[steven]

I totally disagree with you.

1. How can a native speaker speak incorrectly? I speak American English (as a native), therefore I am American English. Sure there might be some idiosyncrasies to my version of English, but I'm sure they're far better than a foreigner's. Besides, I've never seen a foreigner speak English 100% correctly. I've seen some people who are extremely close, but there is always something that sticks out like a sore thumb.

2. I think your first statement depends heavily on the native. You say native speakers will let more mistakes go because it's fine to buther a language- I say foreign speakers will let mistakes go because they can't tell the difference a lot of the time. I'm also inclined to believe that a native speaker will pick up on mistakes faster than a non native. Sure they might just say "it feels weird"... but at least they feel it. If the native teacher is a good teacher, they'll know how to explain why it feels weird.

3. I'm not sure what you're trying to say. I have a feeling it has something to do with empathy, however.

For the record, I think this is indeed a very interesting topic. I think that it isn't so black and white though. I think that it depends on the quality of the native or non native teacher. Certainly a non native teacher would be a better teacher than a native who hasn't really taken the time to think about teaching their langauge before. However, who's to say that non-native teacher is any good at the language they're teaching? I think it goes both ways. I also think that teaching goes beyond the course material. While a strong grasp on the course material will serve as a source of inspiration to continue for a student, I think a so-so (in terms of knowledge) teacher who knows how to talk to their students is better than some know-it-all type.

Edit: Sangetsu brought up some excellent points on the situation in Japan. I'd like to add to that however (or possibly subtract). I believe that a lot of time native speakers are used completely innefficiently. You get foreigners who come here and just follow whatever script their superiors hand them. Just tonight I went to a photo machine and clicked on the "English" button for kicks (it had the Union Jack as the button by the way). Subsequently a native American English voice started talking. At one point it said "After you have finished taking photo...". Obviously a native speaker wouldn't say it that way... but the voice was without a doubt native. I see stuff like that all the time. It's unfortunate, but I think that is an example of a native going to waste in Japan. I think that very same thing goes on in class rooms all the time (somewhat butchered/unnatural grammar because it's part of the 'lesson' or hyper-pronunciation... like absolutely no flow and/or consonants that are too harsh).