good to hear natural English used by an actual native speaker. Fair point, that. Still.

I wonder if you have heard of this new thing called the Internet. Don't know much about it myself, but I have seen young people watch things on it where people actually spoke English. Like, real English. Like, the kind of English that you seem hellbent on paying to hear from a random person you have never met.

What I'm saying is basically, you can separate those two things completely. Find one place/source to listen. Find a different place/opportunity to actually speak.

In this day and age you can listen to English all day long if you feel like it. (It was a different story 20 years ago, but that's then and this is now.) You don't have to respond to anything, just take it in, maybe take notes, maybe imitate what you hear, whatever melts your butter.

Then, you can take classes where the teacher speaks tolerable English and you spend long periods of time talking to people whose English is as bad as yours. You get to practice what you have learned and you're not nervous about being judged. What's not to like?

That's how I feel about... what are we talking about again?