Influence of Discrimination in the Field of TESOL: Perspectives of Mexican EFL Teachers

In the last few decades, several studies have documented the discrimination that teachers face in the field of Teaching English for Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL). To date, these studies have shown that discrimination tends to be motivated by issues concerning the native- versus non-native language status of these professionals. Moreover, recent studies have suggested that discrimination in TESOL is intricate involving factors which are associated with the language status of teachers, their pronunciation, gender, race, sexual preference, age, among others. However, despite the fact that there is research discourse which has revealed the struggles of these professionals, no research discourse, to my knowledge, has documented the extent to which this phenomenon impacts on the professionals' feelings, perceptions of the profession, and decision making. In response to this, the present study was conducted to understand the influence of discrimination in the field of TESOL in Mexico from perspectives of 78 Mexican English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers. Through an online questionnaire, the teachers were asked to describe the instances in which they felt discriminated, and how these influenced their feelings, perceptions concerning their profession and decision making. The results show that the discrimination practices impact in complex ways, showing a negative influence on the professionals' feelings, perceptions of the profession, and decisions regarding their current profession. The findings of this study call for more effective strategies in order to stop the discriminatory acts that English language teachers commonly face.