The Neoliberal Promise of English: A Comparative Case Study of Representations of English in Vulnerable Schools in Chile

Abstract

This study explores how English is represented in the education of students in Chilean vulnerable schools. Using the Comparative Case Study (CCS) approach, it examines this question at three different levels: transnational, national, and local. Previous scholars have analyzed how English is represented as a tool for specific social outcomes, such as social mobility or as a social barrier. Other scholars have examined how English is represented in classroom materials. However, the literature shows how these representations have often been in conflict with one another. Moreover, these studies have not shown how teachers and students interpret these representations and to what degree they are accepted, rejected, or adapted. Finally, the literature has not shown how these representations have been considered within “vulnerable” school contexts where arguments regarding social mobility are particularly germane. This study, which focuses on Chile, examines this important intersection between English language teaching and vulnerable schools, a term the Chilean government uses to denote when high levels of poverty are present. This study draws upon two key ideas, Kachru’s Three Concentric Circles of English (1985) and Moscovici’s Theory of Social Representations (1984), and then applies them as frameworks. They are used to examine the values, practices, and ideas embedded within the three levels of CCS as well as to examine the power dynamics that are often associated with the English language. Data were collected for all three levels. At the transnational level, a 2005 policy document from the Asian Pacific Economic Cooperation was analyzed. At the national level, another policy document and four core curricular documents were examined: the Bases Curriculares for elementary and secondary school levels, and two grade level plans from the Programas de Estudio (quinto año and segundo medio). Additionally, the corresponding grade-level textbooks distributed throughout Chile were analyzed. Finally, at the local level, interviews with six Chilean teachers of English, all working in Chilean vulnerable schools were conducted. The findings showed that across all three levels, two predominant representations emerged: English as a tool for personal development and English as a tool for making global connections. These two representations were also shown to evince neoliberal values and characteristics. Evidence of marketing, consumerism, and individual responsibility was found. Working within the confines of the national curriculum, the teachers made efforts to adapt classroom materials to make English more accessible and relatable for their students. However, these efforts often also mirrored neoliberal ideology by emphasizing the use of technology for primarily entertainment purposes. Additionally, the findings demonstrated that the practices at the national and local levels largely focused on lower-level cognitive skills. Finally, in general, these representations did not reflect vulnerable contexts, often portraying a much higher socio-economic lifestyle than students in vulnerable schools would likely have access. This failure to acknowledge inequalities raises significant questions as to how English could be used as a tool for social equality when pertinent inequalities in Chilean vulnerable contexts are rarely addressed. Based on these findings, the implications for new representations included within English language classroom materials are discussed.