DECONSTRUCTING NATIVE-SPEAKERISM: THEORETICAL AND EMPIRICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ENGLISH AS A LINGUA FRANCA IN GLOBAL HIGHER EDUCATION

Abstract

The traditional paradigm of English as a Second Language (ESL) has long been dominated by the "Native Speaker" (NS) model, which positions British or American norms as the ultimate pedagogical goal. However, as non-native speakers now outnumber native speakers by a ratio of approximately 3:1, the conceptualization of English has fundamentally shifted toward English as a Lingua Franca (ELF). This article examines the linguistic, psychological, and pedagogical implications of this shift. Through an analysis of the Lingua Franca Core (LFC) and the socio-psychological impact of "native-speakerism," the study argues that the insistence on native-like accents is not only sociolinguistically outdated but also counterproductive to communicative efficiency. The paper advocates for a curriculum centered on mutual intelligibility and accommodation strategies, proposing a democratic and pluralistic model for global English education.