Want to speak fluent English?

Language learners, especially English learners, desire to speak like natives. There are several YouTube videos and Medium pieces titled “How to Speak English Like a Native"—probably the same reason you clicked on this post.

Native-speakerism: ELT discrimination?

“Native-speakerism” is an English language teaching (ELT) concept in which “native-speaker teachers symbolize a Western culture” from which “the values of the English language and English language teaching technique emerge” (Holliday, 2006).

Those who believe native speakers have a divine right to teach “their” language believe non-native speakers are bad teachers.

Native-speakerism permeates everything ELT-related, from teachers to the languages they teach. Some people think that the latter is a holdover from colonialism and the idea that countries in the inner circle should know English.

Based on critical sociology, Holliday (2017) says that native-speakerism is a racist practice, and research shows that in ELT, being a native-speaker instructor means you are white and look Western.

Native-speakerism leads to discrimination against non-native-speaking teachers, who may be rejected.

China’s predicament

Non-native English speakers and learners prefer native-speaking teachers. Wang and Fong (2020) found that Chinese EFL students liked teachers who were native English speakers and whose English was standard.

These Chinese students found native English speakers’ classes more dynamic, enjoyable, and interesting.

Positive-attitude students praised non-native speakers’ endeavors and results while learning ESL. They believed these professors could relate to language-learning problems.

Studying ELT

Native speaker prejudice penetrates ELT research and conference speakers. Even if NNS outnumber NS, native speakers are often chosen to give conference plenaries.

Learning-focused.

How does this affect English learners? Learners must let go of the “native speaker” concept and realize they’re probably learning English as a lingua franca, a variant used when NNSs talk to other NNSs. Some learners seek the NS ideal, which encourages language schools to measure all students against NSs.

Native speakers are still important when learning languages because they speak and use them. Becoming a natural speaker sometimes means losing the learner’s cultural identity. To speak great American or British English, you must understand the sociolinguistic factors that make someone American or British.

English literature majors, cultural anthropologists, and sociolinguists should dive into AmE or BrE.

NS criteria shouldn't be used to measure and grade people who are learning English for reasons other than NS, because it could hurt their confidence.

Shift mindset

Some EFL learners have a new mindset. Choi (2016) noticed that South Korean English speakers who moved to the US for school did not focus on native-speaker goals or American English standards.

These people think that NNS who try too hard to sound like natives are fakers or amateurs who don't know that this kind of behavior is typical of fake bilinguals.

Some Dutch English speakers imitate a posh British accent. Others may think they’re merely making fun of themselves when they speak this way. As AmE dominates Dutch media, Dutch-English professors have moved beyond simply accepting BrE.

Sincere interest in American or British culture can lead to adopting AmE and BrE features, which can make great language users who can't be told apart from L1 AmE or BrE speakers, but this shouldn't be the norm or the goal for all EFL learners.

If you can speak English fluently with an accent and others can understand you, you’ve succeeded.

Language is acquired, not learned, so you should keep practicing. This includes looking up slang or L1-only idioms and collocations.