Narratives of race and identity in English language teaching

Abstract

ABSTRACT The continued spread of Western ideology, English as a lingua franca, and the myth of the native speaker all play a role in the racialisation of language teaching (Phillipson, R. 1992. Linguistic Imperialism. Oxford: Oxford University Press; Ramjattan, V. A. 2019. Raciolinguistics and the aesthetic labourer. Journal of Industrial Relations 61, no. 5: 726-738. doi:10.1177/0022185618792990.). As a former English as a foreign language (EFL) teacher, numerous racialised encounters compelled me to reflect on my own professional identity as an educator and seek out the lived experiences of other teachers of colour. A framework that connects foundational elements of sociocultural identity theory to theoretical perspectives from critical race theory was utilised to co-construct narratives from four EFL teachers. Data collection relied on three interviews and four forum posts. Transcribed data were then coded using first and second cycle coding methods, and thematically analysed. Findings depict discriminatory practices in EFL hiring, self-efficacy issues surrounding authenticity, racialised interactions, the influence of race on professional identity, and an absence of diversity in curricular materials.