Characterizations of native speakers by language teachers and students of Japanese and Chinese in the U.S.

This study provides a report on the data collected from the survey questionnaires and interviews from language teachers and students of Japanese and Chinese about their characterizations of native speakers (N=593). Quantitative data revealed that many participants associated native-speaker status with a variety of abilities, some of which were rather overrated. Qualitative data showed that participants judged someone’s identity as a native or nonnative speaker of the target language by criteria such as their appearance, name, and linguistic ability. Statistical analysis indicated that participants’ status as language teachers or students, the language program, and the native language (Chinese and Korean) were found to be significant in impacting participants’ characterizations of native speakers. With the effects of globalization and increasing number of “atypical” native and nonnative speakers in the field of language teaching, this paper proposes to question and rethink our assumptions about native and nonnative speakers