Language instructors at the university level are often in one of three situations:

 

 

• They are language instructors with experience teaching in their countries of origin, but little or no training in the teaching approaches commonly used in the United States

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• They are professionals in other fields who are native speakers of the language but are not trained as teachers

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• They are graduate students who have extensive knowledge of language, literature, and culture but are not trained as language teachers

 

These instructors often must begin their work in the classroom with little or no guidance to help them appreciate which methods work, how, and why. In response, they may fall back on an outdated model for understanding language teaching and language learning.