Equity in ELT

by | Apr 28, 2015

I am proud to announce today’s episode, our very first interview here on ELT TV.

Marek Kiczkowiak has been my number one choice since I decided to start a monthly interview segment and I was very happy when he said he’d give me an interview.

He embodies some characteristics that every teacher should have, especially non-native English speaker teachers (NNESTs): persistence and selflessness.

We NNESTs often complain, most of the time with fellow NNESTs, about how unfair our industry is at times, but how many of us actually do something about it? Not many.

Marek is the living proof that everyone can make a difference. After being denied a job because he was not a native speaker of English, he created a great movement that advocates in favour of NNESTs, the rest is history.

The truth is we have to try harder. NNESTs are not given the same opportunities. If you don’t think there is prejudice against NNESTs, I invite you to have a look at recent job ads and draw your conclusions from there.

Once a person told me that I was playing the victim when I said NNESTs have fewer opportunities. What I said to this person was that I wasn’t a victim, I was a voice. Speaking out against the injustices of the world doesn’t make anyone a victim. Unfortunately, some people seem to have little understanding of the concept of privilege.

As you may have realized by now, I am into challenges and this may be a good opportunity to start one. Here it goes: write about why you think native and non-native English speaker teachers should have equal employment opportunities. It can be a blog, a Facebook post or even a tweet. Speak your mind! Use the hashtag #PassportsShouldNotMatter for us to keep track. If you are feeling adventurous, grab a smartphone and make a video. Be one of the voices that will change our industry!

Having said that, I would like to challenge someone who I know is proud to be a Brazilian, Higor Cavalcante. Higor has been in ELT for nearly 17 years, and is a freelance teacher, teacher educator and writer. His main interests in ELT are language development for teachers, extensive reading and phonology. Higor recently gave a great talk on NESTs and NNESTs at the IATEFL Conference. Don’t forget to check his blog. He also regularly blogs at RichmondShare.

I hope you found this interview informative. Please, share it with your friends (native and non-native English speakers).

Thank you so much for watching, see you next time!

T.

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