Visuals from Taiwan English Learning Magazines as an Ageist Hidden Curriculum

Abstract Despite widespread evidence for inadvertent promotions of ageism in visual media, few scholarly works have considered the role of English language teaching materials in this matter. This research responded by subjecting a corpus of 1,705 images of people garnered from 28 recent volumes of English learning magazines used in Taiwan’s schools to a critical content analysis. The goal was to determine the amount and manner of representation of older adults. Results indicated that portrayals of those rated 65 and older were attenuated to near invisibility in these materials. Furthermore, when such portrayals were evidenced, they were heavily imbued with stereotypes. Photos accompanying the many English dialogues depicted few participants rated over 50, dissociating older people from legitimacy as foreign language learners, speakers, and teachers. This research is important in documenting a hidden curriculum representing a disconnect between what is implicitly taught and explicit Taiwan government policy aimed at empowering older people.