Looking at my writing

THE MACDONALIZATION EFFECT ABOUT TEACHING ENGLISH AS SECOND LANGUAGE.

This article written by Andrew Littlejohn, in 2011, provides information relating the different events that happened in more than 60 years ago, when times were very optimistic about the future in the world, in areas to be improved such environment, social, intellectual, economic, etc., and more innovations  were manufactured, to make life more comfortable, while language education was trying to find “the single right method”, to enable “the masses to learn”, raising the alternative ways of living, or self-help groups in rejection of “the establishment”.

In the sixties, the methodologies that involved the “whole person” were more humanistic, like “learner-centred teaching” or “self-access centres”. So, this historical context issues allow us to look back, and reflect our classroom practices: Are they as we would like to be?

The following is an analysis of social change through the next decades: the concept of Culture changed to a “smaller communities”,  now it  refers to meanings, habits, and customs.; “Globalization” declined power and decisions in favor of greater supranational governments and economic enterprisers; technology caused disappearance of some jobs and creation of new ones;  standardization in the market, same products available everywhere; great dominance of electronic media and  expect anything endlessly eclectic, nothing can get one in “shock”, about news, fashion, politicians, and movie stars.

 Roger Ritzer in 1993 identified and titled this tendencies as the “McDonalisation of society” referring to the world`s biggest hamburger chain, suggesting the McDonald approach that had a high degree of control; very efficient, reutilized, standardized,  and dehumanized, which system was an example for areas such media, entertainment and education, resulting in products such “McNews”, “McCinema” and “McUniversity”, therefore,  knowledge was reduced to easily digestible forms, fast, fun and with effortless learning, like fast food. So, “McCoursebook”, the global text, produced standardized outcomes, with emphasis on the pop and consumer industries. Also standardization of the “good teacher” had to be certified by certification business.

     Nowadays, we have to ask ourselves, as teachers of communication; “is our teaching educationally nutritious?”  We can revise our practices with the guides that Littlejohn suggests:

1.        Are we using coherent lessons, topics and projects to provide learning?

2.        Is content worth knowing about?

3.        Are students participating in decisions, when structured plan is presented?

4.        Are students thinking, negotiating, planning and evaluating?

5.        Do texts and tasks promote cultural understanding?

6.        Do students reflect why language is used in some particular ways?

    To conclude, we must believe that the future is the one we shape, not standardized, and supply all the pedagogic tools our students need, to develop an analytic attitude about what they read, see and are told, to be able to raise awareness, as language learners and better people.