Outing the Native Speaker: The Problem of Diverse Learner Backgrounds in 'Foreign' Language Classrooms - An Australian Case Study

Abstract

The Australian experience with Italian, Greek and Chinese raises a serious question about the usefulness of the distinction between 'native' and 'non-native' competence. The question is particularly acute when it is necessary, in the interests of equity and effective pedagogy, to assign learners from heterogeneous linguistic backgrounds to different language programmes, whether they be for first, second or foreign languages. The paper discusses some of the conceptual problems underlying distinctions between the terms 'native' and 'non-native' speaker, between 'foreign' and 'second' language learners, and the related difficulty of eliciting valid and reliable data about language background. The problems are illustrated with reference to a scheme developed in Australia involving the classification of learners into categories of 'advantaged' and 'disadvantaged' for the purpose of determining who is deserving of special consideration in the university selection process.