There has been a long struggle to promote and validate the
non-native speaker teacher of English. Many scholars, themselves
non-native speakers of English, have argued that a prejudice
against non-native speaker teachers of English exists (e.g., Braine,
2010; Moussu & Lurda, 2008). The lingua franca approach really
requires non-native speaker teachers of English. Remembering that
the language learning goal is not to approximate native speaker
norms, but to be able to interact successfully with fellow Asian
multilinguals, it follows that an Asian multilingual who is proficient in English and who has the relevant qualifications represents
the most appropriate teacher. Being multilingual in at least one
Asian language and English provides the teachers with obvious
advantages as language teachers, especially if they also speak the
language(s) of their students.