Study abroad, human capital development, language commodification, and social inequalities

Abstract

Neoliberal discourse has seeped into various practices of higher education and study abroad (SA), emphasizing the value of human capital development through international education and foreign language learning. Applied linguists have been strongly critiquing neoliberal ideologies, and how they reproduce social inequalities. In this study, the examples of Albert, Theresa, and Rebecca, three U.S. undergraduates in Spain, exhibit how elements of neoliberal discourse and the consumerist notion of second language education as a commodity perpetuate social inequalities abroad and at home. These students were part of an ethnographic study (2007–2008) that included 117 U.S. undergraduates enrolled in four academic SA programs in Spain. The stories of Albert, Theresa, and Rebecca are significant because they had traction within their SA cohort. The consumerist notion of education as a commodity was employed as the analytical framework in conjunction with Bourdieu’s concept of capital (1986). This study problematizes the neoliberal logic and the promise of human capital development associated with language learning through SA. It calls for more diversity, equity, inclusion in SA. A social justice pedagogical paradigm is discussed as a valid, alternative approach to help students emphasize humanistic imperatives over individualist imperatives, gain global understanding, and contribute to world justice.

“It Is Tough to Come Back. Who Am I Now as a Language Teacher?”: The Re-Positioning of Three Vietnamese Teachers of English Language Returning from Overseas Programs

“…To date, research has shown very limited insights into how Vietnamese returnee teachers viewed themselves in terms of their (re)constructed professional roles and pedagogical practices inside their local classroom after their overseas education (Almutairi, 2018). Specifically, further research is needed to reveal the returnees' internal changes and how their gained professional resources and capital from overseas study or training are likely perceived and utilized in their home country's contexts (Goldoni, 2021). Therefore, understanding this sustained and reciprocal process is increasingly important in terms of how returnees tend to be aware of their roles and teaching (philosophy and) practices to be developed or challenged after overseas experience.…”

Researching language-focused study abroad through an equity lens: A research agenda

“…As described above, marginalized students may face racial discrimination from peers and locals and may be subject to curricula centered on whiteness and lacking in diverse voices (e.g., Goldoni, 2017;Johnstone et al, 2020;Ohito et al, 2021). Monolingual bias in SA programs may lead to practices that erase and/or disparage the rich linguistic repertoires that multilingual students employ to communicate and construct identities by, for instance, privileging a monolingual native speaker norm as the learning target (e.g., Goldoni, 2021;Trentman & Diao, 2021). In terms of host communities, SA program administrators do not always take into account the impact on local people and whether initiatives are mutually beneficial for both visiting students and host communities.…”

“…Various authors have proposed changes in practices to enhance equity and resist neocolonialism in SA programs (e.g., Goldoni, 2021;Graml & Meyer-Lee, 2021;Ohito et al, 2021;Villarreal Sosa & Lesniewski, 2020). Writing about language-based SA programs specifically, Goldoni argued for a shift in focus: "Diversity, equity, inclusion and dignity need to become primary goals of SA.…”

“…In addition to the question of inequitable access, research has revealed that some students from marginalized groups who do participate in SA experience discrimination and exclusion while abroad, both from local people and from co-national and other international students (e.g., Goldoni, 2017Goldoni, , 2021Willis, 2012Willis, , 2015. Goldoni (2017), for instance, described a Black American student in Spain who faced racism from both Spaniards and white American peers.…”

“…In another example provided by Johnstone et al (2020), a low-income, Latinx SA student from the US felt excluded by other members of her SA cohort, who were all white and more affluent. Linguistic discrimination has also been reported by SA students who speak a less prestigious or non-standard variety of a language, such as working-class and contact varieties of US Spanish (e.g., Goldoni, 2021;Quan, 2021;Riegelhaupt & Carrasco, 2000). American LGBTQ+ students abroad have similarly reported intolerance of their sexual orientation from other international students and local people, as well as classroom activities abroad that promoted heteronormativity (Brown, 2016;Willis, 2012).…”