K@ta: A Biannual Publication on the Study of Language and Literature (Jan 2011)
An English Teacher Struggle to Establish Voice in the Periphery
Abstract
This paper explores my identity formation and the struggle to establish voice as a non-native teacher working in the periphery. While publication on non-native speakers’ struggle into academia has been growing in the West, such publication is rare in the periphery where I have been working as an English language teacher for the last seven years. My personal reflection has shown that similar to their non-native colleagues working in the Center, non-native teachers also experienced marginalization that have fostered a perception that their nono-nativeness is a drawback. This leads to an identity of the non-native teacher s into a producer of errors and second-rate citizens despite years of learning English. From this personal narrative, I learned that it is crucial for teacher education programs to address issues of native/non-natives as an attempt to unfasten destructive identity constructions that non-native speakers are accustomed to.