The
McDonalization of English Language Teaching: Has it already arrived in Peru?
By Mayra Yaranga
What does theory say?
What is your
experience of eating at fast food restaurants such as the ubiquitous
McDonald’s? Does it differ from restaurant to restaurant? Does it change
depending on the time of day? Fast food restaurants are designed to offer
exactly the same customer experience, regardless of any other circumstances. Be
it Lima, Beijing, London, New York… everything is the same.
Sociologist George
Ritzer, in his book The McDonaldization of Society (1993), warns that society
is beginning to show a tendency to becoming “McDonaldized”, which means that
many aspects of life are beginning to reflect the principles underpinning the
operation of fast food restaurants. Ritzer points four principles: efficiency,
calculability, predictability and control. You might wonder what this much has
to do with English Language Teaching. A great deal.
How does
McDonaldization become evident in ELT?
There has been some
research in the field in the last few years (see Littlejohn 2012, Shamsabadi
and Ketabi 2014) pointing, for example, at coursebooks. Let us try a small
exercise in reflection: look at any two coursebooks you have used in your
school/language school. They will probably offer a similar sequence of elements
to be taught, perhaps starting with the verb to
be, then moving on to the present simple, past simple, and so on (if we
only look at grammar). The sequence is predictable and, although well-meant,
can we say in all certainty that it is the most effective sequence in which
such elements need to be taught? What is the empirical evidence for this? Does
it consider the uniqueness of a language classroom and of each and every
language learner?
One more aspect we
could consider is that of methodology. Frequently, we are told to teach in a
certain way, following a certain approach with a number of very specific
procedures. This could only remind us of fast food: every employee has to carry
out their duties in only one way, without any possibility of adapting it to
their context. Many workers are not trained enough and so they continue doing
the same task for ever, in exactly the same manner. In ELT, these practices are
guidelines which cater for those practitioners with little experience; the risk
lies in adhering to these guidelines believing them to be the most effective
way of fostering learning. Again, we fail to remember the uniqueness of every
teaching situation.
McDonaldization is,
unfortunately, spreading in education and ELT is no exception. However, it is
teachers themselves who have the giant task and duty to halt and possibly
reverse this trend. Not by “becoming radical” and stopping the use of
coursebooks, or denouncing the existence of teaching guidelines as if it were a
crime, but by reflecting on our everyday activities, our students’ needs and,
most importantly, the human dimension of teaching.
What do YOU think?
Has this become the trend in our country? If so, in which ways?
References:
A brief overview of
McDonaldization: http://www.mcdonaldization.com/whatisit.shtml
Shamsabadi, R. and
Ketabi, S. (2014). McDonaldization in
Iranian coursebooks: Absence or presence? Retrieved from
http://elt.tabrizu.ac.ir/article_3322_373.html
Littlejohn, A.
(2012). Language Teaching Materials and
the (Very) Big Picture. Retrieved from http://www.andrewlittlejohn.net/website/docs/Littlejohn%20Language%20Teaching%20Materials%20and%20the%20(Very)%20Big%20Picture.pdf
Biodata
Mayra Yaranga (1985) has completed Doctorate
studies in Education at UNIFÉ; she holds a Master’s Degree in Media, Culture
and Identity from Roehampton University (London) revalidated by PUCP, a
Bachelor’s Degree in Education from UPCH and the Professional Title of
Licenciada from IPNM. Currently she works as a pedagogical specialist and
member of the research area for Universidad del Pacífico Language Centre. She
also coordinates the ESP courses and is Member of the Executive Commission on
Cooperation and International Relations at UNIFÉ. She has published papers in
the fields of English Language Teaching and Cultural Studies.
