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!
This episode features:
Zarina Subhan
Zarina Subhan is a freelance materials writer and teacher educator with a BSc in Pharmacology-Chemistry and an MA in Applied Linguistics and Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL). Since beginning her career 30 years ago, she has taught at all levels in both private and government institutions across the world. She currently resides in Costa Rica where she splits her time between delivering training and writing materials.
Chris Little
Chris is the Senior Editor here at Garnet. He manages print projects – currently the ESAP New Editions – and creates, edits and proofreads Garnet materials. A neurotic attender to minutiae, he started out thinking he was a born copy-editor, but is actually at his happiest working with authors to create new material. Outside of work he looks after a two-year-old, and plays music or writes when he can.
- 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/
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!
Disclaimer
Please note that the views, information, or opinions expressed during these podcasts are solely those of the individuals involved and do not necessarily represent the views or opinions of Garnet Education. Any contributors to the podcasts who are themselves employees of Garnet Education express their views and opinions in a personal capacity and not as representatives of the company.