Racial biases in ELT with Zarina Subhan

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: 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!