Who do you expect to be the best teacher for you? A native speaker of that language? Or, local teacher who speak the same language as yours?
In the field of TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages), this question has been a very controversial issue.
Historically speaking, it used to be native speakers that were considered to be the best teachers. It was conspicuous especially around the World War, because the language teaching model came from the background where perfectly correct grammar and native-like pronunciation were required for espionage. The method at that time was called audiolingual method. Then, after the War ended and the world economics became international, people started to use many varieties of Englishes which are distant from the perfect English. Therefore, people started to concentrate more on communication, and to accept many varieties as well. This was called communicative language teaching CLT.
CLT was a great hit for ESOL teachers, since the learners were supposed to achieve high proficiency of communication after a set of education through it. However, it turned out to be that CLT was less effective than their expectation, simply because they considered it as a "one-size-fits-all" methodology which can be used everywhere in any context. So, at the end of 20th century, it was said that methodologies died, because they do not work.
However, it was not these methodologies that was wrong; it was the way of application for language classrooms. After the reflection on this expanded mistake, researchers proposed many approaches for better language teaching. One example is Kumaravadivelu's (2001) "postmethod pedagogy" which focuses more on the sociocultural aspects involving in language learning.
The postmethod utilizes three parameters to visualize the concept of teaching: particularity, practicality, and possibility. He also developed ten pragmatic strategies, called macrostrategies, based on the three parameters (2003). These parameters and macrostrategies stand upon the perspective that sociocultural aspects influences the learners' language proficiency so that the whole acquisition process becomes sociocognitive.
Another example is Bartolome's (1994) implication for humanizing pedagogy. In her research, she aims for politically clear teaching, which requires teachers to recognize and value subordinated students' existing knowledge, culture, and experience, and to create learning context where power is equalized between the teachers and the students. The same as Kumaravadivelu's postmethod pedagogy, understanding sociocultural factors are the prerequisite to realize this pedagogy in language classroom.
Now, let's go back to the first question. Who should be the best language teacher? In audiolingual method, it was obviously native speakers of the target language, since they have the intuitive knowledge of the language, which, ipso facto, creates the language. In CLT, it can be non-native speakers, but still, native speakers were preferred to some extent, since again, they have the perfect linguistic skills of the language which lead learners to better communication. In the last two pedagogy, however, non-native speakers may be preferred since they have been exposed to socially and culturally diverse experiences which have influenced their language learning, and these experiences of their own can be developed into personal methodologies that suit each teacher's particular learners in particular context. Of course, native speakers of the target language can be a good teacher when s/he has different language experiences and/or understands social and cultural factors that influence the language leaning.
Integrating all of the ideas above, the BEST language teacher for today (in globalized period when English achieved the position of international language), is who has a rich variety of language experiences, social and cultural understanding of language learning, and great amount of linguistic knowledge, if not as perfect as native speakers, as well as sociolinguistic knowledge and other knowledge of language usa and acquisition. Language teachers must be confident and competent in their linguistic/sociocultural experiences.
References
B. Kumaravadivelu (2001). Toward a Postmethod Pedagogy. TESOL Quarterly, 35(4). pp537-560.
B. Kumaravadivelu (2003). Critical Language Pedagogy. A postmethod perspective on English language teaching. World Englishes, 22(4). pp539-550.
L., I. Bartolome (1994). Beyond the Methods Fetish: Toward a Humanizing Pedagogy. Harvard Education Review. 64, 2. ProQuest Education Journals. p173
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