As a teacher who uses English as an additional language, I do my job while simultaneously worrying about how I sound, whether my grammar is correct and whether a hesitation might make me appear less capable. Beneath the desire to communicate clearly lies the fear that if I cannot speak English fluently, I might be perceived as intellectually incompetent or less capable. This goes beyond language proficiency. It is a question of identity.
Multilingual early career teachers (ECTs) like me often balance several identities: teacher, international academic and multilingual speaker. In anglophone higher education, these identities can be seen as conflicting with assumptions about what a “good” academic sounds like. Native-speakerism sums up this problem: the belief that there is one ideal form of English against which all other forms are judged.
So how can multilingual ECTs navigate the challenges that come with this?
Start by questioning what ‘professional’ sounds like
Separate “effective teaching” from “sounding like a particular kind of English speaker”. Ask yourself: “Am I improving my teaching or imitating my idea of a university teacher?” These are not the same.
You may want to improve your clarity, pronunciation or classroom communication. But you do not need to erase your accent or suppress your linguistic identity to be a credible academic.
After teaching, instead of, “Did I sound professional?”, ask:
- Did students understand the key ideas?
- Did they know what they were expected to do?
- Did my explanations support their learning?
- Did I create opportunities to participate?
These questions shift attention from linguistic conformity to teaching effectiveness.
Use multilingualism as a teaching tool
Next, ask, “What can your multilingual identity enable you to do as a teacher?”
Imagine a student who shares your first language explaining that they understood a concept but struggled to express themselves in English. Or a group of multilingual students asking whether they can discuss in another language before presenting their ideas in English. These are not necessarily problems. They can be opportunities.
Drawing on the principles of translanguaging, teachers can allow students to use their full linguistic repertoires to make sense of complex ideas and collaborate. For a multilingual ECT who shares a first language with some students, this can help you explain things more accessibly. You might clarify a concept in another language when appropriate or allow students to discuss an idea in the language that helps them think most effectively before returning to English. Such moments can help build rapport and create a sense of belonging. Treat linguistic flexibility as a pedagogical choice. Ask: “Will this help students learn?”
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Your multilingual identity can also help you recognise that linguistic hesitation is not the same as intellectual uncertainty. A student may struggle to articulate an idea in English even though they understand the topic. Your experience of navigating languages may make you sensitive to this distinction. That is a pedagogical strength.
How institutions can support multilingual ECTs
Individual confidence cannot solve a structural problem. Mentors and managers can help by changing the questions they ask. Instead of asking staff, “How confident did you feel speaking English?” ask:
- When did communication support learning?
- When did language become a barrier?
- Which linguistic resources did you draw on?
- How did students’ language choices affect participation?
- What would you do differently next time?
Teaching observations should assess clarity, engagement and learning, not proximity to a “native speaker”. Professional development should also address the emotional and identity-related dimensions of teaching, giving multilingual ECTs space to discuss language-related anxiety and impostor syndrome and develop strategies for using multilingualism as a teaching asset.
Institutions should also question the monolingual assumptions embedded in how they operate. This means seeking input from multilingual staff and students, sharing language-inclusive practices and creating opportunities for peers to exchange strategies and experiences.
For multilingual ECTs, the goal is not to hide our multilingual identity to appear more professional. It is to become more confident in deciding when, how and why to draw on the linguistic resources we already have.
Perhaps the question after a class should not be, “Did I sound professional?” It should be: “What did my linguistic repertoire allow me to do as a teacher today?” This question reveals a different vision of the university classroom: one in which linguistic diversity is not something teachers and students have to overcome or disguise, but something they can learn to work with and leverage as a professional asset.
Yanyan Li is an associate postdoctoral Fellow at the Institute of Advanced Study, University of Warwick.
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