Fluent Enough to Pass: The Standard That Was Never Neutral

The Strategic Linguist Podcast · Jul 7, 2026 · 27m

You walk into an exam room.The test is supposed to measure whether you can use English. The writing section: write a 250-word essay on “the advantages and disadvantages of online learning.” You have 30 minutes. Introduction, thesis statement, three body paragraphs, conclusion. Grammar correct. Vocabulary recognisable. Structure clear. Linear.You write it. You score well. The test confirms it: you are “proficient.”Three months later, you’re in a university classroom. A professor asks what you think about a reading. Your classmates interrupt mid-sentence, build on each other’s ideas, speak over…