Three articles on near-native English language proficiency are presented. "Attitudes to English Usage: A Comparison between Native and Non-Native Speakers," by Ann-Christin Miemois, reports on a study of attitudes toward usage of certain lexical items in English in four distinct situations. Subjects were natives of Finland and New Zealand. "Word Associations of Foreign Language Learners and Native Speakers: The Phenomenon of a Shift in Response Type and Its Relevance for Lexical Development," by Tove Soderman, describes research on how responses to word association tasks, for frequent and/or infrequent words, may differ for native and non-native speakers. "Characteristics of Near-Native Proficiency in Writing" by Tove Waller, describes research on the ways in which individuals with near-native proficiency in English have learned or can compensate for limited vocabulary or lack of syntactic sophistication. Introductory and concluding remarks by the editor are also included. (MSE)