Racialised teaching of English in Asian contexts: introduction

Abstract

ABSTRACT Issues of race, racialisation, and racism have been increasingly raised in the field of applied linguistics and language education especially in the contexts of North America and other English-dominant regions. This special issue contributes to this scholarly and professional discussion by focusing on English language teaching (ELT) in Asian contexts, where ELT is aggressively promoted with the prevalence of White native-English-speakerism which is not only brought by many sojourner teachers but also endorsed by Asian learners and teachers themselves. It presents qualitative studies that critically examine how racialisation, racism, and raciolinguistic ideologies influence racially diverse teachers’ identities, desires, experiences, and resistance. This introductory article provides an overview of the topic and general themes of the articles in the special issue that illuminate contact zones between local Asian learners/teachers and sojourner teachers from diverse racial backgrounds, including Black, Asian, and bi-racial. These identities are positioned vis-à-vis Whiteness that reinforces native speakerism. The articles collectively draw our attention to intersectionality, identify challenges, and envision possible approaches for educational transformation.