The interest in this issue is caused by the global spread of English, the diversity of regional English language teaching (ELT) communities and the different interpretations of key ELT terms. Under the current political, economic and sociocultural conditions of a world where English is an International Language, many previously neutral ELT terms acquire particular relevance and significance. Thus, the term “native speaker” gains special importance in the discussion of goals (English language variants), the norm (standard) and the model, teachers and their qualifications, methods and techniques appropriate to societal needs in a certain socio-cultural context. This paper explores the differences in usage of the term “native speaker” used in English and Russian ELT discourses. The case study employs comparative definitional analysis of the corresponding Russian and English terms and reveals both the common meaning and significant differences. As the study shows, in Russian professional discourse, the term nositel’ yazyka (native speaker) is used in the traditionally established meaning, while in British-American ELT discourse it acquires new meanings and leads to a change in the ELT paradigm. The authors conclude that the Russian and English terms are not identical; on the contrary, their equivalence is illusory.