> have you really never heard someone complaining about non-native speaker's use of English, using it to say they aren't qualified for a job, etc.?
Yes, that's true, but I think it's important to make a distinction.
What you are referring to is, more often than not, just plain racism. It's sad, and unfortunately (at least in the US) more people are feeling emboldened to spout their racist views.
However, that shouldn't cloud the fact that in general English speakers are much more able to understand sentences with tons of grammatical or structural errors if the gist is right. I contrast that with French - when I was in France and would make a small error in verb conjugation or intonation people would just respond with blank stares. And they weren't looking down on me, they just really didn't understand what I was saying.
Yes, that's true, but I think it's important to make a distinction.
What you are referring to is, more often than not, just plain racism. It's sad, and unfortunately (at least in the US) more people are feeling emboldened to spout their racist views.
However, that shouldn't cloud the fact that in general English speakers are much more able to understand sentences with tons of grammatical or structural errors if the gist is right. I contrast that with French - when I was in France and would make a small error in verb conjugation or intonation people would just respond with blank stares. And they weren't looking down on me, they just really didn't understand what I was saying.