Because of its association with the West, English became a symbol of modernization and freedom during Poland's communist chapter. Since 1989, English has achieved an even higher status, as the language of international business, research, and media. Today, Polish advertisements are filled with English loan words, English-language movies reign in theaters, and most young people study English in school. As relatively little research has examined the impact of English on contemporary Poland, this paper is an effort to begin filling this gap. I start by offering a concise history of Poland and Polish, as well as a history of English in Poland. I then provide examples of changes in Polish that are likely motivated by Poles' use of English. In the following sections, I outline the rise to fame of English in Polish classrooms, advertisements, and media. From this review emerges a somewhat incongruous image of English, as both an economic asset and a corrupting agent on the Polish language and culture. To illustrate these dichotomous attitudes, the subsequent section reports on the findings of my preliminary, Internet-based study of contemporary Polish discourses about English. I end the paper by identifying some unanswered questions and suggesting directions for further research.

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Despite growing criticisms of native-speakerism in English Language Teaching (ELT), the ‘native speaker’ concept is still used in the recruitment of teachers (Mahboob & Golden, 2013; Ruecker & Ives, 2015). This study critically evaluates the impact of native-speakerism on ELT hiring practices in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). To identify qualifications desired by employers and to document the role of the ‘native speaker’ criteria, 53 online job advertisements are analysed. The data are analysed using Legitimation Code Theory (LCT) to understand what characteristics, knowledge, and skills are discursively legitimized in the advertisements. Our results suggest that the ‘native speaker’ is indeed used as a model against which ELT applicants in the UAE are benchmarked. Because native-speakerism reflects a knower code orientation, which downplays specialized knowledge and skills, we argue that to challenge discriminatory hiring practices, employers should place more emphasis on teachers’ language proficiency and relevant knowledge and skills.

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