Graduation Year
2017
Graduation Month
May
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelor of Arts – Education
School or Department
Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures
Major
Spanish
Faculty Mentor Department
Modern and Classical Languages
Faculty Mentor
Maria Bustos Fernandez
Keywords
Linguistic Imperialism, Neo-colonialism, economics, political science, Latin America, bilingual education, sociolinguistics
Subject Categories
Latin American History | Political Science
Abstract
Colonial era tactics of oppression may seem obsolete; however, the United States continues to exploit the same peripheral nations that it, and other world superpowers, have dominated for centuries. In Latin America, the influence of the American hegemony penetrates every aspect of life. Unable to escape the grip of the capitalist system, Latin America has become culturally subservient to the United States, whose supremacy has, over time, led to the extinction and endangerment of hundreds of indigenous languages and cultures. Through years of exposure to American mass culture (i.e. television, music, media, and consumer products), and an unyielding economically dependent relationship, Latin American cultures have become increasingly assimilated with that of their colonizers. This neo-colonial[1] practice is a commonly called “colonization of the mind” by indigenous rights organizers with whom I worked with in Guatemala and it is my assertion that volunteer English teaching is a major component of this psychological process. Latin Americans are motivated to learn the language in hopes of becoming part of the global economy, to fulfill dreams of migrating north to make a better life (as seen on TV), to find a job within their own countries, or to simply communicate with tourists that visit their communities.
My research culminated in an analysis of the role of English in Latin America and a critique on American volunteer English programs. Last summer, I filmed a documentary in Guatemala and Costa Rica interviewing students, teachers, and parents, both local and foreign, about their views on learning or teaching English and whether they believed it to be a form of linguistic imperialism[2] or a necessary part of an inevitable fate, i.e. globalization. Through personal testimonies and research, I have come closer to understanding this complex dichotomy that is deeply entrenched in American history and foreign policy. To understand the implications of Americans teaching English abroad we must take a historical approach.
Honors College Research Project
1
Recommended Citation
Hamburg, Sarah K., "Linguistic Imperialism and Volunteer English Teaching: A Neo-colonial Practice?" (2017). Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts. 166.
https://scholarworks.umt.edu/utpp/166
Included in
© Copyright 2017 Sarah K. Hamburg