Neoliberalism in ELT textbooks: an analysis of locally developed and imported textbooks used in Malaysia

ABSTRACT

Neoliberal ideologies, evidenced in locally developed and internationally published imported English Language Teaching (ELT) textbooks, are compared in the context of Malaysia, an outer circle country. Historically, locally developed ELT textbooks have been used to teach English but recently imported books have been prescribed following the adoption of the Common European Framework Reference (CEFR). This move has met with criticisms from many who are concerned with the culture and ideologies reproduced in imported texts. The current study addresses this concern through the thematic content analysis of locally developed and imported textbooks used in Malaysian classrooms. It is found that the neoliberal values demonstrated in imported textbooks outweigh those in locally published ones. This necessitates a critical reading of imported ELT textbooks by local educational authorities before they are prescribed for use. This is particularly important in outer- and expanding-circle countries where local cultural values and beliefs may be different from the Western, neoliberal values reproduced in imported materials.

KEYWORDS:

• Neoliberalism
• ELT textbook content
• ELT in Malaysia
• CEFR
• critical pedagogy
• thematic discourse analysis

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. For Neoliberalism to take place, it needs to direct the attitude and behaviour of its subjects, the people who live in the neoliberal world, towards its aims. In spite of the ideology’s claim that it attempts to move away from governing individuals and promotion of their freedom, it tends to encourage individuals to make ‘right choices’ (Chandler and Reid 2016, iii) to be resilient against the challenges they face in todays’ world. As a result, a new form of government is formed through exercising power against individuals by ensuring that their behaviour is directed towards the realisation of the ideology (Lorenzini 2018).