“What do we say to the client who still insists on having a “native speaker” English teacher?”
An analysis of the prejudices surrounding non-native English speaker teachers (NNESTs) and the obstacles for fostering cooperation between NNESTs and native English speaker teachers (NESTs) in ESL courses in Indonesia. Word count 2997 The spread of English across the globe in recent years had led to English being taught by many more NNESTs, a shift which has produced as many inconsistencies as it has benefits for both students and the teachers themselves. This paper will examine the types, level and origins of discrimination faced by NNESTs in the EF franchise of English language schools in Indonesia of which the author has 10 years’ experience working in. It will also assess the obstacles which hinder cooperation between NESTs and NNESTs within this context.
The number of NNESTs is now at an all time high worldwide, fuelled by the rapid growth in the popularity of English language learning (Graddol 2006). Canagarajah (2005) estimates that NNESTs account for 80% of all English teachers, across both non-English and English speaking countries. Issues surrounding how NNESTs are viewed have become a hot topic for ESL school’s directors of studies, ESL students, parents of students (who want the best for their children, at the best price of course), NESTs and NNESTs (of themselves and each other) and not least the academics who write about the relative merits and demerits of each.
Within the EF group of schools in Indonesia, perhaps the most glaring example of inequality between NESTs and NNESTs is reflected in the price structure. Full price courses taught as ‘full native’ and the considerably cheaper ‘mixed’ courses (NESTs & NNESTs). This smacks of an unspoken linguistic imperialism (Phillipson 1992) based on assumption that the ‘mixed’ courses are somehow