(Un)Doing Native-Speakerism: The Identities of Volunteer ESOL Teachers in Context

Description

Despite the global spread of English challenging traditional notions of linguistic ownership, persistent hierarchies in the English Language Teaching (ELT) field continue to shape how teachers are positioned, especially those who fall outside conventional norms (Baker et al., 2024). The enduring ‘native/non-native speaker’ binary and the mythology of an inherent “native” teaching ability continue to influence perceptions of expertise, often marginalizing bi/multi/plurilingual practitioners, even with English existing in diverse forms (Tupas 2024). While teacher identity has been widely explored (Yazan et al., 2023; Barkhuizen 2017), little research has examined how volunteer teachers in non-formal English learning contexts negotiate their professional and linguistic identit(ies) within these shifting global hierarchies. This qualitative study investigates how teacher identity, teaching practice, and language use intersect in an English-dominant, non-formal classroom through the experiences of volunteer teachers in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Employing linguistic portraits, focus groups, interviews, a questionnaire, and a self-assessment template (McIvor and Jacobs 2016; Busch 2012; Creswell 2009; Fowler 1985), the research examines the characteristics, ideologies, and practices that shape the identity and processes of professional legitimation in a community-based ELT setting (Van Leeuwen 2007; Lave and Wenger 1991). Thematic and appraisal analyses (Braun and Clarke 2012; Martin and White 2005) show how the identit(ies) and perceived expertise of volunteer language teachers are co-constructed in and through tensions with dominant language ideologies, particularly native-speakerism, which continue to influence processes of (de)legitimation even beyond formal classrooms. These ideologies produce conflicted professional hierarchies that volunteers negotiate by balancing their moral commitment to learners against prevailing institutional standards. By highlighting these dynamics, the study offers a nuanced understanding of teacher identity in under-researched non-formal contexts and stresses the need for identity-informed approaches that recognize the legitimation of diverse English language educators worldwide, reflecting the multilingual realities of English today.

Period	10 Jun 2026 → 12 Jun 2026
Event title	ASYRAS Conference 2026
Event type	Conference
Location	Alicante, SpainShow on map
Degree of Recognition	National