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El•Gazette 469.qxp_El•Gazette 469 25/02/2020 21:52 Page 35

OUT FEATURES & COMMENT

PIXABAY OF THE
BOX

Being a Woman of

Color in ELT in Japan

Women of color in ELT need a safe,

courageous, and supportive space,
Dr Parisa Mehran argues

ELT in Japan is dominated by male, Color in ELT (womenofcolorinelt.
‘native speaker’ (code for white) wordpress.com), a safe, courageous
teachers, which makes job hunting for and supportive space for English
non-white, female, non-Japanese, language teachers who identify as
‘non-native’ speakers very challenging. WOC. It is a decolonial, intersectional
To tackle native speakerism, TEFL feminist, anti-racist, anti-elitist, anti-
ss of a busy life Equity recommends highlighting your precarity and anti-frontera movement
strengths, and not to be put off by the by WOC for WOC. As a matter of
Treat everyone as individuals ‘native speakers only’ job ads. fact, WOC are not ‘included’, nor are
Everyone has differences in their personality, However, I no longer find this they ‘tolerated’. They are welcomed,
beliefs and values. Learn to observe those empowering. We need to focus on valued, respected, listened to, heard
differences carefully and respond to students eliminating racist conditions, not on and supported by each other.
individually. fixing marginalised teachers. WOC in ELT aims to build
To increase rapport, use a more direct One employer admitted to me: “I collective power for equity and
approach with more dominant, gregarious don’t know about Iran. If X hadn’t systemic change by providing a
students, and a softer approach for students introduced you, I wouldn’t have hired platform to give voice and visibility to
who are more reflective and task-focused. you.” WOC who are often pushed to the
Recently, ‘non-native’ speakers are sidelines in the ELT world.
Think before you speak being encouraged to apply for Our use of the term ‘Women of
Stop and think before you react to a university positions in Japan, but these Color’ is an act of solidarity. It is
comment or behaviour that irritates you. are often part of efforts to meant to unite and welcome WOC
When you teach, you are reaching out to ‘internationalise’ Japan and are simply from all shades of colour and all walks
people who have similar pressures to you. tokenistic. of life and experiences, and it is
Everyone is busy and struggling to get more In my first university job in Japan, I intended to focus on the experiences
done in the same amount of time. learned that as a WOC (Woman of of women who have been historically
A non-judgemental comment is far better Color, a political term), I needed to and systematically marginalised and
received than a rebuke or ill-judged criticism protect myself. I learned that I should excluded.
when you don’t know what is going on for not apply for a job without knowing If you are interested, please contact
that student. about the workplace. us at womenofcolorinelt@gmail.com.
I admit that I was racially unaware
Swap roles when I came to Japan. If I could go
I show my teenage students a TED Talk by back in time and give myself some n Parisa Mehran was born and raised
teenager Adora Svitak, who talks about the advice, I would say to avoid in Tehran, Iran, and holds an MA in
idea that adults can learn a lot from kids. predominantly white ELT TEFL from Alzahra University, and a
I follow this up with giving my students the organisations, to educate yourself on PhD in CALL from Osaka University.
option of giving a 6-minute micro lesson (I micro-aggressions and racial She teaches English at several Japanese
call it ‘6-minute teacher’) at the end of each harassment and learn how to respond universities and a conversation school.
class to teach us something about the English to them, and to find networks that are Her passion for social justice has led her
language. This is a great way to foster rapport meant for you. to engage in different ELT movements for
and a productive learning environment. Along with other colleagues, I have change and is now a racial equity
been involved in setting up Women of advocate in ELT.
Lara Statham currently works at the
Università di Torino in the Department of when I am afraid to speak
Foreign Languages, Literature and Culture.
She is also a qualified Life Coach and is is when I speak.
interested in using coaching techniques to that is when it is most important.
improve teacher well-being and to promote — the freedom in fear.
faster and better learning in the classroom. Nayyirah Waheed
Email: larastatham@larastatham.com website:
larastatham.com

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