Interrogating Native-Speakerism and Linguistic Imperialism in ELT: A Comparative Review

Abstract

The article reviews the deeply embedded imperialist history in the language-teaching and learning landscape. It critically looks into two identical yet thematically quite disparate articles that reveal the most pressing and talked about concerns around the imperialist institutions since the inception of the idea of linguistic imperialism  as well as subconscious subscriptions to secret following of the colonizers’ cultural nuances by non-native teachers and learners through teaching and learning materials made available by the UK and the USA. Recent research (e.g., Pennycook, 2017; Phillipson, 2008) shows that these dynamics continue due to linguistic marketization, in which Western publishers benefit from sustaining "standard" English ideologies. It focuses on age-old topics such as the tendency among non-native learners and teachers to prioritize and perfect phonology, strive for near-native proficiency, and incorporate native culture into their conversations, teaching, and reading. Finally, the wilful evasion of the admission by non-native speaker teachers and students alike to the consequences of being subtly inculcated into Western culture due to the West’s strategic launching of disciplines like TESOL to silently avoid the watch of non-native speakers is discussed with much greater profundity.