Language and symbolic violence TESOL teachers negotiating their relationship with native-speakerism

Abstract

Native-speakerism is a language ideology rooted in hegemonic monoglot English and the colonial phantasm of Western racio-cultural supremacy. It asserts that speakers of privileged varieties of English as their L1 possess the superior right to establish language standards and instructional methods. Moreover, there are extra-linguistic modifiers that native speakerism incorporates, such as ethnicity, social class, or ancestry. This exploratory study, guided by Bourdieu’s conception of symbolic violence and legitimate language, seeks to explore how monolingual and multilingual TESOL teachers negotiate their relationships with native-speakerism. The analysis of the data from semi-structured interviews reveals subtle patterns of allegiance and opposition to native-speakerism in the TESOL ecosystem. The study can inform teacher education and promote critical social justice-informed approaches to decolonizing TESOL instruction.