This book addresses how Western universities have constructed themselves as global providers of education, and are driven to be globally competitive. It examines how the term 'international' has been exploited by the market in the form of government educational policies and agencies, host institutions, academia and the mass media. The book explores matters relating to the role of the English language in international education in general and the field of TESOL in particular. It demonstrates how English and TESOL have exercised their symbolic power, coupled with the desire for international education, to create convenient identities for international TESOL students. It also discusses the complexity surrounding and informing these students' painful yet sophisticated appropriation of and resistance to the convenient labels they are subjected to.

"

As a much-needed analysis of the complexity of identity formation and an honest look at the inner subjectivities of international students, this text offers an easily accessible look at how the discourse of today’s global market economy often becomes hidden in the web-based ads, world rankings, and tourist discourse often found in recruitment materials on college campuses. There is little doubt that this book will spark the interest of key players in the arena of international education (program directors, administrators, TESOL professionals, and prospective students) to question whether such education has indeed become “insidious” as the authors imply or whether there is a chance for more dialogue regarding the discursive positioning of international students.