Language, Literacy, and Sociocultural Studies ETDs

Publication Date

Summer 8-1-2023

Abstract

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to uncover and understand international graduate students’ experiences with microaggressions that stem from native speaker fallacy; microaggressions are the subtle discriminatory behaviors executed toward marginalized groups and native speaker fallacy is the false belief that only some “native” English speakers are effective teachers and users of the language. Put simply, this research aimed at unveiling the subtle language-based discriminations that international graduate students experience in their day-to-day lives in U.S. educational settings. To collect data for the study, the Critical Incident Technique (CIT) was utilized. CIT is a method that allows the researcher to systematically obtain rich and rare qualitative data from participants by encouraging them to reflect and report on “critical incidents” that they have experienced. Data was collected through online demographic survey, in-depth focus groups, and structured written reflections. Analyses of the data show that despite having had experienced language-based microaggressions and having had had emotional responses to them, the majority of the participants were unaware if they had the right as humans to feel violated due to those critical incidents. Eight themes, namely Gatekeeping English, Invisible Hierarchy, Sounding ‘Different’, Othering, Alienation, Implicit Bias with Name and Color, Department vs Critical Experiences, and Nonaccountability were identified in the data that show the deep-rootedness of native speaker fallacy in U.S. educational settings. I provide elaborate suggestions on how individuals and institutions can respond to microaggressions stemming from native speaker fallacy.

Keywords

native speaker fallacy, microaggression, international students, US educational settings, Global Englishes, World Englishes

Document Type

Dissertation

Language

English

Degree Name

Language, Literacy and Sociocultural Studies

Level of Degree

Doctoral

Department Name

Language, Literacy, and Sociocultural Studies

First Committee Member (Chair)

Mary Rice

Second Committee Member

Rebecca Blum-Martinez

Third Committee Member

Pisarn Bee Chamcharatsri

Fourth Committee Member

Todd Ruecker

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