A Phenomenological Exploration of Paradoxical Positioning of a Monolingual Teacher in a Bilingual School

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Thursday 4:15 pm
  In Roundtable Session: Bilingual Teacher Identity, Agency, and Professional Development

Abstract

In global bilingual education, questions of linguistic legitimacy and teacher identity are shaped by language proficiency, race, nationality, and institutional ideologies. Yet, despite the rhetoric of multilingualism, many classrooms are led by monolingual teachers (Desmond, 2024). This qualitative, phenomenological case study explores the experiences of Aaron (pseudonym), a “monolingual” English-speaking teacher in a Spanish-English bilingual school in Ecuador. To navigate ideological gatekeeping, Aaron obtained a CEFR C1 English certificate, an exam waived for his native speaker colleagues. Interestingly, his English-only status brought both daily challenges and unexpected advantages. The findings shed light on hiring practices in Latin American bilingual schools by emphasizing the need to consider the diverse linguistic backgrounds of teachers when implementing dual-language programs equitably and effectively.

Authors

• Zeynep Arslan, The Ohio State University

• Jaee Sonalkar, The Ohio State University