Plenary by Susan Barduhn

This plenary talk considers the effect of expatriate teachers as a historical, cultural movement.

About the session

A few years ago I did some research on the cultural identity of expatriate teachers of English around the world, and one respondent declared that if English were a drug, expatriate teachers would be the dealers. Dr. Bill Johnston of Indiana University has written about the moral dimension of English language teaching, and in particular once drew provocative parallels between EFL teachers and medieval knights errant. In this talk I am going to explore these metaphors and argue that the phenomenon of expatriate English teachers could be considered a historical, cultural movement. I will then consider a new drug: Mandarin as a Foreign Language, and consider the effects that Chinese expatriate teachers might have as language dealers.

About the speaker

Dr Susan Barduhn is a Professor at SIT Graduate Institute in the U.S., where she is also Academic Chair of the MA TESOL Low Residency Program and former Director of the Teacher Training and Professional Development Institute. Her career has spanned the roles of teacher, trainer, supervisor, manager, assessor and consultant; and she has worked for extended periods in Kenya, the UK, Switzerland, Colombia, Spain and Portugal. Susan Barduhn is a Past President of IATEFL; the former Director of The Language Center, Nairobi; and was Deputy Director of International House, London. Her areas of interest and research are cultural identity, teacher and trainer development, teacher thinking, and intercultural communication.

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