As in many things, there is discrimination in language learning, but the source may be surprising
When I was in high school, I tutored at a small tutoring company with a largely East Asian clientele. I tutored math, science, geography, and French, but the one subject I never tutored was English. While I did well in STEM subjects and eventually earned an MA in French Literature, there is no doubt that English is my strongest subject. And yet, while English and ESL tutors were highly sought after and sorely needed at the company, I was never offered the position. In fact, I had applied and, despite excelling in my course work, was refused.
I was born in Hong Kong but my maternal tongue is English. My parents made a deliberate effort to ensure that I went to an American school with English instruction, knowing that I would one day immigrate to North America. Today, I am a published writer in books, journals and periodicals, in fiction and in nonfiction, as well as an accomplished public speaker. And yet, it wasn't until graduate school when I was hired to teach English and ESL.
What Has Changed?
Today, I offer my services tutoring, among other subjects, both English and French. I have students that are Francophone and attend schools that offer instruction in French. During the negotiation phase, I always ask the parents or the student if the fact that I am an anglophone is a concern. No parent has ever expressed any misgivings, whether I am instructing in French on the subject of French or English. I know that my French accent is not perfect and that I am not a native speaker, but I have yet to meet a parent who preferred a Francophone tutor.
On the other hand, I have been refused several times as an English or ESL tutor, usually by East Asian students. It is true that I am not a certified TOEFL, IELTS or TESL teacher, but I am knowledgeable of the province's English curriculum and have studied language and literature for many years. I also have almost two decades of experience tutoring ESL and have created many of my own teaching materials. International companies have admitted that I am fully qualified for the position but refused to hire me and individual students have requested a "native speaker" instead.
It seems that, in my 30 years of language teaching experience, with respect to discrimination, nothing much has changed.
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