How would one define the term " Native English Speakers"? Must they be true blue British or Americans? Born and bred in only those countries? Or can we include those who are not of Western/English descent who grew up speaking English?
Is it true that only people of English descent are the only ones who can speak perfect English ? Are they the only ones who are qualified to teach English?
Then , how do we place people like me? People who grew up learning English as their first language and their mother tongue as their second language?
As our society moves ahead, why is there still an element of discrimination? Most people would still prefer whites to teach them English. Just like people would prefer Chinese to teach them Mandarin. But how can we be so sure that the person teaching us is truly qualified to teach? We most probably would not know till we have experienced lessons by our teachers.
So, why not give others a chance to see if they can really help us learn something even though they may not fall into the standard protocol? Life is a journey of experiences, trials and errors. Isn't it so?
The Oxford Companion to the English
Language defines a native speaker as “a person who has spoken a certain language since
early childhood” (Christophersen & McArthur, 1992, p. 682). However, many linguists
say that a “true” NS of a language becomes increasingly difficult to find. Indeed, very
few people are “born” in a language, learn it, speak it at home and at school, and later at
work, and hear only one variety of this language during their entire life.
The above is the definition of what makes a Native Speaker of English. If only more people understand this concept and look at the competency of teachers than whether they are native speakers or not.
Check out this site if you have the time....touches my heart somehow....
http://www.moussu.net/courses/portfolio/540.pdf
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