The growth of internationalization has led to a rapid shift from English as a foreign language (EFL) to English as the medium of instruction (EMI) for academic subjects in non-anglophone countries (Dearden, 2016). Consequently English language education has to respond to a pressing need for linguistic competence in the new global context. Successful delivery of academic courses in English is essential to increase international involvement. This, however, cannot be achieved without preparing linguistically qualified teachers, which foregrounds the prominence of English Language Teaching (ELT) professionals in particular.

In the book LETs and NESTs: Voices, Views and Vignettes, Copland, Garton and Mann successfully bring an engaging set of chapters together, investigating contemporary debates on ELT professionals relating to Native English Speaking Teachers (NESTs) and Local English Teachers (LETs). It draws on the editors’ research project on NEST schemes around the world by examining their employment, daily practices, and ways of team work. It challenges deficit and static views of NESTs and LETs from 21^st-century perspectives, and suggests ways in which ELT professionals can best serve the needs of international exchange. As John Knagg, Senior Adviser at the British Council, states in the Foreword, ‘The success of that international exchange depends to a large extent on the quality of relationships between NESTs and LETs, as this book shows us’ (p. 3).

The book is in three parts. In the first part the editors’ opening chapter provides an outline of the rationale underlying this collection. It includes a review of earlier work and involves discussion of current perspectives into a conceptual and theoretical framework with a range of topics that apply to ‘any discussion of NESTs and LETs’ (p. 6). The topics presented in the introduction greatly enhance the editors’ argument, especially in an age of globalization, allowing for gaining ‘contemporary insights into the NEST/LET world to uncover current issues in the field’ (p.13).

The second part of the book consists of 13 chapters written by teachers and scholars who are working and studying in the contexts where NESTs are recruited and ‘work on a daily basis with LETs’ (p. 5). Reading through these 13 chapters, readers find their expectations being largely fulfilled, as they address local flavors of NESTs and LETs around the world. It opens up opportunities for scholars to develop their further research in the field. For example, Lawrence, in Chapter 1, delves into a scheme in a Japanese public secondary school, exploring the ‘hybrid’ experience of NESTs (p. 23). He highlights the perspectives generated from the examined NESTs on their experiences of working alongside LETs, gaining insights into practical improvements and team teaching programmes in Japan and other countries.

Tang, in Chapter 2, discusses the relationship and conflicts between the NESTs and LETs by introducing a case study in Hong Kong. She finds that LETs’ views and opinions are often marginalised or even ignored, and few efforts have been put into developing a strong collaborative relationship. The LETs, however, all recognize the unique contribution of the NESTs in their language support. In Chapter 3, Selvi raises new perspectives to native-speaker/non-native speaker debates by exploring myths and misconceptions, moving on to a reconceptualization both ideologically and politically. He suggests that group work can ‘establish a more democratic, participatory, professional and egalitarian future for the ELT profession’ (p.15).

Rivers highlights issues on qualification of native speakers by examining ELT employment and job advertising in the context of higher education in Japan in Chapter 4. This study guides readers to consider whether the popularity and native-speaker criterion would disadvantage potential applicants on the basis of their speakerhood status. Gonzalez and Llurda, in Chapter 5, analyse articles published in major newspapers in Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and Mexico, addressing how these publications engage the native-speaker myth. In Chapter 6, Kim reports on a case study on co-teaching practices between NESTs and Non-native English-Speaking Teacher (NNESTs) in a Korean school context through classroom observation and in-depth interview. She explores NESTs’ views of co-teaching, which take a leading role in co-teaching practices from lesson planning to actual teaching.

Keaney, in Chapter 7, moves on to investigate one of the longest-running NEST schemes in Brunei and its effective management. In his discussion, Keaney examines the skills and attributes that both LETs and NESTs bring to the profession from sociocultural perspectives. Chapter 8 reports on Lin's study of policies and practices in Taiwanese junior secondary schools by exploring NESTs’ working experience. In Chapter 9, Heo focuses on team teachers with regard to their experience of conflicts and tension in Korean primary schools. Her insightful exploration teases apart the working relationships between LETs and NESTs, foregrounding issues of differences in power in particular. Khanh & Spencer-Oatey, in Chapter 10, adopt critical incident analysis to examine cultural tensions between NESTs and LETs in tertiary institutions in Vietnam, and suggest ways to improve teacher education programs for both NESTs and LETs.

In Chapter 11, Yanase shares her unique personal experience as a Japanese Assistant Language Teacher by investigating team teaching in Japan. Wong, Lee and Gao, in Chapter 12, present their two case studies of collaborative practice between NESTs and LETs in Hong Kong. They explore influential factors that facilitate such collaboration in the context within which it has an established history and notes that it receives strong governmental support. In Chapter 13, Javier draws our attention to the existence of Visible Ethnic-Minority Native-English-Speaking Teachers (VEM-NESTs) that influences the debates between NESTs and LETs. She incorporates critical race theory to engage the conceptual discussion between race and identity, seeing if it may influence the way VEM-NESTs are perceived in particular contexts.

The final chapter, Chapter 14, making up the third part of the book, is different in nature and scale from the previous chapters and offers a state-of-the-art view on native speakerism. This provides a notable space for distinguished scholars who have been working in the field for many years to open an academic dialogue on key themes picked up from the chapters in this collection. They centre on discussing native-speakerism, native speakers, non-native speakers, the NNEST movement, native-speakerness, and teacher qualifications. Their perspectives on the prominent themes above are ‘unique, insightful and challenging’ (p.17), which makes the last chapter more ‘innovative’ (p.13).

The book, which covers around 270 pages of text, is a thought-provoking read. Its multiple themes advance corresponding discussions, debates and accounts on NESTs and LETs, contributing significantly ‘to our theoretical understanding of native-speakerism, linguistic imperialism, team teaching and related issues’ (p. 5). The collection, being highly informative and authoritative, is also likely to be of particular value to those who are interested in ELT professionals as an area of inquiry and research.

The backdrop to all the studies in this collection is that, given the rise of English as an international language as a means to promote intercultural collaboration and exchange, local contexts have become particularly important to understanding ELT professionals, NESTs and LETs in particular. The chapters in this collection remind readers that a lot more voices are still overlooked in such a large global context, which opens up new questions about how the case studies in this collection will contribute to the world, especially in comparable situations. The editors concede in their introduction that, ‘much of the empirical and investigative work has been carried out mostly in Asia’ (p. 12), and ‘less is written about these contexts from the NEST/LET perspective’ (p. 13) in South America, the United Arab Emirates and other parts of the Middle East, so coverage of an even wider range of contexts using local empirical evidence would make this book more resourceful, more comprehensive and convincing.

Internationalization entails integration of international activities into the daily life of institutions, indicating a pressing need to address co-operative partnerships with overseas institutions including the staff and students (Carroll–Boegh, Reference Carroll–Boegh2005). This book takes this step by bringing both NESTs and LETs together in exploring various topics and themes from sociocultural and pedagogical perspectives in a global context, which can be adopted and integrated into ELT training programmes. This marks a new beginning for developing theory and research in the field.