Part 1: English Teacher Vs Teacher of English
If you write "I am an English teacher" in an English composition, some teachers may scold you for incorrect English grammar, advising you to use "I am a teacher of English" instead.
They claim that because the phrase "I am an English teacher" has multiple connotations, it may mislead or confuse the reader.
Their argument is valid. When the word "English" appears before a noun, it is used as an adjective to describe that noun, and it might have one of three meanings.
1. That the person, thing, place, or concept it describes is from, connected to, or associated with England. Thus, "an English car" is a car made in or designed in England, "the English people" are the people of England, “an English city” is a city in England, and "an English tradition" is a tradition that began in England. In this sense, "an English teacher" is a teacher from England.
2. The language spoken in England and many other countries throughout the world. When the term "English teacher" is used in this context, it refers to someone who teaches English as a language.
3. A course taught in many schools and universities around the world. In this context, "an English teacher" is someone who teaches English as a subject.
Therefore, a reader could interpret the sentence "an English teacher" as "a teacher from England," "a teacher of the English language," or "a teacher of a course named English." As a result, an English teacher who does not teach English, and an English teacher who is not from England, are both possible. Here are two examples:
– “John Omondi, our English teacher, is from Kenya.
– “John William, our English teacher, teaches biology, Math, and chemistry but not English”
This is the ambiguity that many teachers try to resolve by advising the use of "a teacher of English" when referring to someone who teaches English and "an English teacher" when referring to a teacher from England.
While the phrase "an English teacher" can be interpreted in a variety of ways, some authorities believe that the second and third meanings ("a teacher of English language" and "a teacher of a course named English") are more commonly associated with the term than the first ("a teacher from England"), so the risk of being misunderstood is minimal. They suggest that we should refer to someone who teaches English as "an English teacher" in the same way that we refer to someone who teaches Biology as "a biology teacher" and one who teaches History as "a history teacher." They say there is no reason why an exception should be made for someone who teaches English, which is a course like all the others. They claim that if we applied the idea that "English teacher" means "a teacher from England" to other courses, we would wind up with terms like "a teacher from History," which sounds awkward.
Both "an English teacher" and "a teacher of English" are correct; however, it is up to the writer to decide which to use. If, however, you are concerned that your construction might reflect where the teacher is from rather than what he or she teaches, use "a teacher of English."
