In the final episode of season 1 of ELTtime, our Senior Editor, Chris, speaks to Zarina Subhan about experiencing racial bias in ELT. They dive into discussions about different kinds of privilege, what it’s like to be judged by the colour of your skin before your teaching ability, and how the representation of race in ELT coursebooks and other materials can be improved.

Let us know if you enjoyed the episode! Get in touch with any suggestions or questions – you can find us at @garneteducation everywhere!

LINKS

• Book: Color, Race and ELT, Shades of meaning by Andy Curtis and Mary Romney
• Book: Why I’m no longer talking to white people about race by Reni Eddo-Lodge
• Book: matters.com/display.asp?K=9781783098415">Race and ethnicity in English Language Teaching, Korea in focus by Christopher Joseph Jenks
• Article: The intersectionality of gender, sexuality, race and native-speakerness: Investigating ELT teacher identity through duoethnography by Luke Lawrence and Yuzuko Nagashima (Journal of Language, Identity and Education)
• Zarina’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zarina-subhan-a9372052/

CHAPTERS

0:19 – Introduction 1:17 – English identity: assumptions and credibility 11:08 – Being a woman in ELT 13:09 – Intersectionality: race and gender 16:31 – Racism in the workplace: classroom vs colleague experience 21:19 – Privilege and awareness 23:25 – The question of responsibility: educating people on racism 30:44 – Defining and understanding privilege 32:48 – The portrayal of race in ELT materials 41:20 – The loss of indigenous culture to economic power 43:16 – Perceptions of traditional non-western clothing 45:13 – Final comments 47:06 – Outro 47:25 – Bonus: Season 2 news!