34 ▶ Feuilleton
Anna Drewing
McDonaldization of Language Learning
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hat does a fast-food chain have to do with the study of foreign languages? Possibly just as much as it has to do with society in general. McDonaldization is a term coined by a sociologist George Ritzer in 1993 to describe a situation in which a society adopts the characteristics of a fast-food restaurant. There are four aspects of this process. Firstly, an essential feature of McDonaldization is the efficiency – all the efforts are put into the minimisation of production time. Then, there are predictability and control, and finally, there is calculability – the objectives should be quantifiable. ‣ On the example of the McDonald’s brand itself, the efficiency is to be found in the way the food is being prepared - on an assembly line, just like in a car factory. Calculability is reflected in the fact that the sales are more important than subjective gustatory pleasures. For instance, it’s insignificant what the BigMac’s taste is, as long as people keep buying it in large quantities. The predictability factor manifests itself in the form of a worldwide standardisation of services. Control is just another word to say that the workers are supposed to toe the line, or they will be replaced. In short: do your job and don’t think outside the box. ‣ Still, it is a big leap from fast-food to languages, one may think. And yet, since
languages are so crucial nowadays, probably more than ever, it is no surprise that somebody already came up with an idea to monetise it. For the past several years, creative and innovative offers of language courses have sprung up like mushrooms. What do they have to do with McDonaldization? Everything! ‣ Efficiency: they offer maximal development of your language skills for the minimal amount of time you need to sacrifice in order to achieve that goal. “Study only 15 minutes every day!”; “Become proficient in 3 months!” – does that ring any bell? ‣ Calculability: many online courses are based on the idea of gamification, i.e. while learning, you earn points, get to a higher level, and collect badges. Interestingly, such courses rarely reward real-life aspects. For example: can you follow a simple dialogue in your target language? Do you understand longer texts? How well can you use the language in a mundane, everyday situation? ‣ Predictability: have you noticed that all the courses on Duolingo-like platforms have almost identical structure? That all the lessons are the same, even though they cover completely different topics? The study is repetitive and easy, and just a tiny bit challenging – enough to make you feel that you are learning something, but not enough to pose a serious problem that you might encounter in a real communication situation.
