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Educating EFL Students and Administrators on Issues of Race and Diversity in the Workplace
Educating EFL Students and Administrators on Issues of
Race and Diversity in the Workplace
Evidence of employment discrimination; How race is perceived to be related to nativeness;The myth of the “ownership” of English;English as a world language;Our students as members of the worldwide
community of English speakers;The benefits of a diverse workforce in ELT;Why NESTs should care about diversity in ELT;How to create an environment in which teachers
are considered based on their qualifications rather than race or nativeness.
Evidence of employment discrimination
What do you notice?
What are the stated preferences?
What qualifications / requirements are not stated?
How race is perceived to be related to nativeness
Race = nativenessNativeness = superiorityRace + nativeness = the ideal teacher
High value placed on inner circle English and its native speakers
How race is perceived to be related to nativeness
Norton, commenting on the perceived relationship between certain native speakers and their English.
. . . Amin, based on research with five visible-minority ESL teachers in Toronto, Canada, found that her participants believed ESL students make a number of problematic assumptions about the authentic ESL teacher. Among them are that only White people can be native speakers of English and that only native speakers know “real” English. (p. 423)
Norton, B. (1997). Language, Identity, and the Ownership of English. TESOL Quarterly, 31, 409-429.
The myth of the “ownership” of English
English is perceived as an Inner Circle language
With the majority of Inner Circle natives as the owners of the language
And, therefore, its only legitimate speakers
Kachru’s model
Inner Circle
UK, IrelandUS, Canada,NZ, Australia
Outer circle or
Extended circle
India, Pakistan, Singapore, Nigeria, Ghana, etc.
Expanding circle
China
Japan
Russia
etc.
Kuwait
Mexico
Brazil
etc.
The myth of the “ownership” of English
Widdowson, commenting on the ownership of English as an international language.
The very fact that English is an international language means that no nation can have custody over it. To grant such custody of the language, is necessarily to arrest its development and so undermine its international status. It is a matter of considerable pride and satisfaction for native speakers of English that their language is an international means of communication. But the point is that it is only international to the extent that it is not their language . . . Other people actually own it. (p. 385)
Widdowson, H.G. (1994). The Ownership of English. TESOL Quarterly, 28, 377-389.
English as a world language
The reality is that English hasover 1 billion learners of English
worldwidemore non-native speakers than native
speakersover 1 billion speakers of English
worldwidenative speakers and official status on
every continent
Our students as members of the worldwide community of English speakers
“Native speakers may feel the language ‘belongs’ to them, but it will be those who speak English as a second or foreign language who will determine its world future.”
Graddol, D. (1997). The future of English? http://www.britishcouncil.org/learning-elt-future.pdf
The benefits of a diverse workforce in ELT
A diverse workforce more accurately reflects the realities of the English language, in terms ofwho speaks ithow it is spokenwhere it is spoken
A diverse workforce that reflects the diversity of the English language inspires studentsempowers studentsreflects student populationsreflects the English-speaking population worldwide
Why NESTs should care about diversity in ELT
Perpetuation of the notion of the idealized native speaker
denigrates, devalues, demeans and debilitates the entire profession
contributes to misunderstanding about the profession
undermines the role of TESOL professionals (with degrees)
undermines TESOL teacher education
Perpetuation of the notion of the idealized native speaker is unfair to students, because
it compromises the quality of the instruction available to them
it creates / perpetuates myths about the ownership of English
it undermines the students’ linguistic self-image as members of the English-speaking community
Why NESTs should care about diversity in ELT
Teacher education Awareness of English as a global language
include information about the worldwide use and users (demographics) of English
include exposure to the worldwide use and users of English beyond the inner circle
include and consult speakers of non-native and World Englishes as authorities, experts, and models
What can be done to create an environment in which teachers are considered for employmentbased on their ELT qualifications, rather than on race or nativeness
ESOL students acknowledge, include, dignify non-native and World
Englishes and their speakers help students understand their position within the context of
English speakers worldwide expose students to diverse listening materials expose students to diverse reading materials
e.g., literatureNaipaul, Walcott, Soyinka, Roy, Lahiri, etc.
What can be done to create an environment in which students respect varieties of English beyond the inner circle
Kachru’s revised model
Lowest proficiency