Abstract

This article explores the existence of “native-speakerism” in University of Jordan students’ convictions about the English language and their language learning practices. We argue that native-speakerism can be resisted in part by providing a better understanding of its ideological structure. We develop two terms that may clarify the complexity of this ideological structure: manifest and latent native-speakerism. Furthermore, we use the concept of “cultural disbelief” to describe the convictions of prospective teachers toward “nonnative” English-speaking teachers (NNESTs). In order to concretize such theoretical concepts, we conducted our study utilizing a mixed-method approach of data collection: an electronic survey and follow-up semistructured interviews. The study found that the participants staunchly accept the ideology of native-speakerism—in its manifest and latent forms—in their conceptualizations of the language itself and their learning practices, an acceptance that lacks an informed understanding of current discourses of English and its new roles at the global level.