Neoliberalization of English Language Policy in the Global South

This book investigates different ways in which neoliberal language and teaching policies have influenced the English language in global south countries across Asia, Africa and Latin America. Through the three main sub themes covered by the book, namely Neoliberalism and English Language Teaching Policies, Neoliberalism Ideology as in English Language Teaching Materials, and Experiences of Neoliberal Subjects, it investigates various aspects and means through which neoliberalism is realized in a variety of contexts.

Through the first subtheme the volume covers the English language education policies of Chile, Bangladesh, India, and Morocco. The second sub theme concerns how different neoliberal values such as consumerism, entrepreneurship, and individualism are localized and constructed in the locally developed English language materials of Thailand, Taiwan, Malaysia, and Vietnam. The third sub theme includes studies on the impact of neoliberalization of English in relation to Colombian, Brazilian, and Pakistani stakeholders.

This book is a valuable resource for academics, postgraduate students, researchers, policy makers, educators, and practitioners who are interested in neoliberalism in English language.

1. Introduction – The Global South: A Platform for the Adoption of Neoliberalised English.- Part I. Neoliberalism and English Language Teaching Policies.- 2. The Neoliberal Blow to English Language Teaching: Deconstructing the Teacher Academy Program in Chile.- 3. Neoliberalism Shaping English Language Teaching in Bangladesh: A Critical Examination.- 4. English Medium Education in India: The Neoliberal Legacy and Challenges to Multilingual Language Policy Implementation.- 5. ELT in Morocco: Postcolonial Struggles, Linguistic Imperialism and Neoliberal Tendencies.- Part II. Neoliberalism Ideology as in English Language Teaching Materials.- 6. Consumerism as Lingua Franca in ELT?: Ideologies in a Thai Textbook Series.- 7. Neoliberal Values of Business and Entrepreneurship in Taiwan’s EFL High School Textbooks.- 8. Working Towards Centrally Determined Levels of Proficiency: Uncovering the Neoliberal Standardization in the Vietnam-produced ELT Textbooks.- 9. Consumerism in Malaysian Locally Developed ELT Textbooks.- Part III. Experiences of Neoliberal Subjects.- 10. Exploring the Impact of Notions of Success Based on Native-Speakerism, Individualism and Neoliberalism on ESL Students’ Identities.- 11. Anxiety, Desire, Doubt, and Joy: the Dualities of a Latin American Emerging Researcher During Academic Writing Processes.- 12. Neoliberalism, Globalisation and Englishism: Exploring Ideological Assumptions Attached with the English Language in Pakistan.

Ali Jalalian Daghigh (PhD) is a Senior Lecturer at the Department of English Language, Faculty of Languages and Linguistics, Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (UM). Prior to joining UM, he was a postdoctoral fellow in English Language Studies at Universiti Sains Malaysia. His research interests lie within (Critical) Discourse Studies, Education as well as Translation Studies. He currently leads an international project on neoliberalization of English language teaching in the global south.

Jariah Mohd Jan is a Professor of Sociolinguistics at the Department of English Language, and was the former Dean of the Faculty of Languages and Linguistics, Universiti Malaya (UM). Her main areas of research are Sociolinguistics, pragmatics, women and leadership, and discourse at the workplace. She currently leads the IIRG project on documenting the language and culture of the Kerinchi community in Kuala Lumpur. In 2014, she was awarded with the UM Excellence Award for the category of Excellent Lecturer.

Sheena Kaur is a Senior Lecturer at the Department of English Language, Faculty of Languages and Linguistics, Universiti Malaya, Malaysia (UM). She is currently the Deputy Dean of Postgraduate Studies at the faculty. She holds a PhD in Applied Linguistics from Lancaster University, United Kingdom. Her research interests include sociolinguistics, corpus linguistics, applied linguistics, and internationalization of higher education.