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Xiangying Huo

Higher Education
Internationalization
and English
Language
Instruction
Intersectionality of Race and Language
in Canadian Universities
Higher Education Internationalization and English
Language Instruction
Xiangying Huo

Higher Education
Internationalization
and English Language
Instruction
Intersectionality of Race and Language
in Canadian Universities

123
Xiangying Huo
University of Toronto
Toronto, Canada

ISBN 978-3-030-60598-8 ISBN 978-3-030-60599-5 (eBook)

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-60599-5
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In memory of my mother Xiaoping Yang,
my grandmother Chenyan Fu,
and grandfather Guangxu Yang
Preface

With globalization and internationalization, English has increasingly enjoyed the

status of “global language” (Crystal, 1997), “international language” (Llurda,
2004), and “Lingua Franca” (Sifakis & Tsantila, 2019; Wong & Dubey-Jhaveri,
2015). In fact, at present there are more people speaking English as their second
language (L2) throughout the world than native speakers of English (Llurda, 2004),
and the use of English is not limited to native-speaking contexts (Widdowson,
1994).
As a result of English’s expanding status as a world language, there is an
increased demand for qualified English language teachers. Native English speakers
are insufficient to satisfy the global demand for English language courses. It is
estimated that over 80% of positions within the English language teaching pro-
fessions worldwide are taken up by non-native speakers (Canagarajah, 2005), and
that there are four non-native English-speaking teachers to one native speaker
(Braine, 1999). Also noteworthy is that in most contexts, English is instructed by
non-native teachers to non-native students, and that it is likely that members of
neither category have communicated with a native speaker before in their lives
(Kachru & Nelson, 1996).
In recent years, there has been considerable debate on what characteristics rep-
resent the ideal English speaker qua language teacher, mostly revolving around the
notion of the “native speaker” (Llurda, 2009). English, with a colonial history and as
an imperial legacy, has created the native speaker-non-native speaker dichotomy, a
hegemonic construct that assumes a monocultural and monolingual lens as a frame
of reference. It has thus become challenging for non-native English-speaking
teachers to teach English and questions of identity and legitimacy of non-native
English-speaking teachers and their students have become central to these debates.
I am one of many non-native, English language speakers working as English
language teachers throughout the world. While my situation might be considered
unique were it to apply to a teacher of a language that does not enjoy pre-eminent
status within a broad international sphere, it is not an isolated case in the Canadian
context where English is a language of power, a commodity, and a medium for
multiculturalism.

vii
viii Preface

By way of background: I was born and raised in China where I completed a B.

A., with a major in English. I hold a master’s degree in Language Learning and
Education from the University of York in England. I taught English at the uni-
versity level in China for over a decade. In September 2011, I began my doctoral
studies as a Ph.D. student in a Faculty of Education at a major, cosmopolitan
institution of higher learning in Canada and was hired as a university writing
instructor. I was pleased to learn that I was assigned to work as an instructor
attached to a Writing Center with a mandate to assist students from diverse lin-
guistic and cultural backgrounds with their academic writing for their degrees.
Almost half of the students who visit the Writing Center (affiliated with the
Writing Department) are ESL or EFL students. The former chair of the Writing
Department informed me that I was the only non-native English-speaking teacher to
be employed at the Writing Center in the last ten years. He expressed confidence
that my cultural and linguistic background would prove a valuable resource for the
Writing Center, and that my experiences, strategies, and perspectives would enrich
those of native English-speaking teachers with whom students would also come in
contact and, in this manner, help students to attain their academic goals.
I was thrilled at the prospect of this new placement! This was work with which I
was familiar and felt comfortable. Following a difficult and tortuous process of
moving to my New World home, I hoped that I had at long last found a niche where
I belonged.
However, my book does not constitute a narrative about belonging. Instead, my
research odyssey has entailed a complex, intellectual pathway to understanding of
how it is that I have become disenfranchised with regard to the English language or,
how I have acquired non-expertise in an area in which I had previously been
recognized as an authority (Schecter et al., 2014). For it has indeed been my
experience that during my employ as instructor at the Writing Center for the aca-
demic years 2012–2016, my qualifications and consequently professional identity
as an ESL teacher have repeatedly been brought into question. It is clear to me that
my students’ perceptions of me are significantly different from those of my former
students in China, who never found cause to question my authority as an English
professor. It is also clear that some students held/hold resistant, even antagonistic,
attitudes toward me and have determined not to revisit me for writing assistance.
Moreover—and this has been perhaps the most unsettling aspect of my voyage to
dis-enfranchisement—my credentials have been challenged not only by White,
native English-speaking North American students, but by non-White immigrant
students as well, some of them from my own linguistic and ethnic background!
Ironically, as a hybrid product of the Chinese, British, and Canadian education
systems, I have become familiar with various cultures and different writing con-
ventions. Being myself a commuter, I am able to assist my students to shuttle
between the North American academic culture and their cultures of origin
(Canagarajah, 2006). Notwithstanding my rich and varied international teaching
experience as well as acquired intercultural competence, my strengths are neither
acknowledged nor valued, but instead regarded by some of my students as weak-
nesses and deficiencies. However, one light in this tunnel is that through the
Preface ix

frameworks for conceptualization that I was able to access during the course of my
research, I am able to problematize, and begin to understand, the collection of
personal, academic, and professional experiences that have brought me to this
peculiar place.
With my teaching experience at the Canadian higher education Writing Center
as an example, this book attempts to open a broader discussion by highlighting the
intersections of power, race, and ideology as they relate to issues of identity and
legitimacy of non-native English-speaking teachers. The book reveals that ques-
tions of identity and legitimacy of non-native English-teachers are complex and
dependent on the power, race, and ideology of both the students and the instructors.
Students demonstrated initial resistance in accepting the identity of their
Non-Native English-Speaking (NNES) teacher and also questioned their NNES
teacher’s legitimacy and knowledge; however, their perceptions also evolved over
time, eventually shifting to appreciation and acceptance.
The book aims to shed new light on theory, policy, and practice of the inter-
nationalization of higher education, pushing a revisioning of ESL in conceptual and
pedagogical ways. Through the theoretical lens, it offers new understanding of the
implications of pluralism and of transnational movements to higher education and
the construct of a “native speaker” within contemporary globalization processes.
Theoretically, it calls for a revisioned English as an International Language
(EIL) pedagogy and a wider acceptance of EIL and of World Englishes by chal-
lenging the postsecondary education sector to change the discourse around lan-
guage proficiency to one that engages the “pluralism of English” (Kachru, 1992,
p. 11). From the applied perspective, it works on neo-racism which means racism
goes beyond color to stereotypic foreign cultures, nationalities, and exotic accents
based on cultural distinctions instead of merely skin differences. It uncovers the
limited exposure students have to non-native English-speaking instructors and to
diverse teachers, thus raising fundamental questions about the role of universities in
challenging racism and implementing ethical internationalization to tackle global
hierarchy and hegemony.
This book is suitable to scholars, researchers, and professionals in English
Language Teaching (ELT), applied linguistics, educational linguistics, sociolin-
guistics, anti-racist education, writing pedagogy, critical multilingual studies,
Writing Center studies, and those who are interested in the research of Non-Native
English-Speaking (NNES) teachers in ELT and the area of teaching English cross
culturally and translingually in higher education classrooms. The book will be
particularly useful to non-native teacher candidates, language teachers, and
advanced students in TESOL/ESL programs.

Xiangying Huo
University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
x Preface

References

Braine, G. (1999). Introduction. In G. Braine (Ed.), Non-native educators in English language

teaching (pp. xiii–xx). Mahwah: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Canagarajah, A. S. (Ed.). (2005). Reclaiming the local in language policy and practice. Mahwah,
NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Canagarajah, A. S. (2006). Toward a writing pedagogy of shuttling between languages: Learning
from multilingual writers. College English, 68(6), 589–604.
Crystal, D. (1997). English as a global language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Kachru, B. B. (1992). World Englishes: Approaches, issues and resources. Language Teaching, 25
(1), 1–14.
Kachru, B. B., & Nelson, C. L. (1996). World Englishes. In S. L. McKay & N.H. Hornberger
(Eds.), Sociolinguistics and language teaching (pp. 71–102). Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press.
Llurda, E. (2004). Non-native-speaker teachers and English as an international language.
International Journal of Applied Linguistics, 14(3), 314–323.
Llurda, E. (2009). The decline and fall of the native speaker. In V. Cook & L. Wei (Eds.),
Contemporary applied linguistics: Language teaching and learning (pp. 37–53). London:
Continuum International Publishing Group.
Schecter, S. R., Parejo, I. G., Ambadiang, T., & James, C. (2014). Schooling transnational
speakers of the societal language: Language variation policy-making in Madrid and Toronto.
Language Policy, 13, 121-144.
Sifakis, N. C., & Tsantila, N. (Eds.). (2019). English as a Lingua Franca for EFL Contexts.
Bristol: Mulilingual Matters.
Widdowson, H. G. (1994). The ownership of English. TESOL Quarterly, 28(2), 377–381.
Wong, L. T., & Dubey-Jhaveri, A. (2015). English language education in a global world:
Practices, issues and challenges. New York: Novia Science.
Acknowledgements

This book is a revision of my Ph.D. dissertation. First, I give my big thanks to my

supervisors Dr. Sandra R. Schecter and Dr. Carl James for their wisdom, erudition,
and farsightedness, and my amazing committee—Dr. Roopa Desai-Trilokekar and
Dr. Neita Israelite.
I thank my participants in the research, all anonymous reviewers, Springer
editors Helen van der Stelt, Jolanda Voogd, Natalie Rieborn, Cynthia Kroonen,
Jordan Elorta Cation, project coordinator Jayanthi Krishnamoorthi, project manager
Gowtham Chakravarthy, and the dedicated Springer team.
I am grateful to my friends Jie Li, Guojun Wang, and Zach Abel for their support
and encouragement all these years!
I thank my family for their unfailing support.
I thank my mother Xiaoping Yang who was my life model. I have benefited
considerably from her in every aspect of my life. I feel indebted to my grandparents
Yanfu Chen and Guangxu Yang who raised me and educated me.
I would also like to express my heartfelt thanks to my father Xiaolin Huo for his
high expectations, rigorous education, and tough love.
I thank my husband Ming Ni who has sacrificed everything to accompany me to
Canada to help me fulfill my dream. I feel extremely fortunate and appreciative of
his companion, encouragement, support, and love.

xi
Contents

1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.2 Colonization: English as a Language of Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
1.3 Globalization: English as a Commodity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
1.4 Internationalization of Higher Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
1.4.1 International Students . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
1.4.2 Internationalizing Curriculum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
1.4.3 International Teachers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
1.5 English as a Medium for Multiculturalism Within
the Canadian Context . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ............ 10
1.6 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ............ 11
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ............ 12
2 Conceptual Frameworks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
2.1 Bourdieu: “Cultural Capital” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
2.2 Bourdieu: The Notion of “Legitimate Language” . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
2.2.1 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
2.3 Critical Race Theory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
2.3.1 The Centrality and Intersectionality of Race
and Racism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
2.3.2 The Challenge to Dominant Ideology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
2.3.3 No Space Is Neutral . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
2.3.4 The Commitment to Social Justice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
2.3.5 The Centrality of Experiential Knowledge . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
2.3.6 The Interdisciplinary Perspective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
2.3.7 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
2.4 Intersection of Two Theoretical Frameworks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

xiii
xiv Contents

3 The Proliferation of English as a “World” Language . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

3.1 Overview of World Englishes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
3.2 Responses to English as a World Language . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
3.3 Sociolinguistic Debates on Native Speakerism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
3.3.1 Definitions of “Native Speaker” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
3.3.2 Native Speaker and Non-native Speaker Dichotomy . . . . . 44
3.3.3 Linguistic Norm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
3.3.4 Native Status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
3.4 Native-Speakerism as Hegemony . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
3.4.1 Native Speaker Myths . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
3.4.2 Linguistic Imperialism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
3.4.3 Native Speaker Fallacy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
3.4.4 Standardization as Ideology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
4 Review of Research on Teachers of English as an International
Language . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... 61
4.1 Advantages and Effectiveness of Non-native Language
Teachers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... 62
4.2 Students’ Perceptions of Non-native English-Speaking
Teachers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
4.3 Challenges Facing Non-native English-Speaking Teachers . . . . . . 67
4.3.1 Linguistic Challenges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
4.3.2 Sociopolitical Challenges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
4.3.3 Hiring Challenges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
4.4 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
5 Methodology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
5.1 Research Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
5.2 Research Site . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
5.3 Participants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
5.3.1 Demographic Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
5.3.2 Purposeful Sampling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
5.4 A Qualitative Research Approach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
5.5 An Autoethnographic Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
5.5.1 Autoethnography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
5.6 Data Collection Strategies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
5.6.1 Reflective Journal Entries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
5.6.2 Autobiographic Interviews . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
5.6.3 Fieldnotes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
5.7 Data Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
Contents xv

5.8 Researcher’s Positionality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87

5.9 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
6 Study Findings 1: Students’ Perceptions of the Role of English
and English Language Instructors’ Characteristics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
6.1 Students’ Socio-Historical Locations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
6.1.1 Family Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
6.1.2 Sociocultural Locations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
6.1.3 Sociopolitical Identities and Positions in the Canadian
Society . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
6.2 Students’ Views on the Role of English . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
6.3 Students’ Perceptions of Native and Non-native
English-Speaking Instructors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
6.3.1 The Default English Language Teacher: “A Walking
Dictionary.” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
6.3.2 Students’ Perceptions of Native versus Non-native
English-Speaking Instructors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
6.4 Students’ Evolving Perceptions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
7 Study Findings 2: A Non-native English Language Instructor’s
Experiences at a Higher Institution Writing Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
7.1 Site 1: At the Writing Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
7.1.1 Linguistic Issues: “Have You Tutored Any Student
in My Program?” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
7.1.2 Sociocultural Issues: “I Don’t Think You Know It.” . . . . . 124
7.1.3 Racialized Stereotypes: “You Don’t Look like
a Professor Maybe Because of Your Nationality.” . . . . . . . 126
7.1.4 Summary of Site 1 Findings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
7.2 Site 2: The New Online Booking System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
7.2.1 No Appointments: “It Is so Weird to See a Chinese
Name Among All Other Names.” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
7.2.2 Late Appointments: “Your Appointment Was
the Only One Vacant.” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
7.2.3 Early Appointments: “My Instructor Is Unavailable
Today.” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
7.2.4 Full Appointments: “I Am not Sure Whether I’ll Be
Able to Book You Next Week.” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
7.2.5 Summary of Site 2 Findings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
7.3 Site 3: The Drop-in Service in the Library . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
7.3.1 Summary of Site 3 Findings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
xvi Contents

7.4 Reflections on My Evolving Status as a Writing Instructor . . . . . . 140

7.4.1 From the Periphery to the Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
7.4.2 A Skillful Substitute . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
7.4.3 Trouble Shooter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
7.4.4 Empowerment: A Legitimate English Instructor
at the Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
8 Discussion and Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
8.1 Synthesis of Study Findings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
8.1.1 Oral Communication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
8.1.2 Contrastive Rhetoric . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
8.1.3 Curriculum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
8.1.4 Personal Attributes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
8.1.5 The System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
8.2 Implications of the Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150
8.2.1 Theoretical Implications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150
8.2.2 Applied Implications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
8.3 Limitations of the Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
8.4 Concluding Remarks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155

Appendix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
About the Author

Dr. Xiangying Huo, teaching at the University of Toronto, is a writing specialist

and English language learning expert. Dr. Huo has taught English at the university
level in Canada and China for over two decades. She has taught undergraduates and
graduate students academic writing across a variety of disciplines. Her research
interests include writing studies, applied linguistics, ESL/EFL policy and pedagogy,
Writing Center studies, internationalization in higher education, intercultural and
cross-cultural teaching and learning, anti-racism education, language ideology, and
World Englishes.

xvii
Abbreviations

CRT Critical Race Theory

EFL English as a Foreign Language
EIL English as an International Language
ELL English Language Learning
ELT English Language Teaching
ESL English as a Second Language
ESOL English to Speakers of Other Languages
L1 First Language
L2 Second Language
NES Native English Speaker
NNES Non-Native English Speaker
NNS Non-Native Speaker
NS Native Speaker
SLA Second Language Acquisition
TESOL Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages

xix
List of Tables

Table 5.1 Social and demographic features of student participants. . . . . .. 81

Table 6.1 Respondents’ rationales for the importance of English . . . . . . . . 104
Table 6.2 Respondents’ perceived advantages of native English-
speaking instructors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
Table 6.3 Respondents’ perceived disadvantages of native English-
speaking instructors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
Table 6.4 Respondents’ perceived advantages of non-native English-
speaking instructors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
Table 6.5 Respondents’ perceived disadvantages of non-native
instructors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114

xxi
Chapter 1
Introduction

Abstract In this chapter, I discuss the role of English from being a language of power
in colonization to a commodity in globalization and a medium for multiculturalism
in Canada. I engage the issue of what it means to be a non-native English language
speaker working as an English language instructor in a Canadian university. Instead
of being a Canadian thing, this issue is broadly shared by the global sphere in the
English language teaching professions through the passageway of a discussion of
processes of globalization that have led to western institutions of higher education
pursuing strategies of internationalization. I also summarize the research on the
influence of these changes on international students and international faculty. As
internationalization in higher education produces high academic mobility, there is
an increasing number of international students choosing to pursue their studies at
English-speaking countries. However, international students are viewed as cultural
others and their languages are devalued. Deficit models of language proficiency are
attributed as one of the key reasons accounting for the phenomenon. The English
proficiency of ESL students is judged against the standardized native speaker norm
and this entrenched perception has deeply permeated into English language teaching.
Regarding international teachers, there is an underrepresentation of international
faculty on campuses. Many faculty members lack adequate training and experience
in teaching diverse student population.

Keywords English · Internationalization · Globalization · International students ·

Deficiency models · Curriculum · International teachers · Multiculturalism

1.1 Introduction

Contemporary adult migration has introduced unique complexities and posed unique
challenges for higher education, particularly in the North American context, where
within institutions of higher learning both students and teachers who are non-native
to the host culture interact, not only with those who are familiar with the host society
but with one another as well. Because the stakes for the success of such displacements
are high, and also because these interactions are at risk by virtue of students’ distances

© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license 1
to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
X. Huo, Higher Education Internationalization and English Language Instruction,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-60599-5_1
2 1 Introduction

from the linguistic and cultural norms that underlay the institution’s academic expec-
tations, sites of higher learning within North America have been obliged to intro-
duce support mechanisms to mediate between students and course curricula within a
variety of disciplinary areas, with idiosyncratic disciplinary norms (Casanave, 2002).
One such support mechanism is the tutorial center, staffed largely by instructors
who are students pursuing graduate study within the host institution. This book will
investigate the challenges and opportunities represented by these complex processes
through the prism of a case study of the relations between one instructor in such a
tutorial center and her students. However, before proceeding with this narrative, I
would first provide some broader contextualization for the processes referenced in
this introductory statement.

1.2 Colonization: English as a Language of Power

Kachru (1986), pre-eminent scholar on the status of English as a world language,

has qualified English as “a colonial language” (p. 5) and “a language for oppres-
sion” (Ansre, 1979, as cited in Kachru, 1986, p. 13). Kachru (1986) and Strevens
(1992a) trace the historical effects of the colonial origin of English on non-native
speakers and non-native varieties, linking their analyses to two diasporas concerning
the expansion of English related to colonialism (Kachru & Nelson, 1996, 2006). From
a historical perspective, the first “diaspora” occurred as the British empire colonized
North America, Australia, and New Zealand. Consequently, English spread from a
distant island to two large continents (Pennycook, 2010). The second “diaspora” was
the outcome of colonialism in Asia and Africa (Kachru & Nelson, 1996). Although
English was “exported” (Seidlhofer, 2011, p. 3) to the colonies by a small number
of English speakers, it flourished among a greater number of indigenous people and
grew into an important language (Kachru & Nelson, 1996, 2006). Various Englishes
came into being during the colonial age, manifesting local people’s identities and
the unique features of their native languages. The far-reaching influence of these
multifarious institutionalized Englishes persisted until the post-colonialism period
(Seidlhofer, 2011).
Colonization is explained by Canagarajah (1999) as follows: “in this form of
geopolitical relationship, communities related to each other in a hierarchical and
unilateral fashion. The dominant communities assumed the superiority of their
cultural and social systems, even that of their language, and attempted to spread their
influence at the cost of local traditions” (p. 230). Colonialism, viewed by Pennycook
(2001) as “global capitalism” (p. 66), is “about far more than just economic and polit-
ical exploitation; it was also a massive movement that both produced and in turn was
produced by colonial cultures and ideologies” (p. 67). One of the major consequences
of the expansion of English is that it has brought forth issues of power and ideology
(Kachru & Nelson, 1996, 2006). English became a token of privilege of the dominant
caste (Canagarajah, 1999; Kachru & Quirk, 1981). Kachru and Quirk (1981) note that
the diffusion and utilization of English have demonstrated the political power and
1.2 Colonization: English as a Language of Power 3

impact of English-speaking countries. Language has given way to power which is in

the hands of the ruling elites (Mufwene, 2002). The predominant role of English was
solidified when the United States became the leading economic and political power
in the world (Mesthrie & Bhatt, 2008; Pennycook, 2010; Seidlhofer, 2011).
Coupled with opportunities, English has also created economic, social, and polit-
ical obstacles and perpetrated injustice and inequalities across the globe (Tollefson,
1991, as cited in Pennycook, 2010, p. 116). Kachru and Nelson (2006) document
that English colonizers acted as “linguistic codifiers, and gatekeepers” (p. 18) in
judging whether non-native English speakers were eligible to share their resources
by becoming users of English. As a result, multiple dichotomies have been created
between, for example, British and American English, codified English and non-
codified Englishes, and native speakers and non-native speakers. Moreover, there
has been considerable contention over issues such as “whose language is this?”,
what is the norm? (p. 10), and how to assess English proficiency/ies (Canagarajah,
2006). These issues will be explored in greater detail in Chaps. 3 and 4.

1.3 Globalization: English as a Commodity

Giddens (1990, p. 64), as cited in Block (2008, p. 31), defines globalization as

“the intensification of worldwide social relations which link distant localities in
such a way that local happenings are shaped by events occurring many miles away
and vice versa.” The power and inequities established as a result of colonization
have been further entrenched given recent trends in globalization. Globalization
processes accumulate power and wealth for the countries that already have amassed
resources. Although there is an increasing trend in the movement from the south
to the south (e.g., between African and Asia countries), developed northern coun-
tries that possess advanced knowledge and technology still dictate “international
academic mobility” and stand to gain the most profits (Altbach & Knight, 2007,
p. 291). With the increasing trend toward globalization, it has been argued that the
world has become a “global village” (McLuhan & Powers, 1989). Pennycook (2010)
indicates that “Globalization is not only about economic processes, but political,
technological and cultural processes as well.” Triggered by capitalism, globalization
is tied to “international capital” (p. 113). As “a cause and consequence of global-
ization” (Seidlhofer, 2011), English has become a “world language” (Mair, 2003)
and a commodity (Block, 2008; Rajagopalan, 2005). This means that English has
gained value and currency to acquire linguistic capital and power (Kachru, 1986).
The economic value of English is therefore allocated significant importance in the
job market. Therefore, the learning of English on the part of non-native speakers is
becoming more significant. Two outcomes of the commodification of language are:
the imposed monetary connotations of the language (Block, 2008, p. 35) and the
4 1 Introduction

interpretation of language “as measurable skill, as to a talent, or an inalienable char-

acteristic of group members” (Heller, 1996, as cited in Block, 2008, p. 35). Conse-
quently, minority people’s languages are devalued, and these people are financially
disfranchised and excluded (Heller, 1996, as cited in Block, 2008, p. 35).
Knight (2012) asserts that one significant dimension of globalization is interna-
tional migration. The current scale of international mobility is at an unprecedented
rate of increase. “Cross-border education” (p. 36), namely, addressed by Knight
(2007) as “transnational, offshore, and borderless education,” has gained in popu-
larity. Migrants in this academically mobile market are diverse, ranging from inter-
national students to teachers, scholars, and researchers (Knight, 2012). Intensifying
these global trends has been the push towards internationalization of higher educa-
tion adopted by institutions of higher education, and qualified as a strategy in “the
toolkit of responses available (primarily at institutional and national levels) to address
the many and diverse opportunities and imperatives presented by the overwhelming
forces of globalization” (Rumbley, Altbach, & Reisberg, 2012, p. 4).

1.4 Internationalization of Higher Education

Internationalization of education is defined by Knight (2003) as “the process of inte-

grating an international, intercultural or global dimension into the purpose, functions
or delivery of post-secondary education” (p. 2). Knight (1999) distinguishes between
the dynamics of globalization and internationalization in this manner: “Globalization
can be thought of as the catalyst while internationalization is the response, albeit a
response in a proactive way” (p. 14), and more specifically, “Internationalization is
changing the world of higher education, and globalization is changing the world of
internationalization” (Knight, 2004, p. 5).
If globalization is a “process” (Knight, 2012, p. 30) and an inevitable political,
economic, and social tendency in the new era, internationalization is open to multiple
options, by focusing on policies and strategies in face of the globalized higher educa-
tion setting (Altbach & Knight, 2007; Altbach, Reisberg, & Rumbley, 2009). Inter-
nationalization embraces both “at home” and “abroad” dimensions (Knight, 2012,
p. 27). It aims at curricula enrichment, educational quality and reputation, compe-
titions, reforms, as well as financial profits (Rumbley, Altbach, & Reisberg, 2012).
Internationalization is driven by political, social, academic, and economic forces
among which the economic motivation ranks as the top triggering factor. Internation-
alization is believed to be a strategic goal of higher education “as a compelling agent
of change in its own right” and also as “a potent catalyst for new models” (Rumbley
et al., 2012). Although original rationales and expected results are to provide access,
address needs of a diverse population, and promote citizens’ awareness of obligations
(Altbach & Knight, 2007), it is facing great risks of being privatized, commoditized,
and commercialized (IAU, 2014; Knight, 2012; Rumbley et al., 2012). The esca-
lating market-orientation of internationalization has raised ethical concerns for higher
education, foremost amongst which is the fostering of elitism. Since the expenses
1.4 Internationalization of Higher Education 5

of international education are high, only those students from affluent families are
able to be internationally mobile while the majority of students born into families
with low socioeconomic status are deprived of opportunities of studying abroad.
Therefore, international education is restricted to the privileged class. However, in
the United Kingdom, the situation is somewhat different. Eriksen (1995) finds “the
transformation from an elite to a mass system of higher education in the UK” (p. 14).
Williams and Filippakou (2010) show that despite elite education still at the core,
the official policies in the UK help “widen participation in higher education” (p. 19).
Second, with large resources flowing from developing countries into devel-
oped countries, poorer developing countries suffer from “brain drain” and there-
fore further disadvantage whereas richer developed countries enjoy “brain gain”
and increased advantage. Therefore, internationalization has produced unevenly
allocated resources and unequal opportunities between counties, regions, higher
institutions, and individuals (Knight, 2012; Rumbley et al., 2012). Additionally,
higher education is viewed as a private merchandise instead of a public account-
ability (Altbach & Knight, 2007; Rumbley et al., 2012). Finally, not surprisingly,
there have been numerous claims linking internationalization to “westernization,
Americanization, Europeanization, or modernization” (Knight, 2012, p. 29).
The International Association of Universities’ 4th global survey (IAU, 2014)
reveals that the majority of universities worldwide have placed internationaliza-
tion as an integral part of their goals and plans. Fifty-three percent of participating
universities have set policies for internationalization; 61% have allotted funds to
internationalization, and 66% have designed assessments to appraise the execution
of their internationalized policies. What about Canada? Based on the Association of
Universities and Colleges of Canada’s (AUCC) survey (2014), over 95% of Canadian
universities report that their “strategic or longer-term planning” gives 89% attention
to internationalization (p. 9). More than four fifths of Canadian higher institutions
treat internationalization as their first concern in their education plans. Importantly,
there has been an enormous increase in the number of full-time international under-
graduates studying at Canadian campuses from 22,300 in 2000 to 89,000 in 2014, and
the number of full-time international graduate students rose from 13,000 to 44,000.
Trilokekar (2009) contends that internationalization is a “strategic national policy
on international education” (p. 100). According to AUCC (2014), the main rationale
for internationalization is producing “internationally knowledgeable and intercultur-
ally competent” global citizens with international lenses and capabilities, building
collaboration with other foreign universities, reaping profits, enhancing international
reputation, and improving internationalized education (p. 12). However, in terms of
virtually linking “international competences” (p. 29) with students’ learning results
as the institutions’ objective, there is a much smaller percentage, 10%, at Canadian
universities in 2014, as compared with that at American universities, 55%, in 2011.
Given the preceding, I would argue that in Canada there has been a paucity of
discussion over how to take up the implications of internationalization in the twenty-
first century. Notwithstanding, internationalization has become an important theme
in Canadian higher education circles, although universities’ efforts to address related
concerns are mostly limited to the local level (Shubert, Jones, & Trilokekar, 2009).
6 1 Introduction

According to researchers, three core issues have arisen regarding internationaliza-

tion of higher education institutions. These issues concern international students,
internationalizing curriculum, and international teachers.

1.4.1 International Students

Since internationalization produces high mobility, there is an increasing number of

international students studying globally, and many of them choose to pursue their
studies in English-speaking countries. Almost 65% of international students have
been attracted to North America and Western Europe (Altbach et al., 2009). As one
of the largest and most powerful providers, the United States plays the most active
role in the international migration process (Altbach & Knight, 2007, p. 291). The
Institute of International Education’s (IIE) Open Doors data (2014) show that there
were 886,052 international students studying in the United States in 2013/2014,
increased by 8% as compared with the previous year. From a world perspective, it
is estimated that there were 3.3 million “internationally mobile students” across the
globe in 2008 (OECD, 2010, as cited in Rumbley et al., 2012). It is also predicted
that the number of international students will grow from 1.8 million in 2000 to 7.2
million in 2025 (Bohm, Davis, Meares, & Pearce, 2002). According to the estimation
of Australian scholars, the predicted figure is more staggering: around 15 million
international students by 2025 (Albach & Knight, 2007).
Marginson and Sawir (2011) argue that although academic mobility and cross-
border education provide international students with numerous opportunities and
possibilities for their development and “self formation,” these opportunities also
pose great challenges (p. 149). In Marginson’s (2014) study, nearly two thirds of 290
interviewed international students studying at Australian and New Zealand univer-
sities reported isolation and loneliness in certain periods of their studies. In a similar
vein, in Sawir et al.’s (2008) research, 130 out of 200 (or 65% of) international
students from 30 countries studying at 9 universities in Australia reported alienation
or loneliness, including social (caused by estrangement of domestic students and the
absence of social circles), personal/emotional (generated by the lack of support from
parents and relatives), and cultural (engendered by favored cultural and language
norms to abide by) problems. Likewise, referring to the Canadian Bureau for Inter-
national Education’s (CBIE, 2014) investigation, a survey conducted by four major
British educational organizations reports that two thirds of the international students
in the United Kingdom do not have domestic fellow student friends, with 56% in
Canada, and 40% in the United States (Gareis, 2012, as cited in CBIE, 2014). It is
therefore not surprising to learn that in Leask’s study (2010), native-born students
passed the empty chair near the international students in the classroom and chose
to sit with peers from their same cultural background. Some international students
from the East are reticent in class, reluctant to engage with their domestic classmates.
While language is counted as the major issue, this has led to stereotyping, such as
labeling Chinese students as shy (Ruble & Zhang, 2013).
1.4 Internationalization of Higher Education 7

Indeed, extant research suggests that despite the positive presence of interna-
tional students on campuses and the contribution of increased diversity, these indi-
viduals appear invisible to their domestic classmates and teachers, and their values
are not respected or appreciated (Gopal, 2011b). As well, international students
do not feel the connectedness to their host universities and are viewed as cultural
others (Beck, 2013; Marginson & Sawir, 2011; Thom, 2010; Trahar, 2010). Although
domestic students are strongly encouraged to take the initiative to interact with inter-
national students, international students often find that the communication with the
domestic students is not effective or successful (Sawir et al., 2008) due to both
internal and external obstacles (CBIE, 2014). Based on Sawir et al.’s (2008) and
Marginson’s (2014) reports, the roots of such exclusion and loneliness are attributed
to conflicting Western individualist and Asian collectivist values, obstacles in inter-
action, complex hybrid identities, academic and social challenges as what African
international students face (Okusolubo, 2018), and stereotypic “relational deficit”
model manifested especially in language (Sawir et al., 2008, p. 152) which will be
elaborated on in the following paragraph. Sawir et al. (2008) explicitly argue that
linguistic proficiency is closely tied to the source of loneliness and that a top priority
needs to be language support for international students. They further suggest that
the combination of perceived individual, social, and cultural deficiencies leads to
international students’ feeling of isolation. As the curriculum and the pedagogy are
mainly Eurocentric, these transposed individuals do not feel comfortable or secure in
their new classrooms. Moreover, such discomfort exerts a harmful influence on their
studies (Clifford, 2010), producing an erosion in their confidence and causing them
to lose the desire to socialize or integrate with the host society and its associated
culture (Beck, 2009). The isolation will also damage their self-respect and result in
“academic attrition” (Sawir et al., 2008, p. 156).
Deficiency models of language proficiency are attributed as one of the key reasons
accounting for international students’ difficulties: “Within traditional EFL method-
ology there is an inbuilt ideological positioning of the students as outsider and
failure—however proficient they become” (Graddol, 2006, as cited in Mackenzie,
2014, p. 8). The English proficiency of ESL and EFL students is judged against
the standardized native speaker norm (Cook, 2002, as cited in Mackenzie, 2014,
p. 8) and any deviation from the standardardized native-speaker variety of English
is regarded as incorrect usage (Strevens, 1992b). This entrenched perception has
deeply permeated into English language teaching (Seidlhofer, 2011) and standard-
ized English testing (Lowenberg, 1992). For example, TOELF is administered to
test international learners’ standard English (i.e., standardized American English)
writing skills while the IELTS aims to test students’ English proficiency levels based
on British English norms. However, theses standardized English tests may be disad-
vantageous to non-native English-speakers who use World English varieties (Davies,
Hamp-Lyons, & Kemp, 2003), although there are supportive voices that standardized
testing is beneficial to students by ranking their capabilities and proficiency based
on their testing performances (Roediger III, Putnam, & Smith, 2011).
8 1 Introduction

Marginson and Sawir (2011) contend that these deficit models fail to treat inter-
national education as a process of student-centered self-construction, rather, concen-
trating on the notion of “cultural fit” (p. 30) by stressing “adjustment” (p. 30), “accul-
turation” (p. 22), and “integration” (p. 34). It is further argued that the “cultural fit”
premise coincides with the ethos of mainstream schools, teachers, and policy makers
to “normalize” cultural “Others” (p. 35). These deficit models not only segregate
international students, but also provide domestic students and faculty with immunity
from accommodating to cultural diversity. Marginson (2014) argues that if interna-
tional education can be viewed as self-construction rather than other-orientation, the
preconceived deficient image of an international student will be changed to that of
“a strong agent” (p. 12) capable of navigating their multiple identities in the host
society. Further, newly acquired learner autonomy, aspiration, and constant “cul-
tural negotiation” (p. 19) will motivate international students to acquire English, be
successful in their academic performances, and may even gradually alter their ways
of thinking and living instead of moving toward unrealistic normative standards.

1.4.2 Internationalizing Curriculum

An important process that impacts the speed of overall internationalization is to

internationalize the curriculum (Altbach & Knight, 2007). Not only have English-
speaking countries internationalized their curricula to attract international students,
but also many non-native English-speaking countries across the globe (e.g., China,
India, Philippines, and Malaysia) have started to establish English programs and
courses in order to enroll international students (Altbach & Knight, 2007). However,
following Caruana (2010), the internationalization of the curriculum cannot occur in
Eurocentric and ethnocentric educational settings, that is, within institutions that
endorse monolingual and monocultural norms for learning and teaching. Leask
(2010) conducted a case study of the internationalization of the curriculum at the
University of South Australia. Instead of implementing the traditional method of
merely emphasizing content, the newly internationalized curriculum of this univer-
sity stresses process as well. By striving for equity, diversity, and inclusivity, the
university stipulates the norm of quality teaching as entailing student centeredness,
cultural awareness, and empathic support. The university’s internationalization of the
curriculum concentrates its efforts on designing courses, modeling students’ inter-
national lenses, promoting teaching and learning techniques, particularly targeting
the population of international students, and decolonizing the current curriculum
(Malewski, 2009; Sleeter, 2010).
1.4 Internationalization of Higher Education 9

1.4.3 International Teachers

Driven by the tremendous universal demand for English (Seidlhofer, 2011) and
universities’ commitments to multiculturalism, higher education institutions have
begun to concentrate not only on enrolling a diversified student demographic, but also
on the employment of international faculty (Leask, 2010, p. 19) as a supplement to
their full time, tenure stream faculty complement. The term “international teachers”
has been used to refer to bilingual, non-native English-speaking teachers (with mono-
lingual native English teachers as the frame of reference), and/or teachers consid-
ered on the periphery of the teaching cohort as compared with their native-speaking
counterparts considered at the center (Braine, 1999; Thomas, 1999).
Although the number of international teachers has been listed by the Financial
Times as one of the major factors in evaluating the quality of universities, there is still
an underrepresentation of international faculty on campuses (Richardson, McBey, &
McKenna, 2009). Exacerbating the situation is the fact that Canada is facing chal-
lenges related to fiscal resources for higher education, and there are not sufficient
qualified faculty members to meet the demands of campus diversification, including
satisfying international students’ needs (Richardson et al., 2009). Clifford (2010)
asserts that many faculty members lack adequate training and experience in teaching
culturally, linguistically, and ethnically diverse students (Gopal, 2011a). If teachers
lack the expertise and perspectives needed for the display of “intercultural compe-
tence,” considered an indispensable part of internationalization in higher education
(CBIE, 2014, p. 38), how can they act as “primary facilitators” (Johnson, 2003,
p. 22) and “border crossers” (Giroux, 1992) to prepare their students to succeed in a
multicultural context?
Based on the definition provided by Deardorff (2009), “intercultural competence”
denotes the capacity to exploit one’s intercultural perspectives, interpretations, and
knowledge to communicate appropriately and successfully in culturally diverse envi-
ronments. Intercultural competence in cross-cultural communication enables one to
be culturally sensitive to different cultures and interact with cultural others effec-
tively (Hiller & Wozniak, 2009, as cited in Gopal, 2011a, p. 374). Thom (2010)
notes that intercultural competence has proven a necessary quality for students to
achieve success and exert leadership in encountering international challenges. On
the part of teachers, in Clifford’s (2010) research culturally responsive teachers were
perceived as ones who could provide students with valuable international education
perspectives. International faculty are considered by Rumbley et al. (2012) to be
effective in integrating the curriculum with both learners’ academic experiences and
global perspectives. Chimbganda (2014), as well, affirms the importance of recruiting
international teachers to change the scenario in higher education; De Wit, Lauridsen,
and Straight (2014) declare that the inclusion of diverse international faculty with
culturally responsive teaching methods can substantially impact current curriculum,
influence teaching methods and learning outcomes, and enable students to respond
appropriately to the calls of internationalization and become global citizens in the
new era.
10 1 Introduction

1.5 English as a Medium for Multiculturalism Within

the Canadian Context

Multiculturalism is a key concept used in the determination of how to find an optimal

approach of facilitating internationalization in higher education (De Wit et al., 2014).
According to the American Council on Education (ACE, 2007), while internation-
alization is a “transformative change initiative” “into all aspects of the teaching,
research, and services functions of an institution” (p. 19), multiculturalism is “more
than just curriculum reform. It is both an educational and social reform movement that
seeks to establish equity and equality, the elimination of social oppression, and the
acceptance and valuing of human diversity” (p. 18). The commonalities and conver-
gence of internationalization and multiculturalism are addressed in recent literature
on multicultural education and international education. It is claimed that interna-
tionalization benefits from multicultural content in broadening its former “mono-
lithic” lens (ACE, 2007, p. 5); in turn, multiculturalism “becomes enriched when
it consciously incorporate[s] global perspectives” (Cortes, 1998, p. 116, as cited in
ACE, 2007, p. 5). Moreover, the overlap of internationalization and multiculturalism
enables the shift of focus from “Eurocentricism” to decolonization (ACE, 2007,
p. 24), and from “ethnocentrism” to “ethnorelativism” (Bennett, 1993, p. 22).
Cultural diversity in schooling settings is a phenomenon shown to be beneficial to
both domestic and international students in broadening their horizons and enriching
their perspectives (Jones & Caruana, 2010) and to teachers in responding to the
needs of students and communities (Schecter & Sherri, 2008). Leask (2010) points
out that at an individual level, intercultural competence helps students to compre-
hend others’ and their own cultures more perceptively. The university students (both
local and international) who participated in Leask’s (2010) research study depicted
the exposure to other cultures as helping them to interpret the outside world, develop
tolerance and appreciation of diversity, and interact appropriately across cultures.
Similarly, in Schecter and her colleagues’ (Schecter & Ippolito, 2008; Schecter
& Sherri, 2008) research, linguistic and cultural diversity is seen as a resource in
fostering students’ academic development and social integration as well as teachers’
capacities to address the needs of students in settings characterized by super-diversity
and flux. Linguistic diversity, according to Piller (2016), refers to speaking different
language varieties and “the way we use our linguistic resources at our disposal to
communicate—contributes to making us who we are in the same way as our physical
appearance, our ideas and beliefs, and our way of life do” (p. 12). Cultural diversity
denotes non-White people, regardless of race and ethnicity (Li, 2000) although in
Canada, according to Li (2000), cultural diversity does not count indigenous people.
Following Beaman and Beyer (2008), language is one of the dimensions of culture.
That means linguistic diversity combines with cultural diversity. Therefore, cultur-
ally diverse students are defined as “students who may be distinguished [from the
mainstream culture] by ethnicity, social class, and/or language” (Perez, 1998, p. 6),
deeming language one of the key facets of cultural diversity.
1.5 English as a Medium for Multiculturalism Within the Canadian Context 11

In 2010, Equality Challenge Unit (ECU) launched a project involving six univer-
sities in the United Kingdom and Australia in the examination of the intersection
of diversity and equality with internationalization. It is found that effective diversity
does not lie in “normalizing” students, but rather relies on encouraging differences
(p. 15) and developing a tolerant and friendly institutional climate, instead of forming
“we-versus them,” “hostile campuses” (p. 8). Beck (2013) maintains that the insti-
tution of the university, as a chief “agent” (p. 43) and “site” of education (p. 44),
is supposed to be a place of inclusivity (Tan & Allan, 2010; Thom, 2010) where
diversified values and different, including cosmopolitan, ways of thinking and living
are fostered (Appiah, 2006; Beck, 2013; Brock, 2009; Brown & Held, 2010; Thom,
2010; Vertovec & Cohen, 2002), by instilling principles of diversity and multicul-
turalism in higher education (Gopal, 2011a). In this way, students are expected to be
genuinely “at home in the world” (ACE, 2007).
Notwithstanding the Canadian government’s adoption of multiculturalism as its
official policy in 1971 (Tierney, 2007), as well as the emphasis on diversity within
Canadian schooling circles, researchers (e.g., Gaskell, 2010; Thobani, 2007) have
argued that equity and access are not achieved in the multicultural framework.
Chimbganda (2014) highlights that departing from its original mission, multicul-
turalism in Canada fails to provide equal access and equity, but marginalizes and
excludes poor, racialized students. Nuancing this argument, De Wit et al. (2014)
contend that what perpetuates inequality is the pervasive use of English as the sole
language of instruction language at school, a phenomenon that induces monolin-
gualism, homogenization, and a native-speaker norm (Kachru & Nelson, 1996),
interweaved with White privilege. This means White teachers are favored while
non-White teachers are at a disadvantage (Hossain, 2015; Ruecker & Ives, 2014).
Although within multicultural environments, English is clearly a useful tool with
regard to the building of cultural consciousness, learning, and pedagogy (Kachru &
Nelson, 1996), Rumbley et al. (2012) have argued that the escalating application of
English as an instruction medium has brought about a transition in the language’s
role from being a vehicle to becoming a national and international objective. That
is, the ubiquity of English results in “Anglophonization,” with native-born English
speakers charged with the oversight of heritage languages and cultures (De Wit et al.,
2014). As a result, “multilingual classrooms” with “monolingual” English-speaking
teachers is a commonly found phenomenon within Canadian schools (Thomas, 1999,
p. 12).

1.6 Summary

In the preceding discussion, I have reviewed historical processes that have led to
my presence as a doctoral student at a Canadian university and my position as a
writing instructor in a higher education Writing Center. Specifically, I examined
12 1 Introduction

how processes of colonization and contemporary trends of globalization, interna-

tionalization, and multiculturalism have resulted in both the increased concentra-
tion of international students and faculty within North American universities and
the concomitant expansion of the role of English within these settings. In Chap. 3, I
expand on the complex status of the English language within the current postcolonial
era.

References

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realities. Journal of Studies in International Education, 11(3/4), 290–305.
Altbach, P. G., Reisberg, L., & Rumbley, L. E. (2009). Trends in global higher education: Tracking
an academic revolution. Paris: UNESCO.
American Council on Education (ACE). (2007). At home in the world: Bridging the gap between
internationalization and multicultural education. Washington, DC: Author.
Ansre, G. (1979). Four rationalizations for maintaining European languages in education in Africa.
African Languages, 5(2), 10–17.
Appiah, K. A. (2006). Cosmopolitanism: Ethics in a world of strangers. New York: W. W. Norton.
Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada (AUCC). (2014). Canada universities in the
world: AUCC international survey. Ottawa, ON: Author.
Beaman, G. L., & Beyer, P. (Eds.). (2008). Religion and diversity in Canada. Brill: Leiden & Boston.
Beck, K. (2009). Questioning the emperor’s new clothes: Towards ethical practices in internation-
alization. In R. D. Trilokekar, G. A. Jones & A. Shubert (Eds.), Canada universities go global
(pp. 306–336). Toronto, ON: James Lorimer & Company Ltd.
Beck, K. (2013). Making sense of internationalization: A critical analysis. In Y. Hebert & A. A.
Abdi (Eds.), Critical perspectives on international education (pp. 43–59). Rotterdam: Sense
Publishers.
Bennett, M. J. (1993). Towards ethnorelativism: A developmental model of intercultural sensitivity.
In R. M. Paige (Ed.), Education for the intercultural experience (pp. 21–71). Yarmouth, ME:
Intercultural Press.
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Encyclopedia of language and education. Volume 1: Language policy and political issues in
education (2nd ed., pp. 31–43). New York, NY: Springer Science & Business Media LLC.
Bohm, A., Davis, D., & Pearce, D. (2002). The global student mobility 2025 report: Forecasts of
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performance and potential in international education. Ottawa, ON: Author.
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pedagogical results”. In G. Braine (Ed.), Non-native educators in English language teaching
(pp. 77–92). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
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 BOOK III

FAR, FAR AT SEA

CHAPTER I

“NAE POSSIBLE!” SAID TIBBIE

Sorrow does not hold the young heart long enthralled. It is as well it
should be so. It is for the old to feel sad, unless they can see in imagination
the bright and gladsome light that shines behind the pall of Death. But the
young—no, sorrow ought to be neither kith nor kin to them.
Back again, then, at the dear old farm of Kilbuie, with Willie as his
constant companion, for the lad had come to spend a long holiday, with
frequent visits to the house of his best of friends, Mackenzie the minister,
with many a little fishing excursion, in company with little Maggie May
and happy-go-lucky Tyro the collie—excursions that somehow always
ended in a kind of picnic—Sandie began to forget the sad and gloomsome
ending to his fishing experiences.
But the corn was now changing in patches from green to yellow. Soon it
would be all ablaze, and then there would be but little time to spend in
picnics or in fishing.
Willie had declared himself determined to assist at harvest work. He
could bind the sheaves if he could do nothing else, and he could carry and
stook them, that is, set them up together, that they might get dry and more
thoroughly ripe in the sunshine.
He had provided himself with a wonderful canvas apron, that quite
enveloped all his person in front, from chin to ankles.
 “I daresay,” said Willie, as he saw Jeannie—Mrs. Duncan, we ought now
to call her—smiling, “I daresay I look a bit of a guy, but I don’t mind,
because it will save my clothes. Do you see, Mrs. Jeannie?”
“I see,” said Jeannie, “you’re a thrifty lad.”
. . . . . .
In another week harvest had begun. Jamie Duncan drove the reaping-
machine. The new second horseman and Sandie wielded a scythe each.
And it was near and around them that all the blitheness and the fun
radiated. A reaping-machine is a very good invention, it must be admitted,
but at the same time it must be granted that there is no poetry, no romance
about it.
But listen to the musical swish swish of the curved and flashing scythe,
wielded by the brown bare arms of the sturdy reaper. Note how the golden
grain lies in its long straight swaths, till made into sheaves by the merry girl
gatherers, who are coming closely up behind. Note, too, the friendly rivalry
of the two scythemen, who work close at each other’s heels, pausing at last,
panting and perspiring, when the “bout” is finished, and chatting and
laughing and joking as they walk slowly to the other end of the field, there
to sharpen scythes, to swallow a draught of table-beer, butter-milk or whey,
and begin again once more.
A strong sturdy lass of about seventeen, with a complexion like
strawberries smothered in cream, acted as gatherer to the new second
horseman, while Jeannie herself followed Sandie. Then behind these came
Geordie Black the orra man, and Willie himself, with his immense apron,
doing duty as binders and stookers.
A word of digression, indulgent reader, which you may skip if you are so
minded; but I have often remarked the great difference that exists between
the reapers in an English and those in a Scotch harvest-field. In England
you will never, scarcely, hear a joke, certainly never a song; the men and
women look soddened, stupid, fat-headed, and that is precisely how they
feel. And it is all owing to the frequent applications they make to the jars of
beer, without which they would refuse to work. In Scottish harvest-fields it
is entirely different. Nothing stronger than butter-milk, whey, or “sma’ ale”
is taken, and the result is, that they are merry, lightsome, witty, and you may
hear them laughing, joking, and singing long before you come near the
field.
 Pardon the digression, though I can’t say I feel sorry I have made it.
And Sandie, with his friend Willie, was the life of the cornfields.
Dear me! how their tongues did rattle on, to be sure; and dear me! how
young Tibbie Morrison, she with the pretty complexion, did laugh. Why, it
came to pass after a little time that Willie had only to look at her to set her
off again; and when she laughed Geordie Black’s laugh was ready chorus.
Geordie was no beauty to look at, but he had a good heart of his own,
nevertheless. That is, I should say, he had had, until—well, it is always best
to speak the truth—until it was lost and won by bonnie Tibbie Morrison.
Jeannie herself remarked more than once, that all the time Geordie was
working he couldn’t take his eyes off Tibbie.
But I think that Geordie must have been hardly hit, and I will tell you
why. Going into the stable on the evening of the second day, Sandie was
surprised to find Geordie sitting with his back to the dusty cobwebby
window, and a slate in his hand.
He was so thoroughly absorbed, that he neither saw our hero nor heard
his footsteps.
So Sandie made bold to peep over Geordie’s shoulder, and, to his intense
surprise, he found he was writing verses. That they possessed but little
literary merit, the following specimen will prove:—
 BONNIE TIBBIE MORRISON.

O Tibbie, Tibbie Morrison,

I lo’e ye as my life,
And I would range the warld o’er
To mak’ ye my guid wife.

When ye are near, my Tibbie dear,

The sun seems shinin’ bright;
When Tibbie’s far awa’ frae me,
’Tis blackest, darkest night.

A ploughman lad is all my rank,

Sma’, sma’s my penny fee,
But I would gie it a’ awa’
For a love blink frae your e’e.

Tibbie, Tibbie! Tibbie!! TIBBIE!!!

Will ever ye be mine?
Will e’er I hold ye to my heart,
My wife and valentine?

“Why, Geordie, man!” cried Sandie, “is it as bad as that with you?”
Geordie sprang up as if shot, and grew as red as a beet. He tried to hide
the slate.
“Don’t trouble, Geordie; I’ve read it all, and really there is an anguish
displayed in the first line of that last verse that is quite touching.

‘Oh, Tibbie, Tibbie! Tibbie!! Tibbie!!!’

You come to a splendid climax with that last Tibbie. Shall I show it to
my friend Willie?”
“Losh! man, no!”
“Or to Tibbie herself?”
“Loshie me! man, what can ye be thinkin’ o’?”
“But, Geordie, you don’t mean to say that verses containing so much
sweetness and pathos as these are going to waste their sweetness in the
desert air? I question if Bobbie Burns himself would have written anything
like them.”
 Geordie blushed again, and after much persuasion he agreed to write
them out—when Sabbath came round—and permit Sandie to present them.
“Of course,” said Sandie, somewhat mischievously, “when I give Tibbie
the poem, I will just brush the dew from her lips.”
“Oh, weel,” said Geordie resignedly, “I canna help that. You’ll do as you
like about it.”
The dinner-hour in the hairst (harvest) field was the most delightful of
all. The somewhat weary workers lay on the ground, or leant their backs
against the stocks. Mrs. M‘Crae herself, with Elsie and Geordie, brought the
dinner, and there was no want of appetite. The milk was of the creamiest,
the mashed potatoes like snow, the oatcakes crisp and delicious, and the
herrings done to a turn. Then there was curds and cream by way of dessert,
to say nothing of “swack” cheese, and potato-scones to finish up with.
The happy harvesters felt like giants refreshed, and there would still be
half-an-hour to rest.
That half-hour, however, was not spent in drowsy listlessness or sleep
itself. No, for the laugh and the joke went round; then Willie or Sandie
would always raise a song, a song with a chorus, and it was sweet to hear
the girlish voices of Tibbie and Jeannie chiming musically in with this
chorus.
Willie would have been nobody if he couldn’t have indulged in his joke,
and there was one song he sang, the chorus of which, it will be admitted,
was very witty indeed—that is, if brevity be the soul of wit.
Every line ended with the words—

“And the wind blew the bonnie lassie’s plaidie awa’!”

Then “Chorus,” Sandie would shout.

Chorus—“Plaidie awa!”

But the song made everybody laugh all the same, and so some
considerable good was accomplished by it.
. . . . . .
As far as the weather was concerned, the harvest was a delightful one,
for the sun shone brightly every day, and there blew a gentle breeze to help
to dry and “win” the corn.
As a crop, too, the yield was average, so Farmer M‘Crae was hopeful
and happy.
Then came the day when “kliack” would be taken, that is, when the last
or kliack sheaf would be cut.
As they neared the last “bout” cried Sandie, “Look out now, Geordie, for
the kliack hare!”
It is very strange, but true, that a hare very frequently starts off from the
last “bout” of corn that is cut on the harvest-field. This time was no
exception.
A splendid long brown-legged beast darted off for the woods.
Up to his shoulder went Geordie’s old gun.
Bang!
The echo rang back from the woods, and went reverberating away
among the rocky hills, but puss was intact. She gave her heels an extra kick,
took to the forest, and was seen no more.
So the hare was declared to be a witch, and no more was said about it.
But now comes Elsie herself, and Willie runs to meet her and lead her
forward by the hand. Right bonnie she looks in her dress of silken green
with poppies in her hair.
She has come to cut the kliack sheaf. Right deftly she does it too, and
binds it also with her own fair fingers.
Then cheers arise, three times three, that seem to make the welkin ring.
Harvest is done, kliack is taken, and every heart rejoices.
By-and-bye, when the stooking is quite finished, all march merrily
home.
Now, mark you this, reader, no vinous stimulant of any kind has been
used while harvest work was in progress.
But now, in the kitchen, all hands, each with a spoon, surround a big
table on which stands an immense basin of what is called meal and ale. I
will tell you its composition: about half a gallon of oatmeal, mixed with
good ale, sweetened with syrup, and fortified with a pint of the best Scotch
whisky.
 And hark! somewhere in that dish was Mrs. M‘Crae’s marriage-ring. So
every mouthful had to be carefully examined by the tongue previous to
swallowing, and the person who was lucky enough to find that ring would
be married before the year was out.
When all this strange dish of brose was finished, and everybody averred
he or she had seen nothing of the ring, everybody began to cast suspicious
glances at everybody else.
But at long and last, noticing a strange light in Geordie’s eyes, Sandie
jumped up, and seizing him by one ear, pulled it till the rustic poet’s eyes
began to water.
“You’ve got it, Geordie! You’ve got it!”
Then, blushing like a beggar at a “bap” or a bun, Geordie confessed.
Everybody shook hands with him, and he felt the happiest man in all the
parish.
But greater happiness still was in store for Geordie.
After the meal and ale, in some sly way or other, Sandie succeeded in
obtaining private audience of winsome Tibbie.
“I’ve something to show you, Tibbie,” said Sandie.
“Nae possible!” said the artless lassie.
“Ah! but it’s fact. Geordie Black is in love with you, and he wrote you
these beautiful verses. Come nearer and I’ll read them.”
“Nae possible!” said Tibbie.
While he slowly, and with much emotion, read these verses, Sandie
encircled Tibbie’s waist with one arm.
I am not quite certain that this was necessary.
Tibbie blushed as Sandie read.
“Now,” said Sandie, “I’ll let you have them to keep for a kiss.”
“Nae possible!” said Tibbie. But the bargain was concluded all the same.
Next evening all the lads and lasses in the countryside gathered at
Kilbuie to the kliack-ball, and if Geordie danced once that evening with
artless Tibbie, he danced with her fifty times.
Geordie was in the third heaven.
Tibbie was kind.
 CHAPTER II

“REMEMBER, REMEMBER THIS FIFTH OF

NOVEMBER”—MACLEAN’S ROOMS
Classes were once more up. The session had opened, and once again the
streets of Aberdeen were gay with the crimson togas of the students.
Everybody was glad to see everybody else, and the several professors
professed themselves rejoiced to meet again their pupils in the old and
classic halls of the University. They hoped work would now go on apace, so
that in after years of their lives the students would be able to look back with
pleasure to the time they spent so profitably within the embrace of their
beloved alma mater.
A week or two passed by, then came the never-forgotten 5th of
November.
Now, I do not believe that such a scene, as I fear I shall now all too
inadequately describe, is possible in the Aberdeen of to-day. I can only
premise that it is painted from the life.
Castlegate, let me tell you, is a large square formed at the junctions of
those splendid pearly-walled thoroughfares, Union and King Streets. It has
a granite statue of the Duke of Gordon, a fine old cross similar to that in
Chichester, and some other ancient cities, also a few pieces of cannon
captured from the Russians at Sebastopol.
In a line with King Street, and from the other side of the square, runs
Marischal Street, which is very steep, and leads direct to the quay, where lie
the ships. This is all I wish you to remember.
On this particular 5th of November, it did not appear that there would be
any greater excitement than usual.
“Only a bit of fun and a few fireworks,” Willie explained to Sandie, and
thus induced him to come along.
But by nine o’clock, not only was the square densely thronged by a mob
bent on merriment and mischief, but all the streets leading thereto.
About half-past nine the fun waxed fast and furious. Even had they tried,
the police force would have been powerless to clear the Castlegate. They
would have but infuriated the mob, and an Aberdeen mob, if it loses its
temper, is very terrible indeed, as witness the meal-mobs and the Chartist
riots.
The discharge of fireworks was incessant and marvellous. Pyrotechny
was there in every form. Rockets, Roman candles, St. Catherine wheels,
even dangerous maroons; while as for squibs, the deft young fellows stuck
them in pistols, lit them, and fired them in the air, or in through open first-
floor windows, much to the terror of those leaning over to gaze at the
pandemonium going on beneath.
Nearly everybody had their jackets closely buttoned up, but crackers and
squibs were lit and thrust into every available pocket that could be seen.
Many thus had their clothes burned and ruined.
A little after ten o’clock, policemen and watchmen, full ninety strong,
made their appearance in marching order, and attempted to clear the square.
They had no truncheons, only simply their sticks. Their endeavours,
however, were utterly unsuccessful. If the crowd disappeared before them at
one place, it was only to bank up in double force in another.
The police were good-natured.
“Gang hame noo, like good bairns,” was about all they said.
But the action of one townsman—I am glad to say he was no student—
precipitated a crisis at last. He was foolish enough to seize a watchman and
attempt to throw him. Both men came heavily to the ground, then others
took the townsman’s part, and in less time than it takes me to write it,
truncheons on the one side, and heavy bludgeons on the other were drawn,
and blood flowed like water. Ninety men opposed to about two thousand
have little chance, despite the fact that they have law on their side, so the
upshot of the collision was that in twenty minutes’ time the Bobbies and
Charlies were beaten back, and had to take refuge behind the Town Hall.
“Hadn’t we better get home now?” said Sandie. “If I am found or
captured in this crowd I shall lose my bursary, and that means ruin.”
“Father,” said Willie exultantly, “will be out before long to read the Riot
Act. After that you know the soldiers will come. We shall make a move just
before that.”
But now the riot entered upon a new phase. Some one raised the cry “A
boat! a boat!” and in a moment it spread like wildfire through all that vast
determined mob.
 Sandie and Willie had only time to back into an entry, when the crowd
went surging past them, one vast human river, flowing down Marischal
Street towards the harbour.
They seemed to have been gone no time when they were back again,
singing and yelling and shouting triumphantly, as they dragged a boat
along.
Where, I wonder, did the hammers come from? I cannot answer, but here
they were.
Bang, bang, smash, smash, and in a very few minutes the broken timbers
of the boat were piled in a heap in the middle of the square.
Where did that bucket of tar come from? I cannot even answer that. But
it was poured upon the woodwork, and the bucket itself was left on top.
Then a light was set to the pile, and in a few minutes the flames were
ascending sky-high. Every house around stood out in bold and fiery relief,
and the Duke’s monument looked like a martyr at the stake.
“Hurrah! hurrah!” shouted the frantic mob. Then in a huge circle they
joined hands and danced around the blazing fire, just as many a time since
have I seen savages in Central Africa do.
How they yelled! How they shouted! How they sang!
But the fire began to burn dull and low at last, and just about this time
there arose a shout of alarm: the Provost in his robes was coming in an open
carriage to read the Riot Act.
“Come now, Sandie,” cried Willie, “we’ve had enough fun for one night.
Father musn’t see me here.”
Nor did he.
Indeed, he saw but very few.
For the mob had no wish to have a collision with the soldiers—“the
gallant Forty-twa,” so they melted away like snowflakes in a river, and truly
speaking, the Act was read to the dying embers of the fire.
One large party of students had still a little fun left in them, however.
They formed fours-deep, and went marching off down King Street, singing
“The Land o’the Leal.”
 “We’re wearin’ awa’, Jean,
Like snaw-wreaths in thaw, Jean,
We’re wearin’ awa’—a’—a’
To the Land o’the Leal.”

For the life of him the douce Provost could not help laughing, as they
went filing past his carriage.
Willie went with Sandie to his attic, and Sandie’s little busybody of a
landlady placed before them a delicious supper of mashed potatoes, stewed
tripe, and fragrant coffee.
“Glad we’ve got safe home,” said Sandie. “Aren’t you, Willie?”
“Oh, delighted, but I must say I enjoyed myself immensely. That bonfire
was a beauty. I hope my dear old father won’t catch cold. And the soldiers
will have nothing to do, if they do come, but drown out the dying embers of
the fire.”
. . . . . .
The great prize of sixty pounds, tenable for two years, was to be
competed for at the end of the present session. There were in reality two,
one for Greek, the other for higher mathematics, but it was to the latter
Sandie determined to bend all his energies, as he thought the competition
would not here be so great.
Next to Sandie, if not indeed superior in this branch of the curriculum,
was a Highland student of the name of Maclean, with whom I must now
make the reader better acquainted.
Sandie, by the way, had made quite enough at the herring-fishing to
render him independent of his dunderheaded pupil for one session at least;
and for this he felt he could not be too thankful.
Maclean and he one day, while sauntering arm-in-arm along Union
Street, deep in the mysteries of x + y, entered into a compact to study
together. One evening it was to be in Sandie’s garret, and the next in
Maclean’s diggings, as he termed his lodgings.
The first grind took place in our hero’s attic. At one o’clock, when both
parted for the night, they each agreed that the evening had been most
profitably spent.
 Next night, at eight o’clock, Sandie, after some difficulty, found his way
to Maclean’s door. The house in which the lodgings were was a somewhat
cheap and unsavoury thoroughfare off George Street.
The stairs were sadly rickety, the house itself was not a sweet one. From
a room on the ground-floor issued the scraping of a vile old fiddle,
accompanied by the scuffling of feet, and every now and then an eldritch
shriek of laughter. But Sandie went onwards and upwards, and on the top
floor of all a door was suddenly thrown open, and Maclean held out his
hand to welcome him in.
A great oil lamp was burning on a table at one end of the long room.
This lamp served for heat and light both, for there was no fire. In fact, these
students—of whom there were four in all living in this one room—could
not afford fire except to cook.
“You are right welcome, Mr. M‘Crae,” said Maclean.
Then he pointed to another young man who sat book in hand by the
table.
“My brother,” he said; “he is at the grammar-school, but he won’t disturb
us. Now,” he continued, “look around you, and I’ll put you up to our
domestic economy and household arrangements. To begin with, you know
we are all as poor as rats, though all bursars, and we all mean to study for
the Church, or to be teachers at least. Yonder, in that bed, are the brothers
Macleod. They come from our parish. Well, you see, they go to bed—we
only have one—at seven and sleep till one. My brother and I study till one,
then we have the bed and they begin their studies, though often enough they
curl up in their plaids and have a few more hours on the floor.”
“Yes, I understand, and I don’t blame them.”
“Well, we have no landlady. The few sticks of furniture you see are all
hired, except the frying-pan and other cooking utensils. These we bought.
We are not going to invite you to dinner, Mr. M‘Crae, because our fare is
far too meagre.
“You see those barrels? Well, two contain herrings, salt and red, one
contains nice oatmeal, and the small one pease-flour. And with the addition
of milk that is brought to us every morning, and now and then an egg, and a
bit of butter, with always a nice sheep’s head and trotters on Sunday, I can
assure you we live like fighting-cocks. Don’t we, Donal?”
 “That we do,” said Donal, looking smilingly up from Xenophon’s
Anabasis.
And poor though an Englishman would consider fare like this, it must be
confessed that the two Macleans were as hard and brown as hazel-nuts upon
it.
“And now then, my friend, if you are ready, let us begin the grind.”
And the “grind” was commenced accordingly. And hardly did those
earnest plodding students lift head except to address each other in low
monotones, till forth from the great steeple of the East Church peeled the
solemn stroke of one.
Then Maclean closed his books with a bang and jumped joyfully up.
“Turn out the Macleods,” he shouted as loud as he could. “One o’clock,
my hearties. Turn out! Turn out! There, Donal! pull the blankets off them
while I see Mr. M‘Crae safely down the rickety old stairs.”
He lit match after match for this purpose.
“Don’t lean on the bannisters,” he said, “else over you go.”
Sandie was safe in the street at last, and bade his friend good-night, just
as every watchman in the city with stentorian lungs was bawling—
“Past one! Pa-a-ast one-n-n,” with a long ringing musical emphasis on
the “n” of the one.
Sandie went homewards happy enough, and just a little tired and sleepy,
but he had found out one truth, namely, that poor though he himself might
be, he was not, by a long way, the poorest student at the great Northern
University.
Sandie and his friend Maclean kept up their mathematical studies
together in the most friendly way till the very last day. Everybody knew that
the prize lay between these two hard-working students, and it came to pass
that when the day of competition arrived at last, and Sandie and Maclean
found their way to the class-room where the papers were to be given out,
they only found two other opponents there, and both left within an hour
without handing in a paper.
The Professor looked up from his desk and smiled.
“When Greek meets Greek,” he said, “then comes the tug of war.”
 CHAPTER III

“WE HAVE BEEN AS BROTHERS: WE ARE BROTHERS

STILL”
Yes, Greek had met Greek, and the tug of war had begun.
It really does seem surprising, when we come to consider it, that those
two humble Scottish students, knowing that they were rivals, well aware
that they would have to fight against each other at the great competition,
should have studied side by side, cheek by cheek, for so many weary
months.
But such was the case.
They were very far separated now though, many seats apart, and each
was for himself.
Before he even glanced at the paper, Sandie bent his head over his hands
on the desk and prayed long and fervently, asking a blessing on the work he
was about to do, but reverently adding, “If it be Thy will.”
Do not smile, O thoughtless reader. I myself, the writer of this true story,
have had in my time the most marvellous answers to prayers, and I do not
think I ever prayed for anything fervently, earnestly, without my prayer
being granted.
Sandie soon found that he could do every portion of the exercises,
difficult though they were, except one. That he could not bring out. After
finishing all the rest, he pored and posed over this for one long hour. His
head felt splitting in twain, strange nervous tremors ran along his limbs, and
the cold sweat burst out from every pore.
At last a strange drowsiness stole over him. He put up his feet upon the
seat, leaned his head upon his folded hands, and fell fast asleep.
Now, account for it as you may, reader, account for it if you can, I but
state a fact when I say that in a dream Sandie got out of his difficulty, and
saw the question written plainly out before him.
He was hardly awake when he sprung up and recommenced to write, fast
and faster, and presently the thing was done.
“Hurrah!” he shouted, “Eureka!”
 He really could not help it.
The Professor looked a little surprised, but smiled.
“I hope you enjoyed your nap,” he said.
“Did I sleep long?” said Sandie.
“Only two hours.”
“Oh dear, Professor, I am very very sorry, and I see Maclean has gone. It
was cruel of me to keep you.”
“All right, my lad; don’t mention it. Are you ready now?”
“I shall just write a clean copy of this last, then I’m done.”
In fifteen minutes more he had handed in his papers. The Professor
shook him by the hand, and he went away happy and hopeful.
But he did not remain long so, for while at tea, about an hour after, on
looking over his papers he discovered a mistake he had made, which threw
him into the lowest depths of despair.
He had scarcely finished, when there was a modest knock at the door,
and his friend Maclean himself entered, smiling too.
“He is the winner,” said Sandie to himself, when he saw that smile.
“May I come in?”
“Don’t ask such a question; you know you are as welcome as the
primrose in spring!”
Maclean seated himself on the edge of a chair.
“Mr. M‘Crae—Sandie,” he said, “if you don’t win this £60 prize, I will.”
“True!”
“And, Sandie, if I lose, you will win.”
“Naturally!”
“But I haven’t flattered myself I shall win, so don’t think it will keep me
awake at night if I don’t.”
“Bravo! Maclean. Spoken like a true Highlander.”
“But, Sandie——”
“Yes, Mac!”
“I want you to promise me one thing, and the same promise do I now
make to you.”
“Name it, lad.”
 “I promise faithfully that whichever way the prize goes, it shall not alter
my friendship for you.”
“And I promise the same, Mac.”
“Shake hands.”
“Will you have a cup of tea? Do.”
“Well, I will, to please you.”
“And now,” said Mac, when tea was finished, “suppose we compare
papers.”
“Right; but, Maclean, I tell you to begin with, that when I handed in my
work, I thought it was sine errore, but only a few minutes ago I discovered
an egregious mistake. So I fear I have little chance.”
The landlady came at Sandie’s summons—there was no bell; he simply
knocked on the floor with the heel of his boot. She cleared the table and
placed thereon cold water and glasses.
Then those two anxious young men drew near, and first Sandie’s papers
were carefully gone over. No mistake but the one could be discovered.
“If you are right,” said Maclean, his hopes going down to zero, “then
I’m very far out of my reckoning in many things.”
And so it really seemed.
Sandie took very great pains, but could not help condemning more than
one of Maclean’s exercises.
Maclean leaned back in his chair at last and heaved a deep sigh.
“What is to be will be,” he said resignedly. “Sandie, you are the lucky
man.”
“Maclean,” said Sandie innocently, “I begin to think I am. Oh, would we
could both get a prize!”
“Maclean,” he said, after a pause, “we have worked and toiled together
all throughout the weary winter. We have been as brothers. We are as
brothers still. We are both poor, but, Mac, you are the poorer. It seems
certain this prize is mine; let me share it with you. I can rub along, God
helping me, with half of it.”
The tears sprang to poor Mac’s eyes.
“Och, and och,” he said, rapidly dashing his hand across his face, “I
never thought the man was living who could bring tears to the eyes of a
Maclean, whose forbears fought and bled at Culloden. Sandie, if anybody
but yourself had made me such an offer, it is wild with the anger I would
have been. But you are like a brother. Promise never to repeat the offer, and
I’ll forgive you. Never will a Maclean touch the copper penny he has not
won or earned. Promise!”
“I promise, and crave your forgiveness—brother.”
. . . . . .
Yes, Sandie was declared victor.
And just an hour afterwards, a little boy with a buff-coloured envelope
appeared at the door of Kilbuie house. Elsie flew to meet him, and went
rushing in with the telegram to her mother.
Mrs. M‘Crae’s hand shook so, she could not open it, so Elsie tore it
open.
Her face sparkled with joy when she read the glad tidings.
About the same time another telegraph-boy put in an appearance at the
manse of Belhaven.
This message was addressed to Maggie May. It was the first telegram
ever she had received in her life. She read it a dozen times over, ay, and
kissed it. Then she went joyfully bounding down the road to meet her
father, who had been paying visits in the pony trap.
“O father, father! what do you think?” she shouted.
“Oh, I can guess.”
“Yes, Sandie has won! Oh, isn’t it nice? oh, isn’t he clever?”
She jumped up beside her father as she spoke, that with his own eyes he
might read the joyful news.
“So glad, so glad!” he said with moistening eyes. “He is our own boy—
so glad!”
. . . . . .
I may state here at once, that both sums of £60 each, that were paid to
Sandie during the next two years, were placed carefully away in the North
of Scotland Bank. They would come in handy later on, when he
commenced the study of Divinity.
Meanwhile, Sandie relaxed no effort to keep well ahead of his classes.
He determined not only to pass his examinations for his Bachelor of Arts
degree, but to pass with honours.
With this end in view, I am bound to say that he studied harder than he
ought to have done.
Sandie was, however, much reinvigorated in health from his herring-
fishing cruises, which he took every summer. But he never sailed again
from Blackhive. The memories of the sad deaths of poor Eppie and her wee
man were far too painful, and he wished rather they should die away than
revive.
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
It is the end of the last session of the curriculum. Sandie and several
others are to be capped and gowned in the great hall, as they have their
degrees conferred upon them.
The ceremony is a very pretty, not to say an impressive one, and the hall
is crowded with lady sight-seers, chiefly the friends and relations of the
young Masters and Bachelors of Arts.
Among these is a young girl of about sixteen, so innocently beautiful
that many an opera-glass is turned towards her by the students—who as a
class are by no means shy. She sits by the side of an elderly clergyman with
mild blue eyes and a pleasant smile. The girl is Maggie May, the gentleman
her father. Next her on the other side is Elsie herself, flanked by Willie
Munro. She too is beautiful, and commands a greater share of attention than
she desires, for more than once the colour suffuses her face, and she feels
anything but happy.
When Sandie was receiving his degree, so great was the silence you
might have heard the proverbial pin drop, especially when the Principal of
the University addressed him in words somewhat as follows:—
“I cannot let this opportunity pass, Mr. M‘Crae, of congratulating you on
the most successful career you have sustained at this University. My brother
Professors all agree with me in saying you have been an honour to the great
Northern University. We all wish you long life and good health. If you have
this latter blessing, we do not fear for your success in life.”
Then every Professor shook Sandie kindly by the hand, while the
cheering of his fellow-students was like thunder itself.
. . . . . .
 It was all over now, and it is no wonder that reaction came on, or that
depression succeeded to the long-continued excitement of study.
Sandie was home at Kilbuie, and Willie—merry-hearted Willie, who
never let anything trouble him long—was on an early summer visit to the
farm.
But do what he could, he was unable to rouse Sandie from the seeming
lethargy into which he was sinking.
Sandie was changed too, and changing still. His cheeks and temples had
become more hollow of late; there was a red spot beneath each eye that his
mother did not like; he had lost much of his strength, perspired more easily
than he ought to have done; his voice was weak, and, worst symptom of all,
he sometimes had a hollow cough.
Willie went straight away to Aberdeen one day, and when he returned
next forenoon Dr. Kilgour was with him.
He most carefully examined our ploughboy-student, then he said to him
—
“You’re a sensible youth, so I can speak to you straight. If you can get
away to sunnier climes for a year, including a long sea-voyage in a sailing
ship, you’ll return as hard as a hunter. If you don’t do this, you are booked
for the other side of Jordan.”
The rough but kindly doctor told his mother the same, and she began to
cry.
“Oh,” she moaned, “if my boy goes to sea, I shall never never see him
more!”
“Tuts! woman, don’t be a fool. I tell you it is his only chance. You are
bound to let him go—so there!”
. . . . . .
There was that sum of £120 lying untouched in the bank, and this Sandie
determined to devote to the payment of his expenses. If it pleased God, he
said to himself, to bring him back from sea safe and well, he would be able
by teaching to make enough to pay his divinity classes.
So he commenced at once to get ready his outfit.
There was a hopeful pleasure in even this, and while so engaged Sandie
believed himself getting better already.
 The parting from his parents and Elsie, and from Maggie May and the
minister, would, he knew, be painful enough, but then there was Hope to sit
up aloft and breathe the flattering tale.
One day Willie, who had been to Aberdeen, burst into Sandie’s room in a
state of joyful excitement. He was waving aloft a curious-looking
document, which was half printed, half written.
“Hurrah!” he cried. “Now, Sandie, I’m going to astonish you. Better
catch hold of something for fear you fall. Do you know the Tomlisons, the
rich shipowners?”
“By hearsay, Willie.”
“Well, they know you by hearsay. They know all your strange story, and
all your hard struggles, and they have heard about your illness, and even got
Dr. Kilgour’s report, and they have sent you a free pass to Australia, round
by the Horn.”
“Oh, how kind!” cried Sandie. “But, Willie, can I in honour accept?”
“If you didn’t accept, I should look upon you as a pagan, Sandie. Sit
down there at once, and write and thank them.”
And Sandie did.

CHAPTER IV

THE DANGER AND DIFFICULTY WAS TO COME

The Boo-boo-boo was a crack Aberdeen clipper barque, of large
dimensions, and though not in the habit of carrying passengers, beautifully
fitted aft, with a saloon like a marble hall, and splendid well-fitted state-
rooms off it.
She was in the Australian trade. Her cargo might best be described by
the American term “notions,” for she carried anything and everything by
which she was likely to turn an honest penny.
The barque was nearly new, having only made three voyages, and
always with pecuniary success to her owners.
She lay in Aberdeen harbour, and was nearly ready for sea.
. . . . . .