Medgyes (1992) also attempts to differentiate between native speakers (NSs) and non-native speakers (NNSs), arguing that “non-native speakers can never achieve a native speaker’s competence” because they “can never be as creative and original as those whom they have learnt to copy” (pp. 342- 343). Similarly, Cook (1999) asserts that only a small percentage of second language (L2) users may pass for native speakers, comparing the feat with becoming an Olympian athlete or an opera singer. However, the sheer number of highly articulate expert non-native speakers in the ELT profession and in the academic field of applied linguistics refutes this notion. We contend that once an L2 learner reaches what Cook (1999) calls the “final” stage of language acquisition (which Cook notes is very difficult to define), the difference between native competence and advanced non-native competence is negligible