Critical Review of Cook,  V. (1999). Going Beyond the Native Speaker in Language Teaching

Critical Review 1 Review touch on,V. (1999). Going beyond the immanent loudspeaker system in wrangle teaching. TESOL Quarterly, 33(2), 185. In his article, Cook argues that the emphasis or dependence of infixed speaker model(NSM) in style teaching is non necessary. It is time to adopt non-native models both(prenominal) for wrangle training and teaching, and he provides some possible teaching methods. Firstly, Cook defines the native speaker and L2 users.Then he discusses the slight but salient differences in the midst of monolingual native speakers and multilingual native speakers in impairment of multicompetence so that there is no stable NSM. He also argues NSM is implicit and L2 users atomic number 18 actually using L2 differently rather of deficiently from monolingual bias perspective, which government agency native-speaker level is non a must, raze impractical, to most of L2 users because they do not need to proclaim their identity through the L2 and only few L2 users require achieved native-speaker proficiency.After this series of arguments, Cook proposes some practical suggestions of lucky L2 user as models and applying L1 for teaching methods. Cook concludes that more than emphasis should be added on the skillful L2 users and on using L1, and teaching language is not to imitate native speakers but to help learners so that L2 learners be successful in terms of multicompetent. In general this article is refreshing, especially 14 years ago. I absolutely agree with Cook that successful L2 learners are successful multicompetent speakers, not failed native speakers (p. 04). In non-English-speaking countries like China where English is neither an authorized language nor a lingua franca, a simple English native speaker, without teaching experiences or educational professional background, provoke be prize as a language specialist or an English confidence only because he speaks so-called pure English. It is the time, 14 years later afte r this article has been published, to establish a positive stunt man of nonnative-speaker teachers for the sake of both themselves and their students and for the fanatics of NSM to wake up.While in other places where English is follow as a lingua franca, the reduction of NSM is more meaningful in the way of being equal, due to the speakers various lingual preferences and cultural backgrounds. Actually, golf club years before this article, Rampton (1990) had called on the professionals to label native speakers as language experts in order to shift the emphasis from who you are to what you know (p. 99). So in this sense, Cook affords L2 users agency on learning to use L2 instead of to transform their identity into native speakers. However, uncertainties still remain.First, although the author offers the rendering of L2 users and even distinguished it from L2 learners, he does not make it specific what kind of languages star uses can be considered L2s in his statement. For example , languages learned at what age or for what reason can be 1s L2? Or can one who learns L2 as an adult in order to stay living in English-speaking countries be the same as one who merely uses L2 to serve foreigners in his own country? Second, the author observes that students may tang overwhelmed by native-speaker teachers who have achieved a perfection that is out of the students reach. (p. 00) I forecast the author slightly overstates the students fear of native speakers. The author himself admits that some L2 users could take out for native speakers, so why should all L2 learners be taken as not extraordinary in the first place? Also, the NS teachers do not only symbolize fluent target-language speakers, but also a connect that connects two different cultures, which is cherished by students as well. Furthermore, according to Derrida (1998), language itself is essentially oppressive, thus both native speaker and L2 users are oppressed by language and nonnative-speaker teach ers could also be overwhelming to the students.Third, since search supports the idea that teachers tend to teach the way they learn (Stitt-Gohdes, 2001), the nonnative-speaker teachers can be a distinguished example of successful L2 user, because such teachers are not only fallible as Cook states or presents a more achievable model (p. 200) but also they can share or deliver their knowledge, experience and strategies of becoming a successful L2 user. Fourth, the author mentions successful L2 users several times but does not give a definition or standard of it.Thus it makes me confused because is a successful L2 user one who is infinitely close to the native speakers? 733 words Reference Derrida, J. (1998). Monolingualism of the other or, the prosthesis of origins. Standford, CA Stanford University Press. Rampton,M. (1990). Displacing the native speaker Expertise, affiliation, and inheritance. ELT Journal, 44(2), 97-101. Stitt-Gohdes,W. (2001). Business education students preferred learning styles and their teachers preferred instructional styles Do they match? Delta Pi Epsilon Journal, 43(3), 137-151.