Category Archives: Native-Speakersim
K-DREAM (Part 2)
(Second of 3 Parts)
My initial searches ended in disappointment. All the available positions I saw were open only to citizens of native English-speaking countries. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that such a policy exists. I never thought that “native-speakerism” was real. Why, in a world where only native English speakers would be allowed to teach the English language? I consider that policy illogical and downright discriminatory. If they imposed that policy because of accent, those who created and enforced it have seemingly forgotten that speaking is only one of the four language macro skills. The other three are reading, writing, and listening. An accent is not the be-all and end-all of English language education. Accent itself is only one of the many components of speaking.
Why most Asian universities hire native English speakers only to teach English is beyond my comprehension. But I did not lose hope. I kept the faith and clung to the belief that some universities in South Korea think Filipinos like me and other nationalities could teach English with the necessary qualifications and training. These universities understand that accent should not be the sole basis for hiring ESL teachers but should be language knowledge and pedagogical skills. It is also impossible that no university in South Korea knows that many South Koreans are studying (or have studied) English in my country. So, I kept searching for openings for ESL teachers.
It turned out that I was right. Some tertiary institutions in South Korea hire qualified ESL teachers from any country, particularly from the Philippines. My persistence eventually paid off. My wish was granted, and I was allowed to live my K-dream when a university hired me as a teacher.
So, off to South Korea, I flew in 2013.
As soon as I exited Gimhae Airport, I started having that authentic Korean experience that I dreamt of going through. The early spring weather giving me an icy cold welcome got it going. In a few minutes, while walking toward the bus that would bring us to Gyeongju city, I realized how insufficient my clothes were against the cold. That moment I fully understood the meaning of the phrasal verb bundle up. But the chilly breeze could not dislodge my excitement at the thought that my dream was coming to fruition. Even when homesickness started to creep in, I would remind myself that I came to South Korea to pursue my K-dream, a dream that was slowly becoming a reality.
As days and weeks passed, I gradually immersed myself in the country’s culture. I was no longer just watching the people of my host country on the TV, the silver screen, and the Internet. It’s no longer a Korean drama I was watching, but it’s real Korean life I was witnessing and actually experiencing… from reel to real. I got what I wanted.
I started mingling with real Korean people – men and women in flesh and blood, not fictional characters. I saw that, indeed, their skin is silky white, and they are taller, on average, than Filipinos. I became a friend to many of them. I talked and laughed with them. I dined with them, drank their wine and beer, ate their kimchi and delicious dishes, and started speaking (a little) of their language.
I witnessed their way of life and even adopted some parts of it. I saw what was inside their houses, churches, other religious temples, theatres, bars, restaurants, and coffee shops. I have entered their museums, watched cultural shows in their theatres, watched movies in their cinemas, strolled in their parks, worked out in their gyms, and hiked in their mountains.
I could also probe their character through daily encounters with my Korean students, colleagues, and friends. I confirmed that just like what I saw in their dramas, South Koreans fall in love, get angry, feel sad and happy, and suffer from anxiety and stress. In short, just like me or any average human being from any part of the world, they also ride the roller coaster of emotions.
They have strengths and weaknesses too, and they are not faultless… like me. Anyway, nobody is.
Like me and my fellow Filipinos, they get mad at corrupt politicians. Like us, they march to the streets and let their government, and sometimes their employers, hear their dissatisfaction and grievances. I noticed that the South Koreans, compared to Filipinos, protest more orderly and civilly.
Yes, they also have fears and uncertainties. Additionally, just like me and anyone else, they have dreams and ambitions too. They have plans and a vision of a good life in the future for themselves and their families. Just like normal humans, they fear death, sickness, and failure. Those who embrace religion among them pray and seek God’s love, grace, and mercy.
I thought my K-dream was already complete with all those experiences and discoveries. I was wrong.
As I lived and worked in South Korea longer, I discovered that their prosperity is not a myth. Those things I saw in Korean dramas and movies that indicate that their country is progressive and modernized are not figments of the imagination, and they are not just props in their films. Their provinces, cities, and towns are effectively interconnected by impressive highway systems that I wish we could also have in my country of origin. More and more items get included in my “wish list.” I want our telecom companies to provide Internet connectivity as fast as South Korea’s. We should be able also to download a movie in less than a minute or a little more.
With all these additional discoveries, I could not help but compare this country to mine. I could not help but envy the South Koreans for what they have accomplished as a nation. As I stayed here longer, my wish list grew longer. How I wish that in my country, packages could be left in front of our doors, even for days, not fearing that somebody would steal them. How I wish that we could also call the police to stop noisy neighbors who, even when it’s midnight already, would still sing their lungs out with the volume of their karaoke maxed. How I wish that politicians found by the law guilty of wrongdoings, particularly corruption and malversation of public funds, would no longer have the gall to run for reelection.
I realized that my K-dream still needed to be completed. It actually expanded. I dream that Filipinos will take research as seriously and meticulously as Koreans do one day. To them, research is a huge deal. Whatever advances in the different fields of science and technology they have achieved could be attributed to their obsession with research. Consequently, their electrical and electronic products, heavy equipment and machinery, passengers and cargo ships, and cars are sought after in the world market. The list of world-class products that they export is long. The reason for this is that they prioritize research. What about us in the Philippines? Where do we put research in the list of our priorities? Unfortunately, we don’t consider research as seriously as the South Koreans do. That’s the sad reality. I even remember one senator giving one particular department in our executive branch of the government a tongue-lashing during a senate hearing because that department allotted a lot of its budget for research purposes.
Whatever metrics I used for the comparison, it was a mismatch with South Korea always ending up on top after all the comparative analyses I performed except for this – my country has a younger population where the median age is less than 26 years, and for this country, it’s been more than 40 years. But overall, South Korea is much ahead of my native land. The superiority of this country will become more glaring should I cite other categories like life expectancy, GDP, and international ranking of universities.
As an academician, I turn green-eyed, seeing South Korea has at least five universities constantly landing among the top 100 in the world annually. Why can’t the universities in my country break into even just the top 400? I know the answer – research. One of the criteria used in determining the annual ranking of world universities is how often their faculty members publish in indexed journals. The lower the rank of a university, the lesser it prioritizes research. In addition, South Korean students perform better in Math and Science than my country’s youth.
If there is any consolation, Filipinos are more proficient in English than South Koreans. But does it matter if we are better at English? Does it make my country more prosperous? The answer is obvious – NO. No direct correlation exists between a country’s English proficiency and economic performance.
My country also has a lower suicide rate. But is that something that we Filipinos could crow about? We say that rarely do Filipinos commit suicide. But we do something worse than taking our own lives, and that is selling our votes during elections. By doing so, we don’t harm our bodies but our dreams and future as a nation. We put the destiny of our children and our country in the hands of wolves in sheep’s clothing or alligators wearing tuxedos. We unwittingly put the reins of our government in the hands of corrupt politicians, thereby killing, again, not ourselves but the possibility of having competent leaders who could lead our country to prosperity and greatness.
There were politicians in South Korea who, after being accused of engaging in corruption or any wrongdoing, committed suicide. Shame and disgrace were too much for them to bear, and this is never heard of in the Philippines. Instead of taking their own lives (or at least retiring from politics), you will find politicians accused (and found guilty) of stealing from the national coffers while running for reelection. And the wonder of wonders – they still win.
On Why Most Asian Universities Hire Native English Speakers Only To Teach English
The career path I set for myself includes teaching English overseas. It was one of the divergent roads I was ready to take if I ever found myself standing at a fork, needing to decide on my academic career. That came when, after many years as a school administrator, I suffered from severe job burnout. I revisited my career path and finally applied to be an ESL teacher abroad.
I searched for job openings in China, Japan, and South Korea. According to my TESOL trainer, the said countries are considered premiere destinations for ESL teachers. They offer the best package of remuneration and benefits. My preferred destination was South Korea, although I also sent applications to universities in the Middle East.
My initial search for ESL positions in South Korea ended in disappointment. Universities offered job openings only to citizens of native English-speaking countries. It means that if you’re not an American, British, Canadian, Australian, Irish, South African, or New Zealander, you may not apply. Even universities in China and Japan prefer hiring (or hiring only) citizens from the said countries.
Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that such a policy exists. Why, in a world where only native English speakers would be allowed to teach the English language? Isn’t that policy (of hiring native English speakers only) discriminatory? That was when I realized that “native-speakerism” is real. Adrian Holliday coined the term, and it refers to a form of discrimination or bias where preference or privilege is given to native speakers of a language over non-native speakers.
Exclusively hiring applicants from native English-speaking countries discriminates against individuals not coming from those parts of the world, even if they are highly proficient in the language. It deprives them of “equal job opportunities.”
Isn’t the said policy racist? It is! Why? Any practice that directly or indirectly excludes a particular group of people because of a specific cultural nuance is racist. Accent is the cultural nuance that is the main reason for implementing this policy. For this reason, Adrian Holliday created the construct of native-speakerism and classified it as a neo-racist ideology.
However, despite my initial disappointments, I did not lose hope and continued searching for job openings for ESL teachers in South Korea. I kept the faith and clung to the belief that there are universities in the said country that believe that any individual who has the necessary qualification and training, regardless of nationality, race, and color of skin, should be given the opportunity to prove they are capable of teaching the English language.
It turned out I was right. Some universities in South Korea uphold the right of any individual to work and employment without discrimination, a right enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (Articles 2 and 23).
I did not beg to be employed as an ESL teacher. I only wanted a chance to have my credentials evaluated and my capabilities as an English teacher adequately appraised. Thankfully, some universities believe that teaching the English language is not a right exclusive to those citizens from the countries mentioned earlier. They accepted my application, and eventually, I landed a teaching job at one of them. I am now on my way to completing my 11th year here in South Korea.
Most universities in this country (and elsewhere in Asia) are standing firm on their policy to hire only native English speakers to teach the English language. Check advertisements for ESL jobs, and you’ll see how unabashedly these universities would include the note “Only Native English speakers may apply.” The primary reason for this is accent. Native English speakers, of course, have a natural and native-like pronunciation. But let’s not forget that speaking is only one of the four language macro skills. Language learning also involves reading, writing, and listening. An accent is only one of the many components of speaking.
The policy to hire English teachers exclusively from native English-speaking countries has created the impression among Asian students that only teachers from those countries can teach English. So, whenever I entered my ESL classes at the beginning of the semester, some of my students, seeing that I am a short Asian with dark skin and not the tall blond native English speaker they expected their teacher to be, would look surprised. I feel like they wanted to ask me, “Why are you here?” There were times that I cracked this joke, “My name is James Bond (mimicking the way Sean Connery speaks), I am the driver of your ESL teacher. He got injured, so I have to take his place temporarily for the entire semester.” That elicited laughs (from those who understood the joke.)
The policy also made them equate English proficiency to being able to sound like native English speakers. It made them think that the primary goal in English language learning is the acquisition of accents.
In learning any language, including English, the primary goal is not accent acquisition but to become proficient in speaking, listening, reading, and writing in the target language. Accent alone does not indicate proficiency in the language. Language proficiency encompasses various aspects, including vocabulary, grammar, comprehension, fluency, and the ability to effectively communicate ideas.
What I consider an obstacle in language learning is the students’ thinking that its primary goal is accent acquisition. It is a fallacy that I have always tried to rectify in my classes. Acquiring an accent is a desirable learning outcome but is not required for successful language acquisition. As previously mentioned, the primary goal of language acquisition is practical communication and comprehension rather than achieving a native-like accent. I told them that English is spoken with various accents worldwide, and no “correct” accent exists. The clarity in communication matters most – being understood by others and understanding them in return.
My advice to my student is to put accent acquisition last on their list of priorities. They must focus first on general language proficiency rather than developing a specific accent. Focusing on general language proficiency means emphasizing correct grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation (using the International Phonetic Alphabet as a guide), and overall language fluency. I always remind them that general language proficiency covers speaking, writing, listening, and reading.
It is illogical to assume that being a native English speaker automatically makes someone a competent English teacher. Language teaching requires more than native-like pronunciation. It involves overall language proficiency, pedagogical skills, and knowledge of the language taught.
It’s about time that universities eliminate native-speakerism from their system. They must adopt a policy of hiring teachers with strong English language skills, relevant qualifications, and teaching experiences regardless of their nationality. Ironically, the ones practicing native-speakerism are universities in Asia. They don’t believe their fellow Asians are qualified and capable English teachers. It is sad to say that they discriminate against their fellow Asians.
Asian universities must hire English teachers based on non-discriminative standards. They must open their doors to both native and non-native English-speaking teachers. By doing so, they will be promoting diversity, inclusivity, and a more comprehensive approach to language teaching. Hiring teachers from a wide range of cultural and linguistic backgrounds can bring diverse teaching perspectives and experiences into the classroom, resulting in a more enriched learning environment that benefits the students. The policy of not exclusively hiring native English-speaking teachers ensures that all qualified applicants are given equal opportunities. Job descriptions should not be crafted to inadvertently exclude a particular group of people and effectively prevent them from seeking the position.
M.A.D. LIGAYA
M.A.D. L I G A Y A 