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Cited by 41Digital Economy and Work TransformationCritical Race Theory in EducationEFL/ESL Teaching and Learning

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Discrimination in the gig economy: the experiences of Black online English teachers

Curran, Nathaniel Ming·2023·Language and Education
DOI 10.1080/09500782.2021.1981928
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Abstract

This article examines the rapidly expanding market for online English learning and tutoring. It focuses on the experiences of Black American online English teachers employed on a variety of popular online teaching platforms (e.g. Cambly, italki, PalFish, VIPKid etc.). Specifically, the article considers how specific affordances of online English teaching platforms (e.g. customer ratings and algorithms) function to disadvantage non-White teachers. In order to address these issues, the article brings together two relevant but distinct literatures: scholarship on language ideologies and scholarship on algorithms and the gig economy. The data analyzed include: Semi-structured interviews with Black online English teachers; the websites of popular teaching platforms; and posts in public Reddit threads focused on online English teaching. The findings demonstrate how Black teachers experience the intersection of customer-based ratings and algorithms within the burgeoning online English teaching industry. The article concludes by advocating for scholars to more systematically engage with and study online tutoring platforms’ use of rating and algorithms.

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Metadata

Authors
Curran, N. M.
Affiliations
Hong Kong Polytechnic University (HK)
Corresponding author
Curran, Nathaniel Ming
ORCID
Curran, Nathaniel Ming
Venue
Language and Education
Publisher
Informa UK Limited
Published
2021-10-07
Volume
37
Issue
2
Pages
171-185
ISSN
  • 0950-0782 (ISSN-L)
  • 1747-7581
DOI
10.1080/09500782.2021.1981928
OpenAlex
W3205760658
Cited by
41
References
45
Citations by year
2026: 9 · 2025: 12 · 2024: 8 · 2023: 7 · 2022: 4 · 2021: 1
FWCI
6.93
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
Language and Education (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Digital Economy and Work Transformation
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Critical Race Theory in Education
  • Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Language and Linguistics › EFL/ESL Teaching and Learning
Keywords
gig economy, online English teaching, Black teachers, racial discrimination, online tutoring platform, customer ratings, algorithmic discrimination, language ideology, algorithmic labor

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CoChat. (2026). Citation check: Discrimination in the gig economy: the experiences of Black online English teachers. https://app.cochat.ai/papers/10.1080/09500782.2021.1981928
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Curran, N. M. (2023). Discrimination in the gig economy: the experiences of Black online English teachers. Language and Education. https://doi.org/10.1080/09500782.2021.1981928