Native English no longer the best target for learners


Jack C. Richards, the author of the best-selling “Interchange” series and other popular textbooks used by many English teachers, believes that mimicking native speakers is no longer relevant to English teaching and learning for people in Japan and other countries.

“Over the 40-year period, the state of English teaching has changed a lot with a lot more influence of English in daily life through the Internet and so on,” the New Zealand professor said in a recent interview, reviewing what has happened—and what has not happened—to Japan, where he has been a frequent visitor since 1972.