Key Features  Brings together a range of views on the concept of the native speaker including psycholinguistic, linguistic and sociolinguistic aspects  Concludes that all characteristics of the native speaker (except early childhood exposure) are contingentDescriptionLinguists, applied linguists and language teachers all appeal to the native speaker as an important reference point. But what exactly (who exactly?) is the native speaker? This book examines the native speaker from different points of view, arguing that the native speaker is both myth and reality.ContentsPreface to First editionPreface to Second editionChapter 1: IntroductionChapter 2: Psycholinguistic aspects of the native speakerChapter 3: Linguistic aspects of the native speakerChapter 4: Sociolinguistic aspects of the native speakerChapter 5: Lingualism and the knowledges of the native speakerChapter 6: Communicative aspects of the native speakerChapter 7: Intelligibility and the speech communityChapter 8: Losing one's languageChapter 9: Assessment and second language acquisition researchChapter 10: Conclusion: who is the native speaker?Appendix/ References/ IndexAuthor informationAlan Davies has taught and researched English and Applied Linguistics in Kenya, Nepal, Australia, Hong Kong and the U.K and is now Emeritus Professor of Applied Linguistics in the University of Edinburgh. In the 1960s he developed the English Proficiency Test Battery, which the British Council used prior to ELTS and IELTS. A former editor of the journals Applied Linguistics and Language Testing, his publications include Principles of Language Testing (Blackwell 1990), An Introduction to Applied Linguistics (Edinburgh U.P. 1999) and Dictionary of Language Testing (Cambridge U.P. 1999).