“I was refused an ELT job for being non-native”-- An Insight into the Native Speaker Ideology in ELT

Abstract

In English language teaching (ELT), compared with non-native English speaker English teachers (NNESTs), native English speaker teachers (NESTs) seemingly gain prominence and are often taken for granted as better English teachers for non-native speaker students, which is described as the native speaker ideology (NS ideology) in this area. In foregoing research of this issue, much attention has been paid to the comparison of NESTs and NNESTs, or students’ perceptions on NESTs and NNESTs, while studies having a general picture of the NS ideology are scant. On the basis of literature review, the paper is attempted to have an overall picture of the NS ideology in ELT, with a focus on its causes, its effects on English teaching and learning, and its irrational aspects. In the end, corresponding implications for English teaching and learning are proposed based on the foregoing discussions.