Native Speaker or Not?

I had the pleasure of being told by a parent of one of the students at the university that I am attached to that her son is a native speaker of English. This woman, by the way, is Phillipino and her husband is a Saudi. She thinks that there has been a mistake and that her son should have been exempted from taking Level One English classes as he is "a native speaker". Her son tells her that they teach him "baby English" in class. She even suggested that I may have been biased and prescribed her son his English module solely based on his nationality!!!

I explained to her that ALL students who are enrolled for the module had to take a placement test in week one of the semester (never mind that her son did not attend the placement test with the rest of the other students and only took the test in week 7!). Yes, I do exempt students from having to take the module but such exemptions are based on their placement test results.

Here's some background information about the placement tests that the students have to take: the test consists of two parts. Part one consists of 85 questions that tests the candidate's grammar and vocabulary in increasing levels of difficulty. Part two requires that the candidate write a paragraph on one of the topics presented to them. In order for the candidate to be granted exemption, the candidate must complete BOTH parts of the test within the stipulated time (45 minutes), obtain a score of 70 or better in part one of the test and display an ability to write grammatically correct sentences as well as present their thoughts coherently in part two.

Despite being given AN HOUR to complete the test, the woman's son only managed to complete part one of the test and did not even attempt part two. His score on part one? He made only 56 out of 85 --- Native speaker??? Go figure!

The student was assigned to a class and attended three classes but later told his mother that he did not go to class "because his name was not on the class list on the noticeboard". I don't get it, I just DON'T GET IT!!! He was assigned to a class and makes it an issue that his name is not on the class list on the noticeboard??? The name list on the noticeboard are of those who took the placement test in week one.

The mother also wanted to know why a"native speaker" is not teaching her son. I was not at liberty to disclose to her that our native speaker teachers are really nothing more than tourists. Many don't even hang around long enough to see till the end of the semester. Most are here on tourist visas, I kid you not! To make things worse, many hold only a certificate in English language teaching and are NOT QUALIFIED to teach English at university level!

Why do lay persons out there make a big deal out of being native speakers or not??? I'm a non-native speaker and damn well proud of it! I speak the language just as well as , if not better than, a native speaker and I write better than most native speakers. I think, it is sad to learn that non-native English language practitioners are judged by their own kind (other non-native English speakers).

My guess is that that woman in question was probably just a maid before she met her super rich Saudi husband. Yep, they have truckloads of money but are they educated??? Hell, NO!!!

LOL

guess what --- Harith Iskander came to the university to perform and it was really awesome!!! i laughed so much that my stomach hurt! i got fantastic seats too! it was the one afternoon that i stayed back after work that i really enjoyed! :) i never to complain when i get to have good entertainment right at my place of work.