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3 Answers

up vote 6 down vote

If you put the accent on the word "teacher", then it means "a teacher from England." If you put the accent on the word "English", then it means "a teacher who teaches English".

Or in another way, if you say "a teacher of English", then it means a teacher who teaches English. If you want to say a teacher who comes from England, then a clearer way would be "a teacher from England."

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1  
And now, which one is correct? It's a good answer, so I don't want to -1 it, but since it doesn't directly answer the question, I think I should (but I won't). – Jürgen A. Erhard Jun 20 '11 at 12:44
3  
They are both correct, but "English teacher" is idiomatic. You won't often hear a native English speaker say "Teacher of English" except to differentiate from a teacher of some other subject (and you won't often hear "speaker of English" either). – njd Jun 20 '11 at 13:54
up vote 5 down vote

Very slight difference in meaning here:

"Teacher of English" can refer to anyone who is teaching English, to anyone.

"English Teacher" has the connotation that it is someone who is in the Education system, is paid, and has a class of students to teach to.

I.e.:

John is a teacher of English. He is just really good with English, so he can instruct basically anyone.

Jane is an English teacher. She works at my school.

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up vote 1 down vote

Both are grammatically correct, and which one to use will depend on the context.

teacher of English: This makes an explicit reference to the subject. It doesn't matter if the teacher is from England or not, it just cares about the fact that the teacher teaches English.

Examples where teacher of English is used:
http://www.ppef.cz/best-teacher-of-english-award/
http://www.teacher-of-english.com/
http://inspiringenglishteacher.sg/ (its funny to see here how the award is for Teachers of English but the URL is a contraction of "Inspiring English Teacher")

English teacher: This can be ambiguous depending on the context because English can relate to nationality or to the subject English. If such an ambiguity is not possible in your context, English teacher is shorter, easier to pronounce and the natural choice of words. It would even sound a little awkward if you, at your own school, should refer to your English teacher as your teacher of English.

Examples where English teacher is used:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_English_Teacher
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2055765/
http://crofsblogs.typepad.com/english/

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