Job advertisements for English teachers in the Saudi Arabian context: Discourses of discrimination and inequity

Abstract

This article looks at how job advertisements for recruiting English teachers in the Saudi Preparatory Year Programs promote bias and inequity. Based on analysis of 25 job advertisements targeting overseas applicants, the article reports three kinds of selection criteria: professional, demographic, and personal qualities. Although these criteria include a wide range of requirements, speakerhood status was identified as the primary qualification in most of the advertisements. Therefore, this article argues that discrimination based on speakerhood status and country of origin is practised in the recruitment of teachers of English as a foreign language, and the TESOL community needs to problematize the discourses of native speakerism that create unequal status among English language teachers. This article concludes by presenting a number of recommendations to avoid professional inequity and to enhance advocacy and empowerment in TESOL.