Professionalization and Exclusion in ESL Teaching

Abstract

As ESL/EFL teachers, how do we fit into the spectrum between unskilled workers and highly trained professionals? This article examines three features of thetraditional professions and applies them to the ESL/EFL context. It considers problems with the lack ofmandatory standardized certification, critically assesses attachment to the university, and examines the role of the professional organization in raising the status of the occupation. The article concludes by calling for further empirical inquiry into the working conditions ofEnglish-language teachers. In this way, we will be able to make informed choices about the direction our profession should take.