TESOL Spain position statement against discrimination

Back in 2016, TESOL Spain issued a position statement against discrimination in ELT, opposing job ads that require the candidate to be a ‘native speaker’, have ‘native-like’ fluency, or speak with ‘standard’ English. I was then the current president of TESOL-SPAIN and I felt, and still feel, very strongly about the NEST – NNEST issue. During a Board meeting, we discussed the problem non-native speaking teachers were facing in Spain and the Board unanimoulsy voted in favour of issuing a position statement. I’m proud to say thet TESOL-SPAIN was the first teacher association, after IATEFL and TESOL, to take a public stand against discrimination in all its forms.

I must admit that I had never thought about what cam eto be called the NEST-NNEST controversy because it wan’t until I arrived in Spain that I became aware of the discrimination non-native spearer teachers suffered by both parents and employers. In my home country, Argentina, one had to have an official certification in order to teach English, no matter ‘how native’ you were, and you were hired because of your merits not your passport. I hope this hasn’t changed!

After TESOL-SPAIN issued its position statement, Dr Marek Kiczkowiak invited me to have a chat to find out a bit more about the statement and why it was issued. We also discussed how TESOL Spain was planning to put the statement into practice, promoting equality in Spanish ELT and supporting both their ‘native’ and ‘non-native speaker’ members. You can watch the interview here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zRKmMN1r-JI

Seven years have gone by and numerous voices have spoken against this discrimination, notably Dr David Crystal. However, al lot still needs to be done so that teachers are recruited and valued based on their skills, rather than their first language.

Check out the statement on TESOL Spain website: http://www.tesol-spain.org/en/