Combating the Native-Like English Norm as an International Student

• In Event: Educators Combating Midwestern "Slow-Drip Racism": Spirit Healing Narratives of Women of Color in Academia

Abstract

It was never easy to live as an international Asian student in a Midwestern state. I still remember the first winter break I spent with other Korean international students. We all sat quietly for a moment until one of the students broke the silence with her story. “What’s so different about my accent?” she spoke loudly. “They understand Kosovan English! Why not mine?” So, we all started to reveal our fears; the fear of not being able to join other classmates’ stories, making linguistic mistakes, not being understood by the students we were teaching, and being isolated in the classroom. We also talked about how difficult it was to express ourselves, or just to be ourselves in a language that was not our native language. We laughed at our double identity as nice, quiet, and friendly Koreans (or Asian international students because our American peers usually didn’t know where we were from) when we were actually very aggressive and talkative. The freedom of expressing ourselves in Korean and being ourselves was not permitted if we were to be part of the American culture as ‘assimilation’ was what we learned from day one of our life in the Midwest. No matter how much we tried, however, like an awl in a bag, our appearance stood out and we often found ourselves answering “Where are you originally from?” or thanking a total stranger who complimented our ‘good English.’

From the perspective of a community college English language (ESL) instructor and an English language learner, my story focuses on the native-like English norm pervasive in the educational system and its connection to race. As language is part of culture, assimilation to American culture often involves learning of (or imitating of) English spoken by monolingual native speakers. However, pursuing ‘native-like Standard English’ is associated with Whiteness. The stories I collected from the international graduate students of color who have taught White undergraduates in a Midwestern university (which resonates with my own experience) often depicted the deep-seated racism and its connection to the native-like English norm in classrooms. To us – the international students of color –, having a space where languages (including our Englishes) of international students were celebrated and valued has reconceptualized our language-identity, allowing us to combat the White English norm in the U.S. educational context.

Author

• GoMee Park, The University of Iowa