Voices From the Margins: A Discussion on Race, Gender, and Power in China's English Language Teaching

• In Event: Friday Roundtable Session 7:45 am
  In Roundtable Session: Language Teachers' Experiences in International and Heritage Contexts (Table 31)

Abstract

Race and racism remain largely unspeakable topics in China, partially due to the Chinese party-state’s denial of the existence of racism. However, race plays a vital role in China’s education field, particularly in the English Language Teaching (ELT) industry. My study examines Chinese women teachers’ struggle to establish their legitimacy in the ELT industry where whiteness is the norm. The study finds that the ELT industry is more than a field of language teaching and learning. It is a field that commodifies whiteness, asserting a workplace racial hierarchy that affirms the racialised and gendered subordination of Chinese female teachers in relation to White male teachers.

Author

• Shuling Wang, University of Southampton