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ERIC Number: EJ1101008
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2016
Pages: 14
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0143-4632
EISSN: N/A
Language "Skills" and the Neoliberal English Education Industry
Shin, Hyunjung
Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, v37 n5 p509-522 2016
Neoliberal transformation of self, learning, and teaching constructs individuals as bundles of skills (or human capital) and subordinates learning to skill production characterized by an ethic of entrepreneurial self-management [Urciuoli, Bonnie. 2010. "Neoliberal Education: Preparing the Student for the New Workplace." In "Ethnographies of Neoliberalism," edited by Carol Greenhouse, 162-176. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press]. As such, language in the neoliberal discourse is constructed as a set of flexible skills, acquired by the entrepreneurial self in the market [Park, Joseph Sung-Yul. 2010. "Naturalization of Competence and the Neoliberal Subject: Success Stories of English Language Learning in the Korean Conservative Press." "Journal of Linguistic Anthropology" 20 (1): 22-38; "The Promise of English: Linguistic Capital and the Neoliberal Worker in the South Korean Job Market." "International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism" 14 (4): 443-455]. This paper examines ways in which English language education is restructured to fit such neoliberal imaginary through the case of the South Korean "jogi yuhak" (pre-college-aged study abroad) industry. The analyses highlight ways in which the language learning industry not only interplays with but also actively shapes the ideologies of neoliberalism, by developing and selling packaged products that make the projects of self-management seem more achievable and desirable. The paper concludes with a discussion of implications of the Korean case for the study of language and social inequality in education.
Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 325 Chestnut Street Suite 800, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Fax: 215-625-2940; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: South Korea
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A