5 for 5 - E66 Relaunch - “Being a native speaker isn’t a qualification" (with Meri Maroutian)

As we celebrate five years of The Teacher Think-Aloud Podcast, we’re revisiting some of the conversations that have most shaped our thinking—and, we hope, yours. These episodes reflect the heart of our work: thoughtful dialogue, reflective practice, professional growth, and courageous conversations about what it truly means to teach English in a complex, evolving world.Whether you’re listening for the first time or returning with new classroom experiences behind you, we invite you to engage with this episode through fresh eyes. Notice what resonates differently. Consider how your thinking has evolved. Reflection is not a destination—it’s an ongoing practice. Thank you for being part of this community for the past five years. Here’s to the next chapter of thinking aloud together.----In this episode, we dive into the pervasive issue of native speakerism in English Language Teaching with educator and advocate Meri Maroutian.Meri shares her journey into the profession, the biases she’s faced, and the reflective, practical tools she now offers to help others tackle this issue—like her three-part masterclass designed to dismantle accent bias and outdated teaching models.We also hear from listeners about how native speakerism has impacted them, and reflect on how all of us—whether classroom teachers, trainers, or administrators—can work toward a more equitable profession.💡 Reflect with us:How do your materials, practices, or hiring processes reinforce or challenge native speaker bias? What steps can you take to prioritize qualifications and intelligibility over perceived nativeness?🎧 Related Resources:Episode 13 - The Delicate Dance of EnglishEpisode 14 - Representation: More than just a stock photoEpisode 17 – The Benefits of Formal TESOL TrainingEpisode 18 – Book Review: Race, Empire, and English Language TeachingE46 - Challenging inequities toward multilingual teachers (with Alex Tang & Carine Saucillo)Meri Maroutian’s Masterclass on Systemic BiasConnect with Meri:Instagram @the_non_native_speakerThenonnativespeaker.comChapters00:00 Podcast Turns Five00:20 Relaunch Episode Spotlight02:04 Sponsor Break02:24 Native Speaker Bias Setup04:00 Meet Meri Maroutian06:25 Music Icebreakers08:25 Defining Native Speakerism11:23 Hiring Bias And Gatekeeping13:47 Credentials And Pay Gaps18:03 Awareness To Action20:37 Where Bias Shows Up21:22 CV Games And Integrity24:39 Accent Bias Goes Viral25:41 English as Lingua Franca27:34 Listener Stories of Bias30:20 Challenging Systemic ELT Bias31:05 Masterclass Part One Accents35:40 Masterclass Part Two Methods36:27 Masterclass Part Three Pronunciation37:52 Rethinking Pronunciation Priorities42:38 Qualifications Over Nativeness45:05 Stakeholder Reflection Wrap Up#NativeSpeakerism #ELTEquity #MultilingualTeachers #GlobalEnglishes #PronunciationMatters #LanguageEducation #ReflectiveTeaching #TeacherThinkAloud