Yuri
When I was 18, my piano teacher asked me if I wanted her to write a letter of recommendation to go to music school after graduating from high school. I didn’t hesitate to say ‘no’ because I had decided to go to college in the United States. My goal was to become a ‘native-like’ English speaker with ‘perfect’ grammar, lexical knowledge, and pronunciation. I didn’t even think about majoring music at a university in the US (or in other ‘English-speaking’ countries) because I not only wanted to learn the language but also learn about the language to become a native-like speaker. I was actually surprised a few years later when I realized that majoring in music in the US might also allow me to acquire ‘correct’ English, but it was too late to change my major to music because I had stopped practicing piano seriously. It’s not that I regret I didn’t become a pianist. I knew I wasn’t talented enough to be a top pianist, studying abroad had been my dream since I was very young, and I appreciate a chance to learn what I’m learning now. I am just curious whether my life would have been different if I didn’t hope to become a ‘perfect’ English speaker. Maybe if I kept practicing piano seriously, even if I couldn’t be a concert pianist, I could have done something related to music?
I’ve been told by many people that English increases employment opportunities. If you search ‘advantages of learning English’ on the internet, you may find a bunch of blogs and websites that encourage you to learn English to increase future opportunities. For example, a blog by an Australian institution that provides International students with English and vocational programs suggests that the ability to speak fluent English will vastly increase career opportunities and fluent English speakers “[will be] highly sought after by companies of many types, including international companies” (Webmaster, 2011, para. 5). It is true that many jobs require a high level of English proficiency, but this suggestion ignores the issues of racism and native-speakerism. If non-native English speakers hope to get a career position in which English is required, “they may have to compete with a native English speaker for whom a high level proficiency in a subsequent language was most likely an option rather than an obligation (while native speaking university students can focus on mastering their individual subject matter, non-native speakers must also master a foreign language” (Hodgson, 2016, para. 3). In other words, language acquisition is mandatory for non-native English speakers, but once they reach the advanced level in English, they may face tough competition because of their high level of English proficiency.
I sometimes feel hopeless because no matter how much effort I’ve put (plus, how much time and money I’ve spent!!!!), I can never throw away my ‘non-native English speaker’ label. It’s not fair for me because people determine non-native speakers’ levels of English proficiency by measuring whether they speak/write ‘native-like’ English (Choi, 2016), but at the same time, I feel like I can’t really complain about it because it was my choice to learn English and to live in an ‘English-speaking’ environment. I believed that English would lead me to a successful career, so I stopped practicing piano hard and spent as much time as possible to learn English. I became a fluent English speaker (I believe), and now I wonder if my ability to speak English really did increase my employment opportunities. Is it not just that it gave me different types of opportunities?
References
Choi, L.J. (2016). Revisiting the issue of native speakerism: “I don’t want to speak like a native speaker of English”. Language And Education. 30(1): 72-85. Doi:10.1080/09500782.2015.1089887
Hodgson, K. (2016, Dec. 23). Native speaker privilege and unprofessionalism within the ESL industry by Kevin Hodgson [Blog post]. Retrieved from http://teflequityadvocates.com/2016/12/20/native-speaker-privilege-and-unprofessionalism-within-the-esl-industry-by-kevin-hodgson/
Webmaster (2011, July 23). Eight advantages of studying English [Blog post]. Retrieved from https://www.academia21.com/blog/2011/07/23/advantages-studying-english/
Non-native speakers are really stuck in a catch 22 and it sucks to see. You’re not the first person I’ve heard of having this issue. English markets itself as a necessary thing to learn in the world, but those who do are excluded from employment opportunities by virtue of them being non-native speakers. At the same time, I will have an advantage getting a job in Japan as an English teacher and you’ll have a disadvantage, even if I were to have no formal work experience because my identity as a native speaker gives me an intrinsic advantage. I really hope the world continues to change for the better so that native-speakerism goes the way of the dodo and we can all have a fair shot at employment and using our linguistic skills to their fullest extent.
– Victoria
I agree with what you wrote in the last paragraph: I would live to teach English in South Korea one day, but I am not sure I will be able to make the cut because of my name…
Hi Yuri
As a non-native speaker who has been putting so many efforts to learn English well, I feel the same way you did. I kind of envy those kids who are bilingual since birth and can pick the languages without too much effort. But I think still speaking English and another language well gives us an advantage when doing job hunting.
Fangzhe