Critical approaches to TESOL

Although the power relationship of student-tutor and student-institution in an academy has come into question through the examinations of the critical EAP and the academic literacies approach (Lea and Street, 1998), the critical approach to TESOL has problematised lots of the other issues of TESOL such as class, race, gender and ideologies (Pennycook, 1999).

Although Pennycook (1999), who is a proponent of the critical approach to TESOL, problematized lots of issues through questioning to engage with these issues, I cannot finish this posting if I concern myself with all of these issues. Therefore, I focus on what most impressed me in the reading material this week against the background of the dominant position of English in the world.

Lin (1999) demonstrates the important roles of the teacher through showing the example that the individual teacher, who explores the alternative creative, discursive practices through understanding existing classroom practices and their socio-cultural and institutional situation, can transform one’s social world (Lin, 1999). It is very persuasive if a learner who belongs to one of the disadvantaged groups can acquire English for legitimate and appropriate discourse in official settings, they have stronger possibilities to transform their social world (Lin, 1999). Therefore, the responsibility of language teachers (not only English, but also the other languages) is really serious.


List of references

Lea, M. R., & Street, B. V. (1988). Student writing in higher education: An academic literacies model. Studies in Higher Education, 23(2), 157-172.

Lin, A. M. Y. (1999). Doing-English-lessons in the reproduction or transformation of social worlds? TESOL Quarterly, 33(3), 393-412.

Pennycook, A. (1999). Introduction: Critical approaches to TESOL. TESOL Quarterly, 33(3), 329-348.