Nest And Non-Nest

Native speakers and non-native speakers used to be considered two different and clearly distinguishable categories. In recent years, however, this view has come under heavy attack, as a growing number of researchers have discovered the ambiguities with which this dichotomy is loaded.

A native speaker of English is traditionally defined as someone who speaks English as his or her native language, also called mother tongue, first language, or L1. Not surprisingly, the primary advantage attributed to NESTs lies in their superior English-language competence. Their superiority was found particularly spectacular in their ability to use the language spontaneously and in the most diverse communicative situations. Non-NESTs, on the whole, are well aware of their linguistic deficiencies and of the all-pervasive nature of their handicap.

To be sure, the non-NEST teaching in a monolingual class has far more background information about his or her students than even the most well informed NEST can. Indirectly, this knowledge is instrumental in enhancing the teacher's capacity to anticipate and prevent cross-cultural difficulties.

The ideal NEST and the ideal non-NEST arrive from different directions but eventually stand quite close to each other. Both groups of teachers serve equally useful purposes in their own ways. In an ideal school, therefore, there should be a good balance of NESTs and non-NESTs, who complement each other in their strengths and weaknesses. Given a favorable mix, various forms of collaboration are possible, and learners can only gain from such cross-fertilization.