Neoliberal common sense and Erasmus student mobility: how do prospective English language teachers construct their experiences?

ABSTRACT

Erasmus student experiences currently seem to be closely linked to the neoliberal common sense, meaning that market-oriented motivations and consumerist behaviours can often be found in students’ discourses and experiences. With this point in mind, in this qualitative inquiry, we focused on how a cohort of prospective English language teachers constructed their Erasmus experiences. Upon analysing a qualitative set of data, we argued that the participants constructed a polydimensional Erasmus experience marked predominantly by neoliberal elements, interspersed with discernible critical facets. We, then, offered recommendations aimed at ensuring a more balanced and transformative Erasmus experience for prospective English language teachers.

Erasmus öğrenci deneyimleri günümüzde neoliberal ortak duyu ile yakından bağlantılı görünüyor. Yani öğrencilerin Erasmus söylemlerinde ve deneyimlerinde piyasa ihtiyaçlarına uygun motivasyonlar ve tüketimci davranışlar sıklıkla bulunabilir. Bu noktadan hareketle, bu nitel araştırmada, İngilizce öğretmen adaylarından oluşan bir grubun Erasmus deneyimlerini nasıl inşa ettiklerine odaklandık. Nitel bir veri setini analiz ettikten sonra, katılımcıların bazı eleştirel unsurların yanı sıra büyük ölçüde neoliberal unsurlar içeren çok boyutlu bir Erasmus deneyimi inşa ettiklerini öne sürdük. Ardından, İngilizce öğretmen adayları için daha dengeli ve dönüştürücü bir Erasmus deneyimi sağlamayı amaçlayan bazı öneriler sunduk.

KEYWORDS:

• Neoliberalism
• Erasmus
• study abroad
• language teacher education
• reflexive thematic analysis

Acknowledgements

We thank the reviewers for their insightful comments and suggestions for this manuscript. This article is based on research conducted for a doctoral dissertation submitted to the Graduate School of Social Sciences at the Middle East Technical University (Çiftçi, 2022). We are particularly thankful to the monitoring committee members, Ayşegül Daloğlu and H. Necmi Akşit, as well as the evaluation committee members, İsmail Hakkı Mirici and Perihan Savaş, for their constructive comments on this research. We also express our appreciation to the language teachers who participated in the study.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Emrullah Yasin Çiftçi

Emrullah Yasin Çiftçi (Ph.D., Middle East Technical University) currently works as an Assistant Professor at Ordu University, Türkiye. His research interests include English language teacher education, study abroad programs, interculturality, political economy, and qualitative research. His work has been published in various journals and books.

A. Cendel Karaman

A. Cendel Karaman (Ph.D., University of Wisconsin–Madison) is Professor in the Department of Foreign Language Education at Middle East Technical University, Türkiye. Dr. Karaman is the author of several research articles in the field of teacher education with a focus on systems thinking, intercultural education, field experiences, identity, curriculum, and professional development. He taught at the State University of New York Binghamton and University of Wisconsin. He is a member of the Editorial Board of the European Journal of Teacher Education.