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2025 - Volume 8 - Number 2

Identity and Ideology: A Case Study of Non-Native English-Speaking Teachers (NNESTs) on the US-Mexico Border

Gonzalo Hugo Favela Camacho * ORCID: 0000-0002-4226-1909
The University of Texas at El Paso, College of Education, El Paso, Texas, UNITED STATES

Open Journal for Studies in Linguistics, 2025, 8(2), 21-32 * https://doi.org/10.32591/coas.ojsl.0802.01021f
Received: 17 February 2025 ▪ Revised: 11 August 2025 ▪ Accepted: 25 December 2025

LICENCE: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

ARTICLE (Full Text - PDF)

ABSTRACT:
With a global population of 7.8 billion (Worldometer, 2020), approximately 1.5 billion are English language learners (British Council, 2019), necessitating a substantial teaching workforce. Interestingly, out of the approximately 15 million English teachers worldwide, 80 percent are Non-Native English-Speaking Teachers (NNESTs). Despite the high demand for English education, anti-NNEST ideologies persist, reinforcing that native speakers are inherently superior instructors, regardless of their pedagogical qualifications. This study, grounded in the LangCrit theoretical framework (Crump, 2014), employs a qualitative case study approach to examine the professional experiences, identities, and language ideologies of five NNESTs in a bilingual border community. Unlike most research around NNESTs, which focuses on non-English-dominant countries, this study takes place in the United States, specifically along the US-Mexico border. By exploring NNESTs’ challenges, collaborations, and ideologies, the study provides valuable insights into their role in language education and challenges prevailing stereotypes.

KEY WORDS: bilingual education, identities, language ideologies, Non-Native English Speakers Teachers (NNESTs), professional experiences.

CORRESPONDING AUTHOR:
Gonzalo Hugo Favela Camacho, The University of Texas at El Paso, College of Education, El Paso, Texas, USA.

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