Linguistic Racism, Deficit Constructions, and the Othering of International Students

Abstract

English speaking countries increasingly focus on internationalization as a priority in universities. Dominant discourses of internationalization, however, are shaped by colonial power structures, resulting in the Othering of international students, and the presence of microaggressions towards them. Othering presents in two key ways: (1) deficit constructions of international students and (2) linguistic racism. Both forms of Othering privilege Western ways of knowing over other knowledges. English varieties from “centre” countries, including Britain, the United States, Canada, and Australia are privileged as normative, while English varieties from outer circle and expanding circle countries are viewed deviant from the norm. Deficit constructions label international students as less capable of critical thinking, less able to participate in classroom contexts, and tendency to commit plagiarism or academic integrity violations. Deficit constructions interact with linguistic racism when international students' expressions are labelled inadequate. This chapter connects Othering with the pervasiveness of colonial relationships in internationalizing universities. The presentation of anti-oppressive internationalization models offers tools for countering Othering. Relational translocalism presents an alternative paradigm for approaching internationalization that offers hope for challenging dominant structures that perpetuate Othering.