When multilingual competence becomes liability: native-speakerism and ESA returnee discrimination in Korean education

Abstract

This study examines how native-speakerism and standard language ideology intersect to create systematic linguistic discrimination against early study abroad (ESA) returnees in Korean public education. Focusing on the experiences of 30 ESA returnees in South Korea, this study examines how these interconnected ideologies create systematic patterns of linguistic discrimination against ESA returnee students who have acquired multilingual competencies through their overseas experiences. The stories of ESA returnee students illustrate how educational institutions serve as key sites for reproducing language ideological hierarchies that systematically undermine the very multilingual competencies that Korean society claims to value. These findings contribute to understanding the contested nature of multilingualism in Korean educational contexts and highlight the need for more inclusive language-in-education policies that recognise the complex linguistic realities of transnational students.

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