Looking for a Burmese Language Teacher? Here’s What to Look for…

With a language as obscure as Burmese, it can be a struggle to find a good Burmese language instructor that can teach all the aspects of spoken and written Myanmar. Burmese is a language spoken by only about 43 million people. And almost all the Burmese speakers live in Myanmar or neighboring countries like Thailand, Singapore, or Malaysia! As another challenge, very few people know where Myanmar is. All these factors seem to go against the dedicated Burmese language learner, but there are some amazing Burmese language instructors out there who can help students learn this beautiful language. 

With such a small population of Burmese speakers in the world, it’s understandable that there wouldn’t be many Burmese language instructors. But while you’re searching, here are some key things to look for that define an excellent Myanmar language teacher: 

1. Native Myanmar Speaker

The best way to learn Burmese is with a native Burmese speaker. Although there are a few Burmese language teachers out there who aren’t native speakers, there are a lot of reasons why it’s smart to choose a teacher that speaks Myanmar as their first language. 

First of all, learning Myanmar from a native speaker will ensure that you’re hearing all the tones, vowels, and consonant sounds pronounced correctly. The language of Myanmar has a very specific pronunciation and rhythm, so it’s absolutely essential for students to hear the language spoken by a native speaker from the beginning. When you learn Burmese with a native, you increase the chances that you’ll develop a more believable accent, and you’ll also ensure that you’re getting correct information in regard to grammar and word choice.

2. Attentive to Student’s Needs

All language learners want to someday achieve proficiency in their target language, but most learners tend to have different ways that they learn, especially when it comes to language. And, because different learners have different needs, it’s important that language instructors have an understanding of their students’ needs so that they can help them achieve their specific goals. 

A lot of Burmese language learners may have business-oriented needs that focus specifically on spoken Myanmar, but some other learners may want to take a “ground-up” approach that works with all aspects of the Burmese language, including reading and writing. Other people still aren’t actually in Myanmar, but want to learn Burmese so that they can communicate more effectively with Burmese immigrants in various parts of the world. Some other people still may have a Myanmar spouse, and want to learn how to communicate better with their loved ones! I have encountered students from all of these backgrounds, and each student required a different learning plan and path in order to achieve their goals in the order necessary. 

Finding a Burmese language teacher who will focus on you as the student is absolutely essential to mastering the Myanmar language. 

3. Repetition From Lesson to Lesson

Good Burmese language teachers remember what they worked on with a student during their last lesson together, and they make sure to touch on what was learned multiple times until it becomes clear that the student has mastered the concept. When looking for a Burmese language teacher, it’s a good idea to try out a few lessons with prospective teachers to see if they follow this principle. 

Repetition and practice of concepts from lesson-to-lesson is incredibly important! For example, a teacher who is teaching Burmese greetings to a student may start each lesson with a list of basic questions asking for name, age, or residence to help the student retain the information over the long term, and also to practice a bit of conversation before moving on to the bulk of the day’s lesson. Reviewing vocabulary terms and questions that arose during the student’s studies are also important! 

4. Interactive Lessons

In order to truly learn Burmese, you have to work with it hands on. Different learners have different ways of doing this hands-on work, but interactive practice is vital to effective language learning. During your lessons with your Burmese language teacher, your teacher should encourage you to actively use Myanmar as much as possible so that you can get practice in a controlled, safe learning environment. 

Interaction with the language may range from having conversations to reading aloud, or even discussing a piece of written Burmese language homework! The important thing is that you’re using Burmese during your lesson. Many Burmese language instructors may prefer that their students repeat words or phrases over and over since this is generally how schools in Myanmar teach their students, but a few superb instructors follow the rule of language interaction, and their students have spectacular success!

5. Care with Pronunciation

Burmese is a language full of unique letters, rhythms, and of course, tones. For speakers of western and European languages, Burmese is an incredibly foreign language! And, because there’s no standardization when it comes to pronunciation keys in Myanmar language textbooks, it can be exceptionally difficult to figure out how different words are pronounced without the help of a Burmese language instructor. 

Good Burmese language teachers pay attention to pronunciation. Word meanings and phrases are hugely determined by pronunciation and rhythm, so for the Myanmar language, giving a little extra love to work on pronunciation makes the difference between proficiency and encountering numerous linguistic woes. An efficient Burmese language teacher balances focus on pronunciation with the student’s need to actually practice the language. Practice makes perfect, and your Burmese language pronunciation will certainly improve with the help of an attentive and careful Burmese language teacher!

Conclusion:

Even though there aren’t as many Burmese language teachers as there are English or German teachers (for example), that doesn’t mean that there aren’t solid, reliable, and talented Myanmar instructors out there! By looking for teachers with the qualifications listed above, you’re sure to have success in learning Burmese, and you’ll be speaking and reading in no time!

Contact Burmese Tutor today to schedule a lesson and get started learning the language of Myanmar!