China should choose its English teachers based on skill, not country of origin
Andrew Sewell says the recent decision by China’s government to bar Filipino English teachers because they are not ‘native’ demonstrates the need to replace the unhelpful ‘native speaker’ label and focus on effective communication
The biblical story of the shibboleth tells of how the Gileadites identified the Ephraimites by the way they pronounced the word “shibboleth”. The unfortunate Ephraimites were then prevented from crossing the River Jordan.
The decision may make sense for economic and political reasons, but the claimed linguistic reason – that Filipinos are not “native English speakers” because of their birthplace – does not stand up to scrutiny. It’s time to consider the myth of the native English speaker.
First, it is not possible to assess English skills on the basis of birthplace or passport. Like many resources in today’s world, English is distributed unequally. An increasing number of Filipinos have excellent English skills and many receive higher education abroad. Among these are people who would make superb English teachers for Chinese students.
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Increasingly, it is native speakers who need to adjust their language to different audiences