Join us for a lecture presented by Caroline Ritter, Visiting Associate Research Scholar, University of Maryland School of Public Policy.
After the Second World War, institutions to teach English to visitors proliferated around the United Kingdom as part of Britain’s effort to sustain influence with foreign elites and as part of an overall cultural diplomacy campaign. Within the burgeoning sector of further education, their appearance also served to bolster the British economy as foreign students came to Britain and spent significant sums of money while being trained. Over time, however, British officials and members of the public became increasingly concerned that lax regulation of these institutions carried negative consequences. Initially, this involved general worry that the breadth and diversity of English-language teaching could undermine the quality of the British cultural “brand.” By the 1990s, however, this was joined with a more pointed alarm that such institutions represented a threat to national security by creating a pathway for foreign nationals to enter the country.
This paper will trace the growth of English language schools in Britain between the 1950s and the early 2000s to show how a post-imperial nation confronted the political tradeoffs of globalization. Whether speaking to the tensions of government-business relations, the pressures of migration, the priorities of national security, or the evolution of modern globalized education, the politics that surround the English-language school industry in Britain are pertinent around the world today.
Zoom link available upon request from jboire@umd.edu.