EFL Global Poverty Education: German Lessons for a Global Context
摘要
This chapter extends the German case study to a global context, examining the wider implications of moralized and simplified representations of poverty in EFL textbooks. It argues that the German findings are not unique, but rather reflect broader educational tendencies shaped by cognitive biases and subject-specific orientations in language pedagogy. Poverty is presented as a moral problem with human causes and charitable solutions, an approach that produces compelling narratives but obscures structural realities, historical progress, and systemic causes. Such framing risks reinforcing stereotypes, distorting understanding, and reducing learners’ capacity for critical engagement. The chapter identifies several biases—such as the preference for emotionally charged “good stories,” negativity bias, and moral interpretation bias—that help explain why these narratives persist and why they may reappear across other national contexts. It also highlights how subject-specific emphases on communication and empathy in foreign language education further entrench this framing. In response, the chapter proposes evidence-based recommendations for advancing global poverty education. These include accurately representing complexity, diversifying framings beyond morality, embedding critical thinking, reframing action competence, integrating systems thinking, and providing teachers with expert-designed materials. Together, these strategies aim to support more balanced, reflective, and globally relevant approaches to poverty education.