The idea for a book on critical issues in teaching English and language education from international research perspectives sprang from years of teaching a doctoral course at the University of Exeter. This course aims to introduce doctoral students to critical discussions of several themes and issues related to language education in general, and to English-language teaching in particular. The book marks a celebration of the contribution of a large number of my students over the past 20 years and recognition of their efforts, participation, the research studies they conducted and above all their ideas and passion about bringing equity and improvement to classrooms and schools. They are all English-language teaching professionals mainly working at tertiary level. Some were in leadership positions while many were classroom practitioners.
The chapters in this book aim to capture the spirit of the lectures, activities, seminars and the research produced by diverse groups of doctoral researchers from different parts of the world. The contributors to this book are mostly past students of the Doctor of Education in Teaching English to Speakers of other Languages (TESOL) offered by the Graduate School of Education at the University of Exeter both in its Dubai and Exeter campuses. Some of the studies were conducted in the Gulf region, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait and United Arab Emirates. Other investigations come from Lebanon, the UK, Chile, the Dominican Republic, and China, hence providing a wide international spectrum about issues of voice, equity, discourse, language of instruction policies, curriculum, classroom pedagogy, and teacher education among other topics.
All the studies in this volume are informed by the main tenets of critical theory, critical education and critical applied linguistics. Their common point of departure is an ambition to question set definitions, policies and taken-for-granted practices and approaches in the language classroom. Drawing on the work of critical philosophers and scholars such as Jurgen Habermas from the Frankfurt School, Paulo Freire, Henry Giroux, Alistair Pennycook, Robert Phillipson, James Tollesfon, Edward Said and many others, the research represented in this volume is set to challenge mainstream discourses in teaching English and language education. The theoretical frameworks used in the reported studies allow its authors to revisit very recent developments in the field of TESOL and foreign language education as an attempt to tackle language issues from the perspectives of critical applied linguistics, critical pedagogy, critical discourse analysis and critical literacy. The studies empirically demonstrate that there is more to the field of TESOL than classroom techniques, language proficiency, materials, communicative competence, and outcome-focused professional development.
The studies reflect a clear sense of dissatisfaction with strategies and hegemonic practices of performativity, outcome-based evaluation and teacher marginalization from decision-making processes, and an aggressive focus on financial interest and reduced support for teachers. These are all carried out at the expense of widening access, social mobility and the development of the critical learner. Through engaging in critical research, the authors of this volume engage in counter-hegemonic discourses questioning and challenging the incessant encroachment of neoliberal and neoconservative policies and practices in language education and TESOL.
The book is organized into four themes with each chapter being a research study following the established structure of an introduction, a literature review, a description of the research methodology, methods, analysis of the findings, and implications and recommendations for future studies. Three main features characterize each of the chapters: first, the inclusion of a section on the critical research agenda of the study and a clear elaboration on the theoretical framework or philosophy adopted by the researchers to guide their investigations; second, a section on the theoretical and pedagogical contributions of the studies. These two features are essential elements of research informed by a critical paradigmatic position aiming to question, challenge and suggest better and preferred futures for learners and teachers. The third feature is a section on further reading whereby the reader is provided with additional and up-to-date resources on the topic of the chapter. Each title is followed by a brief description of the main points addressed in the resource. For the novice researcher in education and TESOL in particular, each chapter serves as a sample of a research study located in the wider framework or approach referred to as the critical paradigm. This research has also been referred to as radical, aiming to make a difference to the research participants and society at large. To question, challenge and offer recommendations and alternatives for preferred futures in TESOL and language education, the authors of the chapters in this book have at their disposal a range of methodological options. Actions research, critical discourse analysis, critical ethnography and critical exploratory designs have been adopted, explained and justified theoretically and practically. Each section on research methodology is followed by a theoretical justification to explain how the adopted methodology is compatible with the critical agenda of the study and the research questions. Procedural descriptions of the design and data collection methods, sampling techniques as well as ethical dimensions are also described and explained. The authors provide detailed reports on their data analysis frameworks and procedures. In a time of an overall lack of specialized educational resources on how to conduct critical research in TESOL and language education this book marks a clear continuation to the field. It does so by drawing upon a wide range of data derived from focus groups, individual interviews, questionnaires, direct observations, textbook content and studentsā writing. This variety of methodologies and methods will enable readers to explore their own ways in designing critical research.
At the content level the four themes, which mark the four parts of the book, fit well within the main aims of critical research in TESOL raising questions about the status of English, related pedagogies and the effect of English and TESOL policies on the lives of teachers, learners and researchers.
Part I is dedicated to the issue of language policies emanating from the strong position of English as a Medium of Instruction (EMI) in the Gulf region and beyond. Contrary to the rationale and arguments put forward by proponents of EMI in mainstream ELT literature, the authors of the three chapters in this part invoke a critical approach to policies on language of instruction to deconstruct the concept of EMI and expose its effects on the learning experiences of university students, their proficiencies and their sense of cultural and linguistic identity. The authors do acknowledge the role of English in the lives of the participants as well as the positive discourses of development, economic competition, access to world markets, global communication and a skilled workforce. This is the discourse of the protagonists of the expansion of English paradigm. However, the authors also expose studentsā lack of agency as they have no choice in the language of their education and are therefore forced to seek and develop additional strategies and efforts to cope with the demands of EMI, as all as those of their academic disciplines. In Oman, Chap. 2 by Sawsan Al-Bakri and Salah Troudi reports that EMI policy has detrimental effects on university studentsā writing abilities and records that many of them had to resort to plagiarism in order to write academic assignments. The demands of English were above their abilities; given that EMI does not seem to be reversible for the time being, the authors recommend stronger English for Academic purposes (EAP) courses to help the students cope with the demands of writing in several disciplines. In Kuwait, Chap. 3 by Abdullah Alazemi demonstrates that university students do attach importance to English for employment and career purposes, but they are also concerned about the negative effects EMI has on the status of Arabic as the language of science and academia. The study participants also expressed concern on how their ability in Arabic had declined because they were more focused on improving their competence in English. They would prefer to have more Arabic incorporated during their learning journey, either by moving to a complete Arabic as a medium of instruction (AMI ) policy or by implementing Arabic alongside English. These issues were echoed in Chap. 4 by Taghreed Masri, who raises the question about the effects of EMI on studentsā sense of linguistic and cultural identity in the United Arab Emirates. Results showed that many of the students seem to have lost their faith in Arabic as a language of academia and see EMI as the normal medium of instruction, but still consider academic Arabic an essential part of their identity, which raises questions about their sense of self-worth and self-esteem.
In Part II, issues of classroom pedagogy, studentsā voice in their learning, and discourses of EAP textbooks were investigated by four studies. In Chap. 5, Reine Azzi uses dialogue and reflexivity as research tools to challenge a group of Lebanese university students to think of the position of English in their learning experience and lives, its hegemony and effects on Arabic. Through a critical pedagogy intervention the study provided the participants with the space to discuss their own assumptions and prejudices. In Chap. 6, the second study in this part, Alina Rebecca Circiui challenges her Omani university participants to experience learning through a critical pedagogy approach in order to promote global citizenship skills. The study engages the participants in discussing global issues by developing multiple perspectives in reading and reacting to authentic texts. In both studies, Azzi and Circiui reported more criticality, awareness and tolerance of different perceives and views on the part of the students. The third study, Chap. 7 by Antonia Patterson, challenges the mainstream views and definitions of studentsā classroom participation often advocated by Western academic discourses that place speaking at the front of language skills that represent studentsā engagement and learning. Pattersonās study is a critical action research that aimed to challenge dominant perceptions of what constitutes āvoiceā in the language classroom. Through classroom observations and focus groups in China, the researcher worked with her students to plan and implement an intervention aimed at establishing more equitable classroom practices that allow studentsā voices to be recognized in their multiple forms. Patterson argues that by engaging with studentsā perspectives and culture, the pedagogical space for the various forms of student voice in both verbal and non-verbal communication and practice can be created in the classroom. In Chap. 8, the fourth of this part, Mubina Rauf applies a critical discourse analysis approach to analyze two commonly used EAP textbooks in pre-university English programs at a Saudi Arabian university. The study shows that the chosen texts served a neoliberalist ideology through an overt and covert use of lexical and visual techniques representing themes and concepts such as globalization, individualization, philanthropy, heroism, success, celebrity culture, environmental issues, economics, the free market, and production growth. The author calls for the development of alternative, context-specific EAP along with indigenous teacher development programs where teachers are trained to hone their linguistic analysis skills that determine the ideological content in ELT materials.
In Part III, the focus of the four studies is on teacher education and personal and professional development for TESOL practitioners. Chapter 9, by Assia Slimani-Rolls, demonstrates, through a longitudinal study conducted in the United Kingdom, that the exploratory practice model can help novice teachers contribute to their own professional development. This model is presented as an innovative form of practitioner research reaction that encourages teachers to work with their learners for better understanding of their own practice. As a model, exploratory practice is a critical reaction to mainstream and essentialist models of teacher education and professional development that view teachers as technicians and implementers of set...