critical pedagogy is a way of teaching and learning language .

1. Transforming Lives
Introducing critical pedagogy into ELT classrooms
RAMIN AKBARI 2008
Provided by: Maryam Dolatyaar

2. Critical pedagogy ( CP)
In ELT is an attitude to language
teaching which relates the classroom
context with the wider social context
and aims at social transformation
through education.
CP is not a theory but “ a way of
doing “ learning and teaching.
(Canagarajah )
It is teaching with an attitude .
(Pennycook)

3. √CP deals with questions of
● social justice
● social change
through education .
√Critical pedagogues argue that educational system are reflections of social
systems within which they operate and since in all social systems we have
■ discrimination and ■ marginalization in terms of race ,social class or gender
the same biases are reproduced in educational systems .

4. ■CP puts the classroom
context into wider social
context with the belief
that “ what happens in the
classroom should end up
making a difference
outside the classroom.
■ Critical practice is about
connecting the word with
world.
People who have the
power to make
decisions in society
also have the power
to design and
implement
educational system
.so their ideas and
values get accepted
while values and
ideas of other are not
given voice.

5. The discourse of CP is the discourse of LIBERATION and HOPE.
• LIBERATION
it questions the
legitimacy of accepted
power relations and
recognizes the
necessity of going
beyond ideal social
constraints .
• HOPE
it provides the
potential for
marginalized groups to
explore ways of
changing the statue
quo and improve their
social conditions.

6. ■Critical education is not a unitary phenomenon.
Critical literacy is not just about interrogating text, it is also about
( real world realities ) and the role of language ,power and
representation in injustice…education for democracy should not be
about the development of products or even consumers, but about
preparation for public citizenship ,for civic agreement.
■ the conservative forces that control education and society at large
have tried to keep critical ideas out of school curricula and
classrooms. course book contents and teaching methods have been
cautiously selected to make sure that only socially refined topics are
addressed .
■the totality of the experiences of learners needs to be addressed .
■ language teachers can play a more active role by including themes
from the wider society in their classes.

8. Transforming
classes
3.Include more
of students real-
life concerns
1.Base your
teaching on
students local
culture
2.Regard learners
l1 as a resource to
be utilized
4.Make your
learners aware
of issues faced
by marginalized
groups

9. 1.Base your teaching on students ‘ local culture.
■Culture has always been treated as an indispensable part of any language
teaching /learning situation and in fact it has been used as a source of content for
many language teaching course books.
■most cultural content has been from the target language
■Those who want to learn a new language want to communicate with people users
of that language ,therefore they should be familiar with the cultural norms of that
society.
■ English now is an international language .
■In communicative setting people try to communicate their own cultural values
and conceptualization not those of target language.
■They want to express who they are and what kind of cultural background they
represent
☼ What is needed is the learner to be able to develop the competence to talk about
their own culture and cultural identity.

10. So reliance on one’s own local culture
has added value of enabling learners
to think about the different aspects of
the culture in which they live and
bring about changes in the society
where changes is needed
Therefore ,the negative and
positive features of their culture
can be addressed and local
cultural sore points ( such as the
spread of aids or honour killing
,etc) brought to the attention of
learners.

11. 2.Regard learner L1 as a resource to be utilized .
◘the common practice in L2 professional literature
has been the rejection of learners’ L1 as a negative
force which will slow down their progress by interfering
with L2 development .
◘from a scientific perspective ,there is no much
evidence available in support of the total banishment of
learners’ L1.
◘learner’s first language can be regarded as an asset that can
facilitate communication in the L 2 and as her part of
communicative experience on which to base her L2 learning .
■ where and when L1 can be used ?
▪to maintain discipline in the classroom
▪provide instruction for certain activities
▪explaining delicate grammar points
▪abstract vocabulary items

12. ◘An individual L1 is part of her or his identity .for marginalized groups, language
become an important refuge or stable pint ( Baynham op.cit.:25)
True respect for human rights and dignity of people start with one of the must
basic rights they are entitled to :
(Their linguistic human rights)
by including more of the L1 in L2setting and judicious use of that as
teaching aids teachers can create the context where the first step toward
empowerment and positive social change can be taken

13. 3.Include more of students’ real-life concerns .
■CP takes the ‘local’ as it’s point of departure, and local here includes the overall
actual life experiences and needs of learners. learners’ needs in CP are defined not just
linguistically or in terms of tasks, but in term of the purposes they serve in the social
mobility and activism of students.
■In CP there is no separation between the communicative needs of learners and who
they are socially and politically. In a critically inspired pedagogy ,rural students needs
are different from those of urban centers, minorities have needs which diverge from
those of majority ,and haves and have-nots need different type of instructional
material and approaches.
■A problem of commercially produced
course books, in other words ,is their
disregard for the localness of learning and
learning needs.
■The needs and concerns of
middle and upper class is
dominant.

14. Needs of learners Course book dialogues
Finding the part time job where to spend their vacation
Extending their visa Celebrate Mardi Gras
Negotiating their status as What to wear for a friend’s party
a refugee

15. An example of how local concerns can be incorporated in a typical English
syllabus:
In Iran there are still regions that are contaminated by landmines; these
landmines are the leftovers of eight years of war with Iraq. Each year hundreds
of people get killed or are wounded by these landmines, and most of the victims
are children and adolescent .Iran’s ministry of education .in collaboration with
the Red Crescent Society, has decided to offer a special crash course on
landmines and safety measures needed in dealing with them for student living in
affected areas.

16. From a CP perspective, it would have been advisable and possible to
include the landmine topic in the English lessons or instruction students
receive in their curriculum and in this way come up with a content that
is both relevant and transformative to immediate lives of the learner.
in this situation students can be exposed to reading passage which makes
them familiar with landmines, places they are planted and cautionary
measures that must be taken in contaminated areas.

17. 4.Make your learners aware of issues faced by marginalized groups
The majority of English learners are aiming at more social respectability and
higher levels of self-actualization .they mostly belong to middle or upper class of
their society.
Such learners are unaware of the way the majority of their citizens negotiate their
day-to-day lives or even their survival .
CP can provide the needed insight for such learners so that through social activism
they can transform their lives of those who are marginalized and help them attain
better economic and social condition .

18. Most publishers advise coursbook writers to not follow controversial topics .
The guidelines that GRAY in 2001 summarized as P A R S N I P
POLITIC, ALCOHOL, RELIGIONS , SEX,
NARCOTICS, ISMS, AND PORNOGHRAPHY
.
As a result most coursebook deals with
neutral, apparently harmless topics such as food
, shopping ,or travel .

19. The writers , producers , or publisher intentionally or unintentionally refuse to recognize
and represent certain groups of people who might not fit in exactly with expectations of
their middle and upper class language learning clients.
Poverty ,psychological or physical abnormalities, amputees ,disabled ,and old people.
Transformation of society will be
possible by:
1.identifying the trouble spot
2.providing space for all citizens
voice
3.realizing the multiple
perspective of reality
√ By creating a sense of respect
and tolerance the first step
towards social change can be
taken .

20. ▪Cp is the relationship between the word and the world .(freire 1973)
(how the word of ideas in education relates to the world of reality in society)
▪cp is about human dignity and respect .by basing instruction on learners’ real-life
worlds and identity.
●Implementation of critical model in any ELT context has a number of
requirements among which decentralization of decision making is crucial .
▪The great potential CP has in curriculum development and students
empowerment will be actualized only when education ,and by extension ELT
, develops the required attitude ,start at the local level ,and acknowledge the
significance of learners’ experiences as legitimate departure points in any
meaningful learning enterprise..

21. thank you
Methodology 1393/2014
Provided By: Maryam Dolatyaar