A critical ethnography of ‘Westerners’ teaching English in China: Shanghaied in Shanghai

Abstract

book has a transformative power given that the audience can raise their awareness of ‘how race, racism and racialized discourses operate within, and shape, the ELT profession’ (p. 19). In addition, another highlight of the book is his emphasis on the negative pedagogical consequences that White-oriented epistemologies would bring to English language learners. Regarding English as the language of White people keeps ‘the language ‘foreign’, attached to the cultural values of outside regions and forever unattainable’ (p. 103), inferring that English learners feel like it is impossible to achieve native-like standards and identify themselves as deficient learners or cultural Others. Thus, the book presents a convincing argument as to why existing racial hierarchies and discrimination are detrimental to English learners in Korea and pushes ELT professionals to pay close attention to anti-racism in their teaching practices. All things considered, Jenks clearly and precisely expounds upon the history, both political and educational, of racialised discourses in South Korea, while simultaneously illustrating how these insights could be constructive for antiracist endeavours not only for the ELT profession, but also for other relevant areas such as media, political systems and immigration laws. Thus, this volume is highly recommended for people in education, including researchers, preand in-service language teachers, teacher educators, administrators, employers, and curriculum and policy developers so as to critically engage with the ongoing discussions about race. I am also certain that even readers who are not familiar with the Korean ELT contexts will benefit from a wider discussion of how race and racialisation penetrate into language learning and teaching.