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English as an international language: international student and identityformationPhan Le Ha a

a Faculty of Education, Monash University, Australia

Online Publication Date: 01 August 2009

To cite this Article Phan Le Ha(2009)'English as an international language: international student and identity formation',Language andIntercultural Communication,9:3,201 — 214

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English as an international language: international student and identityformation

Phan Le Ha*

Faculty of Education, Monash University, Australia

Drawing on the literature on Asian international students, current debatessurrounding English as an international language (EIL), and the conceptualtools of appropriation, this article reports the findings of a qualitative researchstudy with eight Asian international students studying at a university in Thailandto explore their taking ownership of English and how they see themselves inrelation to the language. The findings demonstrate that these students’ appro-priation of EIL for their own advantage reflects a healthy and sensible sense ofsharing the ownership of English. The findings also highlight the relationshipsbetween these students’ sense of self and their positioning with respect to theEnglish language. Many stereotypes about international students constructedaround the English language and their being Asian have been challenged by thesophisticated and dynamic manner of the participants’ appropriation of English.The article argues that together with encouraging and valuing users’ appropria-tion of English, it is important to acknowledge and promote ways that individualstake ownership of English. Their voices must be heard, not assumed. Users of EILneed to be seen as individuals and in relation to who they are, who they want to beand who they could become and in multiple domains in which their identities areproduced and reproduced.

Noi dung cua bai viet nay dua tren so lieu thu thap duoc tu mot de tai nghien cuukhoa hoc thuc hien voi tam sinh vien quoc te nguoi chau A theo hoc chuong trinhthac si ve giang day tieng Anh tai mot truong dai hoc o Thai Lan. Bai viet duockhai trien tren nen co so ly luan lien quan den ba mang ly thuyet. Thu nhat, do lamang ly thuyet viet ve du hoc sinh chau A tai cac quoc gia noi tieng Anh. Thu hai,do la cac van de va tranh cai xoay quanh tieng Anh nhu mot ngon ngu quoc te.Thu ba, do la cac hinh thuc tiep nhan va chon loc tieng Anh cua cac cong dong vaquoc gia tren the gioi cho muc dich phat trien rieng cua minh. De tai nghien cuunoi tren nham muc dich tim hieu moi lien he giua viec su dung tieng Anh nhu motngon ngu quoc te, goc gac chau A va moi truong hoc tai Thai Lan co anh huongnhu the nao den su hinh thanh va phat trien cac gia tri co lien quan den cai toi,ban sac ca nhan, ban sac van hoa va ban sac dan toc cua tam du hoc sinh quoc tetham gia vao de tai. Ket qua cua de tai bac bo mot so nhan dinh mang tinh tieucuc va co phan ky thi ve sinh vien quoc te nguoi chau A, vi du nhu kha nang tiengAnh yeu kem va cach tiep can tri thuc thieu tinh sang tao va thieu dau oc phanbien. Nhung nhan dinh nay phan lon deu cho rang nguyen nhan cua nhung yeukem nay xuat phat tu ly do ngon ngu, su khac biet van hoa va su thua kem ve vanhoa tri thuc khi so sanh voi phuong Tay. Viec tam sinh vien quoc te nguoi chau Adu hoc tai Thai Lan chu dong va sang tao lam chu tieng Anh va tiep nhan co chonloc ngon ngu nay duoi nhieu goc do da dang cho thay su lam chu tieng Anh nhumot ngon ngu quoc te co moi lien he mat thiet voi su hinh thanh cac gia tri co lien

*Email: ha.phan@education.monash.edu.au

Language and Intercultural Communication

Vol. 9, No. 3, August 2009, 201�214

ISSN 1470-8477 print/ISSN 1747-759X online

# 2009 Taylor & Francis

DOI: 10.1080/14708470902748855

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quan den ban sac va vi tri xa hoi cua moi ca nhan trong moi tuong quan voi nhunghoan canh khac nhau, voi van hoa dan toc, dat nuoc cua minh va su giao luu quocte. Dieu nay goi mo mot huong di moi cho nhung nghien cuu co lien quan dentieng Anh nhu mot ngon ngu quoc te, ban sac, va du hoc sinh tai cac quoc giakhac nhau tren the gioi. Bat dau bang nhung dinh kien duong nhu khong phai lamot cach bat dau co hieu qua de tim hieu su hinh thanh cac gia tri ban sac cua cacnhom du hoc sinh boi le qua trinh hinh thanh cac gia tri ban sac nay thuong ratphuc tap, da chieu, chiu tac dong cua hoan canh, luon trong the bien dong nhunglai gan lien voi nhung gia tri van hoa ‘goc’ ma nhung dinh kien mang tinh khiencuong thuong khong nam bat duoc.

Keywords: international students; Asia/Asian; English as an internationallanguage (EIL); appropriation; identity formation; ownership of English;Thailand

Introduction

Stories and experiences of individuals appropriating English to their advantage

have not yet been highlighted in the literature on international students and

English as an international language (EIL). In the same vein, little about

international students in areas beyond the Western world has been discussed in

the published research literature. The assumption that ‘the West is the world’ and

English belongs to native English-speaking countries appears to have marginalised

even the need and importance of doing research into the so-called Other � the

Other that the Self has already known and constructed (Pennycook, 1998; Said,

1978). This article responds to this concern and the absence of empirical work on

international students studying in Thailand, a non-Western context.

In 2006, I took a trip to Thailand that astonished me. I felt I was in a truly

international environment: the students and academics who attended my seminar

were international in appearance, language, culture, experience and ethnicity. In

particular, we all seemed to share the ownership of the English language. Many

international students confirmed that they felt comfortable and respected as

international students who had a command of English in addition to their mother

tongue. They clearly had taken advantage of the international role of English and

presented themselves as having a certain authority with respect to this language. This

phenomenon demanded further research.

Drawing on the literature on Asian international students, current debates

surrounding EIL, and the conceptual tools of appropriation, this article reports the

findings of qualitative research with eight Asian international students who were

studying at a university in Thailand. The research is designed to explore their taking

ownership of English and how they see themselves in relation to the language. The

findings demonstrate that these students’ appropriation of EIL for their own

advantage reflects a healthy and sensible sense of sharing the ownership of English.

The findings also highlight the relationships between these students’ sense of self and

their positioning with respect to English.

Throughout the article, I employ the terms Self, Other, Asia, Asian, the West and

Western with full awareness of the different connotations and limitations attached to

each of them. I do not treat these terms as being unified, fixed and binary in relation

to each other. Instead, I have adopted a critical view taking into account various

dimensions of these terms (see Phan, 2008 for a detailed discussion).

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English and international students

International students, particularly those coming from Asian countries, have suffered

from negative stereotyping associated with their Asian origins and their use of the

English language. The literature testifies to the perception that, despite the range of

nationalities represented among international student body, it tends to be regarded as

being ‘Asian’, and ‘Asians’ in turn tend to be regarded as ‘international students’ �particularly in Australia and New Zealand. Collins (2006), for example, observes that

international students in New Zealand are often referred to as ‘Asian students’,

especially in the media, which goes further by representing New Zealand citizens and

permanent residents of Asian descent in the same discourse as non-resident Asians.

Being Asian is depicted more negatively than positively, despite the contribution that

Asians, and Asian students, make to New Zealand’s economic growth and multi-

cultural identity. As Coates (2004) has noted, international students remain ‘the

foreigner’ and ‘the stranger’. Another example that conflates international students

with ‘Asians’ is the work of Ballard and Clanchy (1997). Although the title of their

book is ‘Teaching international students: a brief guide for lecturers and supervisors’,

these authors represented ‘the international student’ as all Asians. These ‘Asian

international students’ suffered from negative, even hostile, comments and attitudes

from their lecturers due to their being the Asian Other and to their having poor

language skills, as reported in the book.

Discourses about Asian international students often describe them being

uncritical, passive, obedient and lacking analytical and argumentative skills � deficits

that are associated with their ‘Asian’ backgrounds (Ballard & Clanchy, 1991; Barrett-

Lennard, 1997; Samuelowicz, 1987). In addition, problems with plagiarism and lack

of participation are traced to their poor English and their Asian cultural values

(Sowden, 2005). Asian international students have been accused of reducing

academic standards in Australian universities and causing academics to soft-mark

(Devos, 2003). Marlina (2007, p. 5) cites a range of sources in the USA, the UK and

Australia which confirm the general picture of Asian students:

many of these stereotypes are ‘repeated often in the professional literature, conferencepresentations’ (Kumaravadivelu, 2003, p. 710), appear in ‘minutes of a Course PlanningCommittee, and a frequent topic of conversation between western lecturers aboutstudents from Asian countries’ (Kember, 2000, p. 99), and appear to be a ‘recurringconcern preoccupying academics in response to the increased number of internationalstudents from Asia’ (Kettle, 2005, p. 50).

Accordingly, international students are often blamed for their deficit and thus

expected to adjust themselves to ‘new’ educational contexts in the host country,

which bear characteristics of dominant Western academic and ideological conven-

tions and discourses. However, a study by Lee and Rice (2007) on international

students in the USA contends that international students’ difficulties are caused as

much by the different forms of discrimination and racism that have been practised

against them. In the same vein, Gu and Schweisfurth (2006) also problematise the

assumption about ‘the’ Chinese international student in the UK and their problem of

adjustment. The key issues of concern raised in these studies, again, point to those of

the language and the Asian Other identities.

In a study conducted into factors influencing international students’ decisions

to study in Australia and Thailand, Jones (2006) excludes the role of English as

one factor for comparison because English is not a native language of Thailand.

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However, the author shows in the study that although Australia is pictured as an

English-speaking country ‘perceptions of the benefits of study abroad such as ‘‘learn

English with native speakers’’ decreased’ (Jones, 2006, p. 26) among international

students there. This finding suggests that ‘learning English with native speakers’ is no

longer an obvious comparative advantage to attract international students and that

English is no longer solely the property of Australia in the region. Jones’ study sheds

some light on international students’ perspective on the shared ownership of English.

The present article investigates further how the use and consumption of English

contributes to the sense of identity of a group of international students in Thailand.

The findings further consolidate the emerging literature on the ownership of English,

which is dealt with in the subsequent section, which demonstrate that in the context

of EIL, that English is the property of only the English-speaking West and that

international students have to submit themselves to English is no longer valid and

thus must not be taken for granted.

Taking the ownership of English as an international language (EIL)

Debates surrounding the international status of English have mushroomed over the

past years (for example, Brutt-Griffler, 2002; Kachru, 1986; Pennycook, 1994;

Phillipson, 1992; Rubdy & Saraceni, 2006). Concerns about the ownership of English

have also been raised and discussed (Canagarajah, 1999; Holliday, 2005; McKay,

2002; Phan, 2008; Widdowson, 1997). Issues of resistance, appropriation and

negotiation in relation to EIL have been noted and theorised. For instance,

Canagarajah (1999) demonstrates that Sri Lankans have been able to use appropriate

English for their own purposes, taking into account local cultural and political

factors. He offers an approach that resists ‘linguistic imperialism in English teaching’.

Hashimoto (2000, p. 39) provides an example of how a country resists Western

globalisation and English dominance. He argues that ‘the commitment of the

Japanese government to internationalisation in education actually means ‘‘Japanisa-

tion’’ of Japanese learners of English’.

Resistance, appropriation and negotiation do not mean rejecting English.Instead, they support the use of English for one’s own benefit and equality, but at

the same time urge English users to work together to eliminate the still active

discourses of colonialism. These notions suggest a new and more sophisticated view

of ‘appropriation’, which consists of resistance and reconstitution. English users may

be better served by their proactively taking ownership of its use and its teaching.

English users, particularly non-native speakers of English, will then ‘be the main

agents in the ways English is used, is maintained, and changed, and who will shape

the ideologies and beliefs associated with [EIL]’ (Seidlhofer, 2003, p. 7). Warschauer

(2000, p. 511) shares a belief in a more widespread of EIL and accordingly ‘a shift of

authority to non-native speakers [of English]’. However, Canagarajah (2005, p. xvi)

also points out the fact that ‘standard English’ is still the norm in most institutions

and that other forms of English are not guaranteed a place. Rather, they have ‘to be

achieved through socially informed struggle and strategic negotiation’ (p. xvi).

Appropriation includes the possibility of change and opens up spaces for the

Other to develop positively and equally in relation to the Self. In the context of EIL,

appropriation is specifically related to how the Others actively and comfortably useEnglish as their tongue. But appropriation does not stop at an ‘apolitical relativism’

status (Pennycook, 2001, p. 71). Instead, it will assert itself by constantly creating

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‘third cultures or third spaces’ as suggested by Kramsch (1993), (cited in Pennycook,

2001, p. 71). Indeed, the use of English plays an important part in both one’s desire to

communicate with the world and one’s will to preserve one’s identity (Kubota, 1998;

Pham, 2001). It also influences one’s perception of one’s identity (Kramsch, 2001;

Lin, Wang, Akamatsu, & Riazi, 2001). Put differently, English contributes

dynamically to identity formation and a sense of belonging that is complemented

but not compromised by a sense of global citizenship.

It is important to explore what the process of taking ownership of English

involves. It is therefore critical to tell more stories of how individuals and

communities have taken ownership of English to their advantage. The international

students participating in this study were also teachers of English, and their

appropriation of EIL did not simply occur within their immediate context. It took

place at multiple sites and in interaction with the language, other users of it, their

multiple roles and how they were seen by different stakeholders of the English

language in Thailand. The inter-relationships between context (of their language

learning, language teaching and language use), their identity formation and change,

their representation seen in their own eyes and constructed by others, and their own

attitudes towards English were all interwoven in the ways these students claimed their

ownership of English. As we shall see later, taking ownership of English carried

different meanings to different participants, as affected by these inter-relationships.

The study

The study was conducted with a group of eight international students doing their

Masters degree in English Language Teaching at an international university in

Thailand. Four of them came from China, and four came from Taiwan, Korea,

Indonesia and the Philippines, respectively. Their ages ranged from 25 to 32. The

students had some English teaching experience either in their home country or in

Thailand or both. In their course, the medium of instruction was English. These

students commenced their English Language Teaching (ELT) degree at different

times, so not all of them were on the same courses. The ELT courses they took in

Thailand had lecturers from various countries, such as Britain, the USA, Australia,

India, Singapore, Eastern Europe, Vietnam and Thailand. They also had classmates

coming from English-speaking countries including North America and Australia,

and classmates from European countries.

Data collection were by informal face-to-face conversations with the participants

in Thailand after I had delivered my public lecture at their university. The

conversations were mainly with the students from China, and this explained why

I obtained more data from these students than the ones from Indonesia, Korea,

Taiwan and the Philippines. The participants were then asked to respond to 10 guided

questions in writing, and these questions were followed up by email exchanges for

clarification and depth. The topics included ‘Your experience as an international

student in Thailand’, ‘Your experience with English in Thailand’, ‘Your experience

with your own teaching in Thailand’ and ‘How do you see yourself in relation to

English?’.

The following section presents various ways in which the participants saw

themselves as appropriating English and constructing their identity in relation to the

language.

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Taking ownership of English by making English serve one’s multi-relationships with the

language

The data given below show that these eight Asian international students felt they

were in control of the English language and saw their command of English as putting

them in a ‘better’ position. They saw English as everyone’s language and seemed to

enjoy positive international experiences by taking ownership of English. Above all,

they all seemed to use English proactively to their advantage. Through English,

their multiple relationships with English and their multiple identities were identified,

produced and reproduced. As we shall see, the students’ comments support the

argument, partly exemplified in the work of Canagarajah (1999) and Kramsch

(2001), that English has been appropriated by international users to an extent that is

meaningful to them. Their comments also suggest that the use of EIL creates

domains that help these students reclaim their identities as Asian in general and as

Chinese or Indonesian, for example, in particular. Being able to use English was seen

as an important factor contributing to these students’ positive experience as

international students and/or foreigners in Thailand.

The comments reported and summarised below show that all the participants

self-identified with English, sometimes in ways that were similar, sometimes in ways

that were unique. Their shared ownership of English, and their positive relation to it,

was an important factor in contributing towards their multiple identities.

Teaching Chinese through English

The four students from China all reported that they taught Chinese in Thailand

through English. They all appreciated the role of English in helping them introduce

their language and cultures to others. They felt proud as they were highly regarded

for their mastery in both English and Chinese by their students and by those

westerners they knew in Thailand. They also seemed to be proud as speakers of these

two dominant languages that others wanted to learn. This gave them a sense of

‘superiority’, not just in relation to English but Chinese as well, as expressed by two

students.

English granting its users an empowering and ‘superior’ status

I feel a little bit superior and proud compared to some Thai people’s speaking English,because we can manage the sentences more neatly, logically, grammatically, and moreexpressively instead of their keeping repeating. Meanwhile, I feel happy, because I cancommunicate with those westerners to gain more information and make friends withthem. This frequent contact in English helps enhance understanding, hence facilitate thecultural transmitation. (S2-China)

I have been exposed to international teaching methods and learning strategies and beentransformed to an English teacher and learner who is confident in achieving her dreamsin her teaching career . . . (S3-China)

What these two students expressed emphasised the important role of ‘the interna-

tional context’ in which they learnt, taught and used English. The institution where

they took their Masters’ degree seemed to offer them good opportunities to establish

and exercise their multiple identities with respect to English. More importantly, it was

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they who took the initiatives in making full use of the context for their language

learning and professional development.

However, S2’s view also raises a concern that the ownership of English may be

‘politicized’ by its users. She defined some Thais as being ‘inferior’ because they

needed to learn English from her and some westerners whom she wanted to mix

with as being relatively ‘superior’. Proficiency in English or the ownership of English,

appeared to be an important criterion with which she identified herself and others.

The observation of such views suggests that taking the ownership of English is itself a

complicated process, which at the deepest level, is laden with the question of identity

formation and re-construction.

‘English as one part of my life’ and ‘the gateway’ to know others

Before English is just one subject that I need to learn and teach. But now English is onepart of my life. I communicate and write in English. I keep the record of my life inEnglish. I also use English to make money when I go to class to teach. (S3-China)

I have related to English more than 15 years. I have learned English from secondaryschool until I graduated university as my major and now I am still learning and teachingit at international school. English is something that most Korean people cannot helplearning for social and cultural reasons, but for me I regard English as the gateway to thecontact with the different people in other world. (S5-Korea)

What S3 reported revealed the sentiments she had about English and her attachment

to it. It was not just the language she learnt, taught and used, but the language in

which she ‘recorded’ her life. This is a powerful example of one’s appropriation of

English that carries feelings, love and affection embedded in her use of the language.

S5 can also be seen as having appropriated English for her own purposes, but her

words clearly show that her appropriation involves greater resistance to the

stereotypes made about Koreans learning English. She excluded herself from the

majority of Koreans who had learnt English for social and cultural reasons. She was

in Thailand and this context enabled her to meet and have contacts with people from

all over the world. While the learning of English in Korea is often discussed in the

literature as a ‘fever’ that strongly portrays Koreans as being Americanised and

‘crazy about English’ (for example, Han, 2004), S5 constructed a different image of

herself in relation to this must-learn language.

Being a communicator of cultures through ‘International English’

One good thing about studying in Thailand is that you get to know people from differentparts of the world, and you can get a lot of opportunities to listen to people speakingEnglish with different accents. I personally think that it is very important since nowthe world deals with ‘International English’, and it is crucial for one to be able tocommunicate well with others from various cultural backgrounds. (S10-Taiwan)

English is the foreign language I try to master as a teacher. I like using English in thisspecial international environment. I want to create an immersion environment for myselfeven I am in an English speaking country. Now I feel that I have more control in usingEnglish in daily and academic communication. I enjoy doing like this as long as I live ina foreign country. (S4-China)

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Again, these two students acknowledged and recognised the importance of the

context in which they were able to learn and use English. It is also interesting to see

that ‘the international context/environment’ was constructed around the status of

EIL. Put differently, an ‘international context’ often means an ‘English-speaking

context’. Perhaps, this very ‘international context’ tended to liberate these students

more in terms of how they accepted different Englishes and developed their

knowledge of others.

Reasserting one’s identity through English: feeling proud to be Asian

Although there is an extensive literature on the colonising influence of English on its

users (for example, Pennycook, 1994, 1998; Phillipson, 1992), what the participants

expressed in this study presented a different position. They felt they had colonised

English. Their identities as ‘Asian’ were reclaimed, strengthened and deeply felt in the

ways they asserted their identities in relation to English, their home country, their

people and their status:

It is really amazing how English as an international language can help people fromdifferent cultures and countries to communicate with one another in depth. I understandmore about Chinese culture and what the national identity as a Chinese means to me.I cherish more about the beauty of our language and the depth of our culture and thewidth of our life philosophy. Those things are implicit and unconscious before I goabroad. Through the frequent communication with people from various cultures, I oftenreflect on our own cultures and think more deeply about the importance of being aChinese as well as an intercultural communicator. (S4-China)

I have a strong sense of belonging to my own country. I feel proud of being a Chinese.I am still Chinese. I use English only as a medium of communication. Chinese longhistory, stronger economy, hard-working people, diversified dialects and cultures,various and delicious food, rich resource . . . All of these make me feel so good to beChinese. (S2-China)

I enjoy studying and teaching English in Thailand since I have got the advantages ofbeing an Asian and yet, proficient in English; which I hope could be a role model amongother successful English learners in a non-English speaking country. (S7-Indonesia)

In the same vein, these participants felt that the knowledge they had acquired

through the means of English had helped them be more aware of their identities

as Asian. More data obtained from S2 and S4 revealed that these two participants

tended to appreciate their Chinese culture more when they lived abroad. They

saw the need to learn more about their own culture and country, as they were

identified not just as Asian but as Chinese in particular, in their conversations

with others in English. They felt proud when they could talk about China in

English. This gave them a sense of achievement as English language learners, a

sense of success as intercultural communicators, and a sense of ownership as EIL

users.

To S7 from Indonesia, her self-representation as a successful role model

to other non-native English-speaking learners deconstructs the native speaker

norm deeply embedded in English language teaching and learning (Holliday, 2005)

and further supports the argument for EIL and appropriation of EIL by its

users.

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‘I do not own the language and the language does not own me’

English language has become an international language, and some people may disagreewith me on this issue. However, the truth is that having the ability to communicate inthe language yields is more advantageous if not rewarding. I have been speaking thelanguage for quite some time now but one thing is clear though, I do not own thelanguage and the language does not own me. What I mean is that the gift of this languagehas opened wider doors for me, but I am in no way cloistered by its dazzling world oforigin. In fact, it helped me create a world of my own. (S6-Philippines)

This statement from S6 corresponds to Kramsch’s (1993) concept of the ‘third space’.

She appeared to enjoy her authority over English and be comfortable in her own

‘third space’ constantly created and re-created by her multiple relationships with

English. In addition, her authority over English marked her resistance to the colonial

history associated with the language.

English alone, though important, is not enough

One thing that’s different, though, is that being an international student in Thailand,you need to learn Thai, not English. If you don’t speak Thai, a certain degree of difficultyto get around is there . . . English is the key to do all the courses well in my study, but asto living in Thailand, Thai is more important. (S8-Taiwan)

The acknowledgement that English is important and that it is an international

language does not negate the equal status of other languages. What this participant

from Taiwan expressed about the need to know both English and Thai to function

well in her study and everyday life in Thailand recognises the importance of

multilingualism and the danger and limit of knowing only English. EIL can result in

the appreciation of other languages and in multilingualism (Joseph & Ramani, 2006).

Taking ownership by feeling included and positive as international students

and foreigners in Thailand

All participants reported a positive experience of being an international student and

foreigner in Thailand. They perceived their status as being privileged. Despite a largenumber of foreigners coming from western countries to Thailand, these participants

had not experienced discrimination in the ways they were viewed and treated in

Thai society. Their experience appeared to be the opposite to that of the international

students reported in studies by Koehne (2004) and Lee and Rice (2007) in English-

speaking countries. Neither were they constructed as ‘the international student’ � ‘the

stranger’ as discussed in Coates (2004). Indeed, these students’ Asian backgrounds

may make it easier for them to adjust in Thailand. Nonetheless, it was their own

initiative and determination to take ownership of English and hold firm to their

national cultural identity that played a key role in helping them develop a sense of

confidence and inclusion in the host society:

I feel like an international student in an international environment with students fromdifferent countries in Thailand. I use English to communicate with other internationalstudents and the instructors in our program. All the Thai staff can speak English as well.I enjoy my life as an international student in this university . . . Foreigners feel at home inthis foreign country with reasonable living standard and friendly local people. Studyingin Thailand offers me a lot of opportunities to get in touch with professional academic

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experts and new cutting-edge information in the ELT field. We have easy access toacademic books, journals and internet. We can attend international conference in ourfield. I enjoy my experience in Thailand both as a MA student and as a teacher. I haveenriched my personal interest as well as my academic interest. (S4-China)

Thai people are very friendly and open-hearted to foreigners and especially for me asKorean. For the time I’ve spent in Thailand, I felt very warm and comfortable withpeople. (S5-Korea)

Another wonderful thing during my study here is their hospitality which has made mefeel ‘at home’ in this land of smile. They are very helpful and friendly to us, as foreignersin their country and they really appreciate if we try to speak Thai. (S7-Indonesia)

The positions taken by these students in relation to English suggest that they did not

feel intimidated as Asian foreigners in Thailand. These students seemed to have

obtained the status of who they wanted to become and their ownership of English

seemed to facilitate this growing identity status. Being Asian was not something that

troubled them. They did not apologise for being Asian; in other words, they did not

seem to be self-colonised. But they did not romanticise English either. Instead, being

Asian and reasserting this identity together with their ownership of English appeared

to be their overall perspective. Having said this does not at all suggest that their

identity formation was easy or straightforward. Further data show that while the

cultural politics associated with English (Holliday, 2005; Pennycook, 1994, 1998)

operates in different forms in many current practices, these students’ appropriation of

English had also undergone ‘socially informed struggle and strategic negotiation’

(Canagarajah, 2005, p. xvi). For example, a student from Indonesia wrote:

I also met some people who doubted my English teaching ability; most of the time, thosewho believe in the superiority of native speakers as the only good English teacher.I always believe that language is like other learnable skills, and English is not anexception. This language has served a vast array of purposes all over the world as ameans of communication, rather than a property of certain people. Another botheringissue is about how they relate nativeness to teaching qualification (and salary). Some ofthem only categorize English teachers’ qualification and salary from the physical look,such as native speakers, semi-native speakers (e.g. Polish), foreigners (e.g. Indian) orThais. It seems that as long as you have got the fair skin, blond hair or any Caucasianphysical appearance, you will get higher salary. Well, this is the reality, life must go on;but I hope that as soon as English becomes more universal, people will accept English asthe world language, not a privilege. I do hope so . (S7-Indonesia)

Her belief that English was not a property and a privilege belonging to a certain

group of people and that teachers are ‘made rather than born’ (Phillipson, 1992)

seemed to enable her to look forward to a future in which English, as ‘the world

language’, could help eliminate the harmful practices she had mentioned. I argue that

this position was not at all naı̈ve or rosy. Rather, it tends to consolidate the view that

international users of English will have the authority over it, the view that has been

well documented by many authors (for instance, Brutt-Griffler, 2002; McKay, 2002;

Phan, 2008; Seidlhofer, 2003; Warschauer, 2000).

Taking ownership as teacher of English as an international language (EIL)

As part of their ELT courses, these international students were required to teach for a

few weeks at schools in Bangkok, Thailand. In addition, at the time this study was

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carried out, some of them were teaching English to Thai students in language schools

and to foreigners in Thailand. They also gave private tutoring in English to Thai

school pupils. They did not seem to go through the painful experiences that many of

the teachers in Holliday (2005) reported. Although there were many white native

speakers of English in Thailand, as they mentioned, they did not see this as taking

away their ownership of English. Instead, they felt they had obtained a comfortable

status that represented them well and corresponded to their position in relation to

English. Being properly trained and qualified, speaking other languages plus English,

and understanding various Englishes were their strengths. They did not seem to be

judged against the native speaker and received respect from their students and the

Thai people. Only one student from Indonesia, as reported above, expressed her

concern about the native-worshipping attitude held by a group of individuals, but this

did not suggest that she was mistreated as a teacher there. All of these students

expressed a high level of confidence and professionalism as teachers of the English

language:

As a foreign teacher, I am respected, and treated almost equal comparing with otherwesterner. (S1-China)

Thai students respect teachers a lot. Teachers in Thai have a high authority. (S2-China)

Teaching in Thailand gives me the first-hand experience in an intercultural environment.Thai students are creative in thinking and artistic in talent . . . Students are open-mindedand cooperative in attitude to learn from their respected teachers. (S4-China)

When I came to Bangkok, the limited knowledge expanded with theories and experiencein an EFL classroom . . . The realization of making Thai students feel confident in theirability to use the language as a means of communication in and outside the classroomdepends so much on the interaction which takes place in class became a driving force todo more for them. Also, the different perspective of learning and teaching between meand my students I think has made my teaching experience a little bit more of anadventure and a meaningful. Aside from the language, we also learned culture, tolerance,and harmony. At the end of the journey, friendship became possible. (S6-Phillipines)

I enjoy studying and teaching English in Thailand since I have got the advantages ofbeing an Asian and yet, proficient in English; which I hope could be a role model amongother successful English learners in a non-English speaking country. I really want toinspire them to be more confident and motivated to learn English since we have gonethrough more or less similar path to attain English proficiency. (S7-Indonesia)

I have taught conversation classes at a university in Thailand, helping the undergraduatestudents to improve their English oral and aural ability. (S8-Taiwan)

While previous studies have indicated an inferiority complex among non-native

teachers of English (Brutt-Griffler & Samimy, 1999), their painful experiences in

various contexts (Holliday, 2005) and their internal struggles to overcome these

experiences as well as their journeys to reclaim their identities (Koh, 2008), what

the international English teacher students in this study perceived of themselves

seemed ideal and very different. It may be that what they had learned in their ELT

course had prepared them for the cultural politics of English and their teaching

contexts were more accepting to diversity and difference. But above all, their

proactive appropriation of English tended to empower them more than any other

factor.

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Conclusions and implications

Situated in the context and debates surrounding EIL and in the existing literature on

international students from Asia, this article has demonstrated that many of the

stereotypes about Asian international students are not always valid. Asian

international students need to be seen as individuals in terms of who they are,

who they want to be and who they could become. By the same token, their relation to

English need not be simply as ‘victims of the language’ as they are often portrayed in

the literature.

The students participating in this study enjoyed multiple positions with respect to

English and identified themselves with English in diverse ways. Their multiple

identities were constructed around English and their being Asian but not at all in a

static and patronising manner as assumed and claimed by some of the earlier studies

cited above. Rather, their identities were produced and reproduced in complex,

dynamic and sophisticated ways, around their negotiations of available options and

awareness of possibilities, and their proactive creation of new self-constructions that

were relevant and meaningful to their sense of self. Their taking ownership of English

seemed to permeate and facilitate all these processes. This article presents the voices

that need to be heard more in the literature.

Note on contributor

Dr Phan Le Ha is a lecturer in the Faculty of Education, Monash University Australia and

holds honorary lecturer positions at universities in Vietnam. Her teaching and research areas

include English as an international language, identity, language and culture, TESOL, culture

and pedagogy, creative and academic writing, and internationalisation of education. Phan Le

Ha has published in international refereed journals and books. Her recent book with

Multilingual Matters (UK), Teaching English as an International Language: Identity, Resistance

and Negotiation (2008), examines how EIL teachers see themselves as professionals and

individuals in relation to their work practices, and reveals the tensions, compromises,

negotiations and resistance in their enactment of different roles and selves, especially when

they are exposed to values often associated with the English-speaking West. Phan Le Ha has

also been invited to speak and be part of symposia at international conferences in different

countries.

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