Late capitalism and the commodifcation of English in Colombia: The shaping of language education policy and practice

This chapter describes an eight-month ethnographic case study conducted with English teachers and their secondary students in a marginalized community in Bogotá (the capital of Colombia). The author utilizes concepts of language in late capitalism and the commodification of English as a point of departure to argue their impact on language policy and practices in the country. Data collected highlight how teachers challenge the language ideologies and policy prescriptions by creating projects and classroom activities that are relevant to their sociocultural contexts. Three key points are addressed from the classroom’s view: Native speakerism, curricular guidelines and langue policy, and standardized testing. The chapter finishes by providing implications for asserting human values as a way to counter neoliberal discourses while promoting classroom practices to problematize the social injustice in which students grow up.