Neoliberalism for young learners in an EFL context: a mixed-methods approach

ABSTRACT Studies on the salient role of neoliberalism in education have increased rapidly in recent years. These studies highlighted the presence of neoliberalism in language teaching materials in different contexts. However, research exploring the reality of neoliberal mentality in young learners’ (YL) English language teaching (ELT) materials are sparse. Contributing to this barely-touched line of research, this study, employing a mixed-methods approach, examined the two most frequently used young learners’ ELT textbooks (i.e. ‘Family and Friends’; ‘Super Minds’) taught in Iranian private language institutes. We further explored teachers’ perspectives on neoliberalism. The findings revealed that young learners’ textbooks are notably filled with neoliberal values such as ‘fame & celebrity’ and ‘material wealth’. The qualitative findings also revealed that most teachers are unaware of the presence of neoliberalism in the textbooks. Implications for teachers, young learners, and policymakers are discussed.