I teach English as a second language.
Does it mean the speaker teaches English to people who speak English as a second language or mean the speaker himself or herself speaks English as a second language?
2006-08-17 21:32:34 · 18 answers · asked by donotmisstony 2 in Society & Culture ➔ Languages
The students speak English as a second language. The teacher is not saying anything about his or her own English, whether it's a first language or not.
2006-08-18 00:56:53 · answer #1 · answered by Goddess of Grammar 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
It means an English native speaker teaching students who want to lean English as a second language.
2006-08-18 04:39:42 · answer #2 · answered by ElOsoBravo 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
To me it means I teach English to people who speak English as a second language.
2006-08-18 04:38:51 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
The reason it is said this way is because if you teach English to non-English speakers, the classes are formally called ESL. That's the acronym for English as a Second Language classes. It is sometimes also called EFL (English as a Foreign Language.)
This is a web journal for Teachers of English as a Second Language:
http://iteslj.org/
2006-08-18 06:13:14 · answer #4 · answered by maî 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
English as a second language, or ESL, means that the teacher is teaching English to students whose first language was not English. Often the students are just beginning to learn English and need more help than students whose first language or only language is English.
Many times the teacher will also be a person whose first language was not English, but not always and is not required to be a ESL teacher.
It is also sometime said that the teacher is bilingual or multi-lingual.
Hope that helped.
H
2006-08-18 06:30:49 · answer #5 · answered by H 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The speaker teaches English to people who are just learning English for the first time.
2006-08-18 04:36:39 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
It means the teacher is teaching English to the students who are not fluent in English. For example, Mexicans, their primary language would be Spanish and when they begin and or have learned English quite fluently, English will be considered their second language. Hope this clarified it for you. Take care.
2006-08-18 05:25:22 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
The person teaches English to those who originally speak something else, like Spanish. Spanish is their first language and English is their second.
2006-08-18 04:41:25 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
I think that normally it would mean that the person teaches English as a second language to those whoes first language is a
language other than English. that isn't to say it could not mean other things to other people.
2006-08-18 06:40:45 · answer #9 · answered by madchriscross 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It means that the teacher teaches English to non-native speakers (they come from another country, so English is not their primary language).
2006-08-18 04:48:08 · answer #10 · answered by Shannon A 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋