Professionalism in Language Teaching?*

Language teaching is a profession that requires specialized skills. Teach-ers need a high level of proficiency in the language that they teach in ad-dition to knowledge of second language acquisition and language teach-ing methodology. However, language teaching is frequently undervalued and misunderstood. This paper examines the (lack of) professionalism in language teaching from two different perspectives. First, the author con-siders the status of English language teaching around the world, which is adversely affected by the frequent practice of hiring unqualified native speakers. The second section of the paper addresses the current status of foreign language teaching in the United States. In spite of a critical need for foreign language skills in the U.S., language programs are being eliminated at universities around the country, and in some cases class-room instruction is being replaced with self-study software programs. Key words: enseñanza de lenguas, profesionalismo, hablantes nativos, hablantes no nativo