One controversy in the ELT profession has been about how native speakers and non-native speakers differ – or whether the term "native speaker" can be said to have any validity.
In 1991, Alan Davies considered this issue from varied linguistic angles, concluding that the dichotomy between native speakers of English (NS) and non-native speakers (NNS) may be of theoretical interest, but it has limited applied validity. His 181-page work presents many intriguing models of what being a NS might imply.
Davies points out the term "native speaker" has at least three meanings: (1) being a speaker of one's own idiolect, (2) being a speaker of an uncodified dialect, or (3) being part of a group adhering to a codified norm in a standard language.
"The debate about the native speaker will go on. In that debate it will continue to be necessary to distinguish between the two senses of native speaker, the flesh and blood and the ideal... That indeed is a myth but a useful myth." (p. 167)
In 1994, Peter Medgyes produced a 128-page work relating the NS/NNS theme to the classroom. His book has four basic premises:
- NS/NNS teachers usually differ in language proficiency.
- They also tend to differ in terms of teaching behaviors.
- Item (1) accounts for most of the differences in (2).
- Both can be equally good teachers in their own terms.
Listing the relative merits of NS teachers, Medgyes comments that they tend to be less textbook-dependent and more tolerant of student errors. NNS teachers, however, are often able to provide better role models and teach learning strategies more effectively.
Finally, in 1999, George Braine edited a volume representing the voices of 15 non-native ELT professionals. This work reflects the controversy and hearty polemic involved in the NS/NNS debate, focusing on sociopolitical issues like sexism, racism, and nativism that often create discrimination in the workplace.
— Reviewed by Tim Newfields