Timeline for Why are native speakers here?
Current License: CC BY-SA 3.0
9 events
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| Apr 13, 2017 at 12:38 | history | edited | CommunityBot |
replaced http://english.stackexchange.com/ with https://english.stackexchange.com/
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| Jan 18, 2016 at 19:36 | comment | added | FumbleFingers | What @Catija said. I think it's fair to say many nns are often better equipped to help out other nns. Since they were in the same position as the OP (before they learned some aspect of usage), they may be more able to present information in a way which is accessible to others in that position. I think much of my role is simply to constantly reassert the oft-forgotten fact that native speakers often don't use English strictly in accordance with what the grammar books (and ESL teachers) say we should do. | |
| Jan 15, 2016 at 19:53 | comment | added | J.R. Mod | @GoDucks - I've seen your work; you've left a lot of helpful answers. ELL needs helpful and insightful folks like you. If you've got a suggested edit for the tagline to make it sound more welcoming and less exclusionary, I'm all ears. | |
| Jan 15, 2016 at 16:48 | comment | added | GoDucks | Given the tag line of ELL I'm not sure I'm in the correct place. I mean a Meetup Group that is for lovers of crochet and needlework would not be my cup of tea. A group for Australian expatriates living in my city might not mind if I hung around, but I doubt I would ever be considered an emblematic or even highly sought after member. Thus, the tag line of ELL confuses me and frankly feels and reads exclusionary. | |
| Jan 15, 2016 at 15:57 | comment | added | J.R. Mod | @Catija - Well, I do think that if all the native regulars disappeared, and ELL became a site where only non-natives helped non-natives, the site's reliability and usefulness would diminish, and perhaps quite drastically. Still, though, I appreciate your comments. You're right that my wording could be misinterpreted, so I appreciate the opportunity to clarify. | |
| Jan 15, 2016 at 15:54 | comment | added | Catija | I know that you don't think that, it's just the phrasing "a site for native speakers to help non-native speakers learning English"... can sort of imply that only natives are helping. | |
| Jan 15, 2016 at 15:53 | comment | added | J.R. Mod | @Catija - Nothing in my answer is meant to imply that non-native speakers aren't pitching in and helping out. (Heck, one of them serves as a fellow moderator!) But thanks for giving me the opportunity to clarify that. Not only are some non-natives sharing what they've learned, many of them come up with some very solid answers. | |
| Jan 15, 2016 at 15:48 | comment | added | Catija | I agree but I'd say that the implication that only native speakers are helping non-native speakers isn't quite right. There are lots of non-native speakers who are still able to help and improve their own English at the same time. | |
| Jan 15, 2016 at 10:08 | history | answered | J.R.Mod | CC BY-SA 3.0 |