English Learning and Peer Culture: An Ethnographic Case Study of English Underachievers in School

The present study examines English Underachievers’ experiences in the context of public English education. Focusing on two school welfare programs, that is streaming (i.e., level-based teaching) and school counselling, the study focuses on the extent to which the neoliberal tenet of self-help works to support Underachievers’ English learning. The findings show that although the government officials expected the welfare support to be a help for low performers’ academic progress, the actual implementation of the programs failed to take into account working-class peer relations and social conditions of English learning. The neoliberal approach thus has resulted in further marginalization of low performers, a consequence that I identify as the spread of neoliberalism in education.