Native Speaker Debate

The concept of the "native speaker" as the model and measure for second language learners has been challenged from multiple angles since the 1980s. What was once an unquestioned reference point in linguistics and language teaching is now recognised as ideologically loaded, empirically problematic, and pedagogically limiting.

The Problem with "Native Speaker"

Traditional SLA positioned the native speaker as the target and the non-native speaker as a deficient approximation. This created several problems:

• No clear definition — nativeness correlates imperfectly with proficiency, birthplace, chronological order of acquisition, self-identification, and linguistic competence
• Monolingual bias — the construct assumes a monolingual norm in a world where multilingualism is the statistical majority
• Deficit framing — L2 users are measured against an idealised (and fictional) monolingual native speaker rather than evaluated on their own terms

Key Positions

Paikeday (1985) declared "the native speaker is dead" — arguing the term is a linguist's fiction with no empirical referent. He proposed replacing it with "proficient user."

Cook (1991, 1999, 2016) developed the concept of Multi-competence: the compound state of a mind with two or more languages. L2 users are not failed native speakers but successful multicompetent speakers with a qualitatively different language system. Comparing them to monolinguals is like comparing apples to oranges.

Davies (2003) took a more moderate position, arguing that native speaker status can be achieved by exceptional L2 users, but acknowledging that the construct is idealised. His six criteria (childhood acquisition, intuitions, discourse competence, creative performance, translation ability, metalinguistic awareness) are themselves debatable.

The NEST/NNEST Debate

The native speaker construct has real-world consequences in employment:

• NEST — Native English-Speaking Teacher
• NNEST — Non-Native English-Speaking Teacher

Many institutions worldwide still recruit based on passport rather than qualification. The NNEST movement (formalised by TESOL International's NNEST Caucus, now the NNEST Interest Section) has documented discriminatory hiring practices and advocated for professional standards over birthplace.

Research consistently shows that NNESTs bring distinctive strengths: shared L1 with learners, personal experience of language learning, greater empathy for learner difficulties, and explicit knowledge of grammar. Neither NEST nor NNEST status predicts teaching effectiveness.

Implications for ELT

• Target models — ELF research and World Englishes scholarship suggest that Intelligibility is a more appropriate target than native-like accuracy for most learners
• Materials — textbooks increasingly feature non-native accents and non-inner-circle varieties of English
• Assessment — frameworks like CEFR describe proficiency without reference to native speaker norms
• Teacher Identity — how teachers position themselves relative to the native/non-native binary affects their confidence, authority, and pedagogical choices

Key References

• Paikeday, T. M. (1985). The Native Speaker Is Dead! Paikeday.
• Cook, V. (1999). Going beyond the native speaker in language teaching. TESOL Quarterly, 33(2), 185–209.
• Davies, A. (2003). The Native Speaker: Myth and Reality. Multilingual Matters.
• Holliday, A. (2006). Native-speakerism. ELT Journal, 60(4), 385–387.
• Kiczkowiak, M., & Lowe, R. J. (2018). Teaching English as a Lingua Franca. DELTA Publishing.