The Natives are Revolting! Moving Beyond the NNEST/NEST Dichotomy in English Language Teaching
The Natives are Revolting! Moving Beyond the NNEST/NEST Dichotomy in English Language Teaching

Summary/Abstract: The issue of Native-Speakerism periodically rears its head in English Language Teaching and the profession as a whole is riven by a perceived split between “Native English Speaker Teachers” or NEST and “Non-Native English Speaker Teachers” or NNEST. Whilst in the early days of ELT there was a considerable bias towards the former and being a “native” enjoyed a considerable cachet, this article claims that the reality has changed dramatically and now we are only divided by the terms we use to describe ourselves rather than the reality. Drawing on data provided by Cambridge English and the author’s own research, the article examines the claims of Marek Kiczkowiak with regard to initial teacher training programmes and finds them based on an outmoded and outdated picture of the profession and the programmes themselves. Finally, the article argues for the reappropriation of the term native in order to end the harmful NEST/NNEST dichotomy in ELT.

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