Combatting the altruistic shield in English language teaching

Abstract

The altruistic shield describes a psychological mechanism seen among English language teaching
(ELT) professionals that allows them to exempt themselves from perpetuating inequity and racism
because of what they imagine is the altruistic or self-sacrificial nature of their work. Such reasoning
functions as a form of reflexive emotional defensiveness that works to impede racial equity. This
article describes the forces that have created so problematic a mechanism and provides suggestions
ELT professionals can use to increase their awareness of racial inequity and its remedies and thus
serve their students more effectively.