Qualities to Look for in a Second Language Mentor

Let’s be clear about one very important issue: your success in learning a second language ultimately depends upon you, not your mentor. However, a good teacher will make a big difference to how you learn a language.

What determines how a mentor teaches is obviously their own teaching preparation. There are so many second language teacher preparation programs on the market that if your mentor does not have a formal qualification then your alarm bells should start ringing and you should start looking for someone who does. As a bare minimum, your teacher ought to have a Certificate level qualification. But this is a minimal qualification and any second language teacher worth their salt will probably have a Masters degree. I’m not saying that a formal qualification guarantees that the teacher can teach well, but if they have only minimal qualifications you’d have to question their dedication and curiosity about the language learning process.

The language mentor’s expertise should consist of two aspects:

1. Language expertise. They should have native-like proficiency in the skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing.
2. Teaching methodology. They should be qualified in a range of approaches to the teaching of a second language so that they are able to vary their approach to suit the needs of the learner.

It is worth remembering that just as you have a particular learning style, so your mentor will have a unique teaching style. Styles depend on personality, so that the classroom of an extroverted teacher may not be a comfortable place for the introverted student. Similarly, the analytical teacher will appeal to the student who likes to be shown how the grammar of the language works, while the student who likes to be immersed in lots of communicative situations may find grammar a drag.

There is no one right way to learn a language, just as there is no one right way to teach a language. But what of the students who find themselves in the class of a teacher whose style is incompatible with theirs? My advice is to adopt a two-pronged approach:

1. Honest and polite discussion with the teacher. Talk to the teacher about your preferred learning style and ask for advice. A good teacher can accommodate a variety of student learning styles.
2. Take personal responsibility for your own learning. Be clear about what you want to achieve with the language and develop your own learning program (in consultation with the teacher).

“When the pupil is ready, the master will appear.”

I ended the previous blog with this enigmatic quotation, the key to which is the first part of the proposition (“when the pupil is ready…”).  The pupil is never ready until they take personal responsibility for their learning. When they do, they will have no trouble attracting a “master”. We often think that learners depend upon teachers but equally teachers depend upon learners – real learners; the ones who are prepared to take personal responsibility for their learning. As we said at the beginning of this post:

Let’s be clear about one very important issue: your success in learning a second language ultimately depends upon you, not your mentor.

The Role of the Second Language Teacher

No matter how you decide to go about learning a second language, it is likely that at some time you will need the help of a language teacher.

In this blog, I have been using the term “second language mentor” to describe this individual. I have chosen this phrase because it suggests to me a more advisory role than “teacher”, one that concerns itself with not just the linguistic product to be learnt, but also the language learning process that the learner might follow. A good mentor/teacher will be able to help you with both of these aspects and as a second language learner you need to realise that you are justified in asking for these two levels of help.

The Concise Macquarie Dictionary defines a “mentor” as “a wise and trusted counsellor”, emphasising a collaborative role and acknowledging that the second language learner brings their own unique contribution to the process. For example, you may have certain goals that you would hope to achieve in learning the language, certain things you want to do with the language. The mentor should be able to counsel you about what language you will need to achieve these ends based on the mentor’s understanding of your language background. They should also be able to counsel you, based on what they know about your learning style and strategy preferences, on how you should go about learning the language. In other words, the mentor should work with you to arrive at an accurate needs analysis at both the product and the process level.

The concept of “mentor” has within it the acknowledgement that ultimately you need to take responsibility for your own learning. By working collaboratively with a mentor, you will be moving towards autonomy, to the day when you will outlive the need for a mentor.

So, where do you find such mentors – these rare individuals who become successful by making themselves redundant? The answer to this question is complex and will be answered in future articles. But, I’ll leave you with a thought in which you might find the answer you are seeking: “when the pupil is ready, the master will appear.”  Sounds mystical? Not really, but I’ll leave it with you and feel free to share your thoughts in the “comments” box.