The ‘Native Speaker’ Frame: Establishing a Theoretical Framework

This chapter explores the ‘native speaker’ frame; the core concept of this book. The account begins by examining the notion of frames, both as individual cognitive structures and as prescriptions for group behavior, and discusses the relationship between frames and ideologies. This chapter also contains an elaborated discussion of frame analysis, the data analysis tool developed for this study. In order to provide an analogy for readers regarding ‘native speaker’ framing, a discussion is provided of the white racial frame in the theory of systemic racism, showing how the ideology of systemic racism influences the white racial frame. A full description is provided of the ‘native speaker’ frame, highlighting the parallels between native-speakerism and the ‘native speaker’ frame, and systemic racism and the white racial frame. Finally, the chapter examines some of the common native-speakerist discourses which inform ‘native speaker’ framing, and which help to construct the perceptual filters which influence how ELT practitioners see themselves and their practice.