Pushing back Against the Marketization of Language Education

Choice and empowerment are two words associated with learner autonomy, critical pedagogy and other notions of student-centered teaching. And yet the workplace can be littered with obstacles that limit a teacher’s own autonomy and job satisfaction. Some lay the most blame squarely on what Gray and Block call the “marketization” of education.   In a discussion of the overemphasis on testing in language education, Scott Thornbury quotes Gray and Block, who say

“Students are increasingly seen as customers seeking a service and schools and teachers are, as a consequence, seen as service providers. As this metaphorical frame has been imposed… the semantic stretching of keywords from the world of business… has become commonplace. Thus terms such as “outcomes”, “value added”, “knowledge transfer”, “the knowledge economy” and above all “accountability” have become part of the day-to-day vocabulary of education.” (from The Marketization of Language Education and Neoliberalism.)

Full article here

Original poster presentation here