The purpose of this article is to show teacher competence is due to not only experience but also knowledge of the subject matter. Many schools in Lebanon are suffering from teacher incompetence in general and English language teachers' incompetence in particular. Twenty pre-service and eighteen in-service Lebanese English teachers teaching in Lebanese schools across all levels from preschool up to secondary classes were observed. Primarily, they were observed for classroom management, knowledge of the subject matter, methodology, student-teacher relationship, and personal character. However, a striking factor of teacher incompetence was detected in an inadequate knowledge of the subject matter. Although all language teachers had an adequate command of the English language, it was found that incompetence was mainly manifested in an inadequate command of the subject matter. Most in-service teachers failed to provide culturally enriching classes, cater for students' needs when language arts were taught, and be wise decision makers concerning what material to teach and what to leave out. The conclusion was that language teachers needed to master the language, and be trained mainly in their practicum courses to enrich their cultural background, evaluate source material, be decision makers, and create their own resource material.