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Native-Speakerism and the Betrayal of the Native Speaker Teaching Professional

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Native-speakerism has become an increasing feature within mainstream TESOL discourse and a common reference point in discussions of language-related prejudice and discrimination. Drawing from a variety of data sources and with an intentional slant toward entertaining the unfashionable, this chapter stands against sectarian interest through a critique of the taken-for-granted ideology of native-speakerism. Motivated by the notion that “awareness of injustice is a precondition for overcoming it” (Deutsch, 2006: 23), it is argued that the ideological conceptualization of native-speakerism, ambiguous enough to ensure its continued existence, allows only those identifying as ‘non-native speakers’ access to the desirable status of victim and its accompanying discourse of moral righteousness. Moreover, it is demonstrated how the sanctuary of victimhood then permits those on the inside to engage in a brand of counter violence which mainstream TESOL frames as “morally distinct from ‘originary’ violence and therefore defensible” (Enns, 2012: 44). Within this chapter evidence of the rather paradoxical intersectionality of two -isms is shown whereby the ideology of native-speakerism, originally conceived to describe and diagnose a plethora of language-related prejudices fails. This failure contributes to the perpetuation of another -ism, in this case linguicism, defined as “ideologies, structures and practices which are used to legitimate, effectuate, regulate and reproduce an unequal division of power and resources between groups which are defined on the basis of language” (Skutnabb-Kangas, 1988: 13). As Houghton (2013: 66) describes, “being characterised by linguistic prejudice makes native-speakerism linguicist in nature”. From a position in which groups “are defined on the basis of language” one is therefore able to observe how contemporary claims surrounding native-speakerism, presented as victim-led defenses against native speaker oppression, should be recognized as perpetrator-led aggressions intent on strengthening binary divisions and mutually-exclusive identities among language-teaching professionals. Within this chapter the term ‘non-native speaker movement’ is used as a generic reference to those language teachers, scholars and academics aligning themselves with the “Nonnative English Speakers in TESOL” (NNEST) interest section of the powerful TESOL Inc., organization. The generic treatment of individuals within this movement seems fair given their collective self-definition and alignment as a singular movement (see Matsuda, 2002). As with all self-defined movements that strive toward the fulfilment of a ‘mission’ and the achievement of a political goal, self-identification as a member is an act intended that demonstrates collective solidarity, strength, cohesion, and more importantly, internal consistency of opinion and identity alignment. Finally, and with implications for achieving the end-of-ideology, the NNEST ‘movement’ is expansionist, and therefore power seeking, observable through its conscious efforts to indoctrinate others with their standards, truths and values by “publicizing [their] mission to all reaches of ELT” (Braine, 2010: preface).

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... In her quote, there is a clear othering of the NESTs as being merely privileged by their innate linguistic competence. Her answer supports the misconception that NESTs are employed due to "the primary basis of being a 'native speaker'" [18] rather than being qualified professionals. ...
... In some of the NNESTs' answers, there is a clear othering of the NESTs as being privileged merely by their innate linguistic competence, failing to acknowledge their professional identity. This perspective supports the misconception that NESTs are employed due to "the primary basis of being a 'native speaker'" [18] rather than being qualified professionals. The study provides many examples of this misconception and examples about qualified expert NESTs. ...
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... Also, of relevance to a critical approach to SLTE programmes is analysis and dismantlement of the ideology of native-speakerism, defined by Houghton and Rivers (2013) as stereotyping and/or discrimination against or by foreign language teachers, based on the native speaker identity. Native-speakerism is a resilient ideological force within TESOL (Bouchard, 2020) indelibly tied to racism (Rivers, 2017;Glasgow, 2023). It has persistently encouraged material racio-linguistic inequalities such as job discrimination for non-native English speaker teachers, as noted by Moussu and Llurda (2011). ...
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... Native-speakerism can manifest as a form of cultural stereotyping which positions native English speakers as foreign others, whose value is only associated with their status as native/foreign speakers of English and icons of Inner Circle cultures (Rivers, 2013b;Whitsed & Wright, 2011). Some native English speakers employed as language teachers in Japanese universities find it difficult to be recognised as qualified 'teachers' (rather than 'native English speakers' or 'international figures') or to secure university positions in the same way as their Japanese counterparts (Houghton, 2013;Rivers, 2013aRivers, , 2013bRivers, , 2017Simon-Maeda, 2004;Stewart, 2006;Whitsed & Wright, 2011). Rivers (2013b) shared his experiences working at a Japanese university, noting that he and his native English-speaking colleagues were employed as icons of foreign culture and exhibited as native speakers of 'authentic' English. ...
Article
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... Brutt-Griffler's macroacquisition (2002), the natural reliance on native competence as the only valid point of reference in learning and assessment is gradually coming to an end (cf. Holliday 2005, Seidlhofer 2006, Rivers 2017. As early as in 1982, Salman Rushdie remarked: "the English language needs to be decolonised, to be made in other images, if those of us who use it from positions outside Anglo-Saxon cultures are to be more than artistic Uncle Toms" and the quote has been enthusiastically embraced in linguistic circles (cf. ...
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... This cultural stigma develops in teaching and generates new stigmas related to the quality of NNEST teaching. Rivers (2017), in his research on higher education teacher recruitment advertisements in Japan, mentioned the high preference for recruiting NEST. The status of native speakers can be seen as one factor that can increase educational institutions' promotional value. ...
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... Despite the participants' awareness of this as discriminatory practice, the unconsciously negative appraisals of their own English ("oops", "worse than me") suggest that this native-speakerist mindset may be so heavily embedded that the participants themselves subscribed to the negative narrative that it promotes. For Nina this discrimination was mitigated somewhat by her "European looks" that allowed her to "pass" for a "native speaker", which can be seen as discrimination similar to that experienced by "native speaker" teachers in Japan of being denied opportunities in higher levels of teaching (Houghton & Rivers, 2013;Rivers, 2017). However, the direct denial of promotion due to being a mother is a clear case of gendered marginalization that may have been compounded by the participant's foreigner status of lacking power in Japanese companies. ...
Chapter
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... As existing research on discourses about race has documented, the identification of actors with victimhood and perpetratorhood and the assignment of those subject positions to others is a complex issue and the site of much struggle (see e.g. Kolber, 2017;Nelson, et al., 2018;Rivers, 2017). The contested nature of these categories was mirrored by the data collected in this research, as illustrated by the following exchange: 4.0 A: A common practice for hiring teachers in Thailand: job applications with the questions: "What color are you?" ...
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... This condemnation of native speakers serves to further remove responsibility from individuals outside of the native speaker collective and encourages them to embrace a subversive brand of counter prejudice. The historical discourse demonstrates this, as self-defi ning nonnative speakers are quick to attribute professional challenges and diffi culties to the existence of the native speaker, an existence that non-native speakers paradoxically uphold and legitimize (see Rivers, 2017Rivers, , 2018b through their own convoluted naming practices. ...
... The ideology of native-speakerism inherently consists of unequal power relations that are generally to the disadvantage of NNSs. Although it is uncommon, native speakers are also occasionally affected by this ideology (Lowe & Kiczkowiak, 2016;Rivers, 2017;Waters, 2007). One of the most important consequences of native-speakerism is the differential labeling of English teachers as native-English-speaking teachers (NESTs) or nonnative-English-speaking teachers (NNESTs). ...
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... Abdullah admitted that he had been biased by the abundant literature condemning this group of teachers and by the general jealousy among local teachers and TESOL critics for the high salaries their government and institutions pay native teachers. Indeed, deeply rooted and widely circulated discourses such as the ones Abdullah refers to can mask our understanding of "the powerful" and prevent us from revisiting our own (pre)assumptions of certain groups in society, and therefore perpetuating injustice (Rivers, 2017). Making explicit and critically examining these discourses help uncover layers of nuances and biases towards native teachers of English that have long been ignored. ...
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... Perhaps this speaks to an inverted appeal, on the surface at least, that appears to protect those ("Us"-SOL) speakers of other languages who are practising or prospective ("Them"-TE) teachers of English. While these switched dynamics might alleviate the collective ideological guilt related to a plethora of other isms including imperialism and colonialism that have burdened ELT as an export (Rivers & Zotzmann, 2017), a secondary consequence has been that the original ("Us"-TE) teachers of English, or more precisely, the native-speaker teachers of English, have been structurally stigmatized by the dominant professional organization created to represent them (see Rivers, 2017). A post-native-speakerist future, therefore, cannot be one in which prejudice and discrimination are targeted through acts of counter-prejudice, affirmative action-esque mandates or other such dispensations. 1 Such moves provide only a superficial distraction from the prevailing forces and dynamics at work within contemporary societies and language interactions. ...
Chapter
The original definition of native-speakerism (Holliday 2005) was devised in specific relation to the domain of English Language Teaching (ELT) and cast as an ideological reflection of inequitable practices originating from within, and thus favouring, the English-speaking West. It can be suggested that this ideological conferment has hindered the development of a post-native-speakerist future partially based upon an understanding that it is “useless to try to refute an ideology [as the] attempt to refute it is likely to elicit defensiveness and hostility” (Deutsch 2015, p. 12). Despite Holliday’s (2005) definition now being over a decade old, and focused solely on ELT and the supposed unjust influence of the English-speaking West, it persists as the most common definition within the literature, often applied regardless of the specifics of context and language. In other words, evidence can be seen concerning the ways in which the ideological conceptualization of native-speakerism has allowed the notion to be empowered and maintained by its own ambiguity, therefore facilitating supposed forms of prejudice that remain precariously open to manipulation. These dynamics are curious for a number of reasons.
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Article
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Chapter
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Chapter
This chapter revisits a long-standing area of contention within the domain of TESOL: the issue of status drawn from categorization as either a native-speaker teacher of English or as a non-native-speaker teacher of English. It remains that despite various discussions and debates surrounding this dichotomy being heard within mainstream literature nothing seems to change. Language teachers, researchers and academics appear content with performing discursive routines which produce outcomes and observations so predictable it is as if those discussions and debates never actually took place (see Kandiah, 1998). Our profession persists in fundamentally orienting itself toward upholding the division of teaching professionals primarily upon status criteria derived from the idea of the native speaker as the authentic language user and proprietor. Discontent with the current situation, the circular discourse it encourages and the stimulation of guilt and shame it provokes, this chapter outlines how individuals on both sides of the fracture attain status privilege and suffer status marginalization through the strategic positioning of their fabricated counterpart. It suggests that the dynamics responsible follow a pendulum-like motion whereby for one group to attain a higher status (privilege) the other group must, as a consequence, be portrayed in a manner that inflicts upon them a lower status (marginalization).
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Linguicism, the domination of one language at the expense of others, is a reflection of an ideology, associated with racismo. The majority of almost 200 states of the world are officially monolingual, yet, these states contain speakers of sorne 4,000 to 5,000 languages. A comparative analysis of the success of educational programs in different countries in reaching the goals of bilingualism, shows that most European and europeanized countries do not organize the education of minory children so that they will succeed in becoming bilingual. Instead, the ohildrem themselves, their parents, their group and their culture are blamed for the failure. In the author's opinion, it should be the duty of the educational systems globally to help these children to become bilingual. To counteract linguicism, a dec:laration of children' s linguistic human rights is proposed. The autor concludes that it is not a question of information but one of power structure. Thus, it is the job of linguists to produce information, but unless the right questions are asked in their research and why, their arguments might be supporting linguicism and racismoA linguistic science wich is aware of these political involvements can only be militant. And it is the tudy of linguists in their respective countries and regions to assume responsability for this task, this struggle for the defense and development of their own language and cultures. (posúace to L-J. Calvet, Linguistique et Colonialisme).
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One of the most active and culturally bound modes of stereotype perpetuation, particularly concerning the unknown or less familiar other, is through various forms of media - “[i]n constructing social reality, mass-mediated information generally plays a greater role in domains where we do not have direct experience or other means to test its veracity” (Hagiwara, 1998, p.222). As the country with the world’s second largest advertising industry (Holden, 2004), and where people watch an average of 3 hours 43 minutes of television per day (Shiraishi, 2008), stereotypes in relation to others (on an intra- and inter-group level) are often perpetuated through different forms of advertisements, news media and popular television programs. The subversive power within many stereotypes ensures that they are often embraced as truth in the minds of many Japanese. In a recent exploration of the identity dynamics created on two programs involving foreign panelists responding, in a controlled manner, to various elements of Japanese culture, Hambleton (2011) notes that “by flagging the foreign and reiterating stereotypes, the two programs served to strengthen stereotypical ideas of foreigners from various countries, and in the process, re-examine and reiterate what it is to be ‘Japanese’” (p.38). Considering the culturally bound nature of stereotypes and their potential for prompting individual and group unrest, this chapter uncovers how students of Japanese nationality appraise the desirability of non-Japanese ‘native-speaker’ English teachers of different racial backgrounds. In doing so, the chapter not only exposes dominant patterns of categorization and stereotyping, but also examines the specific intersection of race and English native-speakerhood.
Article
The issues surrounding limited-term contracts within the domain of foreign language education have been under scrutiny from various commentators within the sociocultural context of Japan for many years. These issues are multidimensional, inherently complex, and cannot be extensively documented within the limitations of this particular section. However, the most pertinent concerns for many educators revolve around employment instability and the anxiety generated from perpetual cycles of employment change, as well as the psychological, physical and monetary hardships of periodically moving the family unit. Even for those without family connections, the nomadic lifestyle that limited-term contracts tend to promote often inhibits the formation of sustainable collegial relationships, restricts workplace involvement in long-term initiatives, denies emotional attachment to a specic place (i.e., developing a sense of home or belonging) , and undermines sincere dedication to one’s contracting institution. Such are the demands of an almost obsessive-like quest to continually search for improved working conditions.
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Through the juxtaposition of reflections on professional experience and interviews with colleagues this chapter critiques the policies and practices imposed upon a collective of ‘native-speaker’ English teachers employed at a tertiary institution specializing in foreign language education in Japan. Within this particular site, the critique accentuates the intricate ways lived experience and professional integrity can become tainted by an institutional adherence to a native-speakerist framework, institutional demands which prioritize the financial marketability of foreign language education, and institutional agents of oppression intent on maintaining the iniquities of unaccountable power and privilege. In drawing upon subjective professional experience and through sharing rarely heard minority voices, the data presented in this chapter is not intended “to prove a statistical point through the statements of a representative sample, but to drill down into the workings of a professional discourse in order to critique established positions” (Holliday & Aboshiha, 2009: 674).
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As a teacher-researcher with over 15 years experience within the social context of Japan, the confessional statement above is intended to alert the reader to my own positioning in relation to the contents of this chapter. As someone defined by others as a native speaker of English, I have often been a reluctant benefactor, at the pre-recruitment stage of employment, of institutional practices that assign professional value on the basis of speakerhood status, race, nationality and/or physical appearance. However, I have also been an equally reluctant victim, at the post-recruitment stage of employment, of institutional practices that utilise the very same criteria as a means of restricting institutional involvement, imposing conditional language policies, limiting status and denying professional development opportunities.
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In light of the global spread of English and the concomitant growth of the English language teaching industry, there has been much discussion about the ‘ownership of English’ (Widdowson, 1994) and the status of speakers and varieties of the language in its various global contexts. The field of World Englishes has traced the pluralization, change and spread of English and advocated the legitimacy of the different varieties of English that have developed around the globe (Kachru, 1992). While initially undertaken primarily in postcolonial contexts, such studies have now been extended to most national contexts where English is learned as a foreign language, and include an extensive amount of work on the role of English in Japan (e.g. Kubota, 1998; Matsuda, 2003; Moody, 2006; Seargeant, 2009; Stanlaw, 2004, 1992). As the plurality of English in its various contexts has increasingly been recognized, questions have repeatedly been raised about issues such as codification, standardization, categorizations of ‘deviation’ or ‘error’, the validity of the native speaker teacher and the choice of a teaching model (e.g. in Strevens, 1980; Quirk and Widdowson, 1985). While ‘native speakers’ were traditionally touted as ideal language teachers because of assumptions that they inherently possess a superior command of the language and intimate knowledge of English-speaking cultures, the World Englishes paradigm has forced a reconsideration of the role of the native speaker English teacher in contexts such as Japan where the learning of English plays an important role in the school curriculum.
Chapter
This chapter investigates how the social practices within English Language Teaching (ELT), national educational and language policy, national politics, and globalization interact in ways that establish conceptions of native speakers of English (NS) and Standard English (SE) to serve as overarching norms in ELT practice. Employing a Foucauldian post-structural theory of representation as an analytic lens, this chapter examines how the representations of the NS, SE, and modernity are constructed, maintained, and reified to form a regime of truth within the global contexts of ELT and the specific context of ELT in Korea. The results of this analysis show how these representations affect the subjectivities of students, educators, and policies in ELT in ways that create social practices that benefit elite groups, rather than promoting classroom practices that foster a critical appropriation of language and culture. Finally, this chapter suggests that representational theory allows students and educators to not only better understand the actual contexts of their English teaching and learning, but to also engage in pedagogies that have the possibility of transforming these contexts in ways that promote social justice and enhance social agency.
Chapter
This volume stands as an intended expression of responsible pedagogy, however, as no such recognized category exists—on the odd assumption that all of our pedagogies are responsible—it will most likely be banished to the distance domain of critical pedagogy, host to the voices of ‘them’ and ‘their’ views as opposed to ‘us’ and ‘our’ views. With this unwanted categorization in mind a few words on the nature of the critique seem like as good a place as any from which to begin. Foucault (1981/1988: 154) contends that the critique is not just a “matter of saying that things are not right as they are. It is a matter of pointing out on what kinds of assumptions, what kinds of familiar, unchallenged, unconsidered modes of thought the practices that we accept rest”. While this appears to be a fundamental requirement of any prospective responsible pedagogy, like so many facets within the relational dynamic of resistance-power / power-resistance, the nature of the critique offers numerous pitfalls and paradoxes. Indeed, Foucault (1978/1997: 42) earlier warns that the critique “only exists in relation to something other than itself: it is an instrument, a means for a future or a truth that it will not know nor happen to be”. In terms of this volume, such a perspective on the nature of the critique compliments the Krishnmurtian approach to ‘the unknown’ in that it can never be more than a mere gesture toward an unreachable final destination or point of resolution.
Article
According to current estimates, about eighty percent of English teachers worldwide are nonnative speakers of the language. The nonnative speaker movement began a decade ago to counter the discrimination faced by these teachers and to champion their causes. As the first single-authored volume on the topic since the birth of the movement, this book fills the need for a coherent account that: traces the origins and growth of the movement. summarizes the research that has been conducted. highlights the challenges faced by nonnative speaker teachers. promotes NNS teachers' professional growth. No discussion of world Englishes or the spread of English internationally is now complete without reference to the NNS movement. This book celebrates its first decade and charts a direction for its growth and development.
Article
Numerous scholars (e.g. Crystal 2003; Widdowson 2003) have argued that English belongs to nonnative speakers because English is widely used as an international language and because there are more nonnative speakers than native speakers. Many nonnative teachers in the Expanding Circle accept this argument, believing that having the ownership of English empowers them. This forum piece, however, argues that the issue of English ownership is not as relevant for them as it is for those living in the Outer Circle because there may not exist a local variety of English in their respective country. Moreover, claiming the ownership of English can bring about detrimental effects in their classroom, especially when only ‘good English’ is accepted as ‘a powerful symbolic resource’ (Park 2010: 193), as is the case in Korea. This article also argues that the real source of nonnative teachers’ empowerment stems from their identity as the ideal teachers of English to English as a Foreign Language learners.
Article
What (and who) is a victim? In contemporary violent conflicts, the construction of grievance-based identity is a fundamentally contested process as the lines between victim and perpetrator are blurred by ongoing cycles of belligerence and retribution. As victims are incorporated into broader political campaigns, it becomes nearly impossible to separate the victim from the politics. The ubiquity of victims in international politics is a serious challenge to International Relations theory as categories of victim and perpetrator are generally treated as ‘prior or external to analysis’ instead of as propositions for further inquiry. This article formulates a political theory of victimhood driven by a distinction between victimisation as an act of harm perpetrated against a person or group, and victimhood as a form of collective identity based on that harm. It proposes a sequence of five stages that victims experience from the act of victimisation to the recognition of victim-based identity: (1) structural conduciveness, (2) political consciousness, (3) ideological concurrence, (4) political mobilisation and (5) political recognition. The article explores the stages with concrete examples and offers three main challenges for future research. First, as an identity, victimhood is more prominent in societies that recognise justice. Second, victimhood accompanies struggles for recognition. Third, victim rivalries obfuscate straightforward analysis of victimhood in conflict zones.
Article
The study of linguistic imperialism focuses on how and why certain languages dominate internationally, and attempts to account for such dominance in a theoretically informed way.
Article
I will start with a Jewish proverb and then will come to a Jewish story. First the proverb: an insincere peace is better than a sincere war.
Article
Parallel to the growing recognition of English as an international language, the fundamental premises of the TESOL discipline (e.g., the ownership of the language, native speakers as a goal and model of competence for learning and teaching, linguistic standards and language variety/ies to be taught, monolingual/monocultural approach to teaching) has undergone a serious challenge and reconceptualization over the past several decades. While this trend resulted in an unprecedented recognition of the issues surrounding nonnative speakers in the field of TESOL, it also meant the emergence of a series of unfounded ideas or false beliefs about nonnative English speakers in the TESOL (NNEST) movement. By discussing and problematizing these commonly held myths and misconceptions about the NNEST movement, the current article aims to clarify a number of important issues and shed a light onto the past, present, and future of the movement. Having a solid grasp of the movement in the context of global dynamics, changing times, and reconfigured fundamental premises of the discipline has a paramount importance for all stakeholders involved in TESOL who long for a professional milieu characterized by democracy, justice, equity, participation, and professionalism.
Article
This paper investigates if and how job advertisements for English language teachers discriminate against candidates with particular backgrounds. Based on an analysis of 77 advertisements (42 from East Asia and 35 from the Middle East), the paper identifies seven factors that are included as key requirements in these advertisements. A number of these factors, such as age, gender, nationality, nativeness and race, are ―biographical‖ in nature and may be used to discriminate against particular populations of candidates. While discriminatory issues were observed in advertisements from both East Asia and from the Middle East, there were some differences between the two regions. The findings of this study suggest that the discriminatory practices that the field has been trying to eliminate are still visible and that more work needs to be carried out to make TESOL an equitable profession.
Article
In ELT, the over-representation of the “native-speaker” (NS) point of view at the expense of the “non-native-speaker” (NNS) one – “native-speakerism” – has long been a significant problem. However, this paper argues that the current main applied linguistics attempt to remedy the situation – the use of a “critical theory” (CT) approach – rather than bringing about true progress, simply perpetuates the status quo in a new guise, by substituting one kind of hegemony for another. The way in which this occurs with respect to a central area of the CT critique of native-speakerism – the proscription of generalisations by NSs about the cultural characteristics of NNSs – is therefore explored. It is shown that in the case in question, (i) insufficient empirical evidence is provided for claims made, and (ii), via a review of relevant literature, that an underdeveloped concept of stereotyping is employed. As a preferred means of trying to ameliorate native-speakerism in ELT, therefore, the case is outlined for the continued and increased use of more traditional (but still valuable) epistemological approaches.
Article
This paper is an attempt to take a fresh look at the controversy over the theoretical status of the so-called ‘new/non-native’ Englishes (JoP 24(3) 1995). I argue that, when all is said and done, what the participants in the debate do succeed in foregrounding is the untenability of the category called ‘native speaker’ in the world of practical affairs. I also suggest that the frequent and unquestioning appeal to the category may turn out to be motivated by an insidious ideological agenda (albeit, hopefully unwittingly entertained by those who defend it).
Article
Lacanian theory posits that human subjectivity implicitly seeks to overlook contradiction, difference and ambiguity to fulfil aspirations for a harmonious and complete world. Planning traditionally relies on this “social” desire for its effectiveness in shaping policy frames, or ideological perspectives, from which to strategically orientate urban policy towards the future. This may sit at odds with the conceptualization of the postmodern city as constituted by spaces of difference and diversity. Lacanian discourse theory will be used to examine how the beliefs of the planning profession are shaped and then implemented in our urban environments. The implications of addressing diversity as both a fundamental planning reality underlying many of our urban environments and as a major planning ideal, exemplified by multiculturalism, will be explored in this context and found to be of concern without revision to established institutional planning practices and wider societal expectations of urban management.
Article
Standards of English for English language teacher education need to consider political as well as linguistic factors. Any definition of such standards on the basis of speakerhood would immediately fall into the trap of native-speakerist discrimination, which is intensified by unspoken associations with ‘ethnicity’. Who can be recognized as ‘native speaker’ or ‘near-native speaker’ is not simply a matter of language. Any definition of English standards must therefore acknowledge an alternative established belief that all users of English can claim ownership of the language. This factor is, however, complicated by the recent suggestions that there can be a non-aligned, international English lingua franca, themselves being perceived as Centre-driven. Standards must therefore be convincingly de-Centred, and must allow those who consider themselves Periphery to take Centre-stage. They must be cosmopolitan, non-centred, professional, earned, prestigious and cultured.
Chapter
The Question of Values in Social ResearchUpgrading our Methods Innovative Ideas in Social PsychologyThe Controversial Role of Relative DeprivationThe Importance of Intergroup ContactIntergroup Contact in ActionSumming UpA Final WordNotesReferences
Article
The native speaker still has a privileged position in English language teaching, representing both the model speaker and the ideal teacher. Non-native-speaker teachers of English are often perceived as having a lower status than their native-speaking counterparts, and have been shown to face discriminatory attitudes when applying for teaching jobs. To date, research into the employment of non-native-speaker teachers has been carried out only in the United States; this study extends that research by providing data on the United Kingdom. Questionnaires were distributed to those responsible for recruitment at English language teaching institutions in the UK in order to investigate the extent to which employers regard being a native English speaker as an important criterion when making hiring decisions. 72.3% of the 90 respondents judged the ‘native English speaker criterion’ to be either moderately or very important. The conclusion that employers regard this criterion as important was shown to apply to the whole sample as well as to the separate groups of private language schools only and universities only. As a pre-interview criterion, the ‘native English speaker criterion’ thus excludes competent English language teachers from consideration in the recruitment process.
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