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Title
Teachers’ role in enhancing critical language awareness through EFL
reading in the settings of a Japanese agricultural university
Presenter
Senior Assistant Professor Takeshi Sato
Abstract:
It has long been believed in Japan that the role of nonnative EFL teachers is to provide learners with knowledge or information through English textbooks and that the learners should unquestionably accept such knowledge or information without much dialogue with their teachers or other learners. As a result, EFL teachers pay less attention to the cultural content of reading materials.
This study, therefore, challenges this traditional approach to EFL teaching and learning by conducting critical reading based on Critical Language Awareness (Fairclough, 1992), which addresses social and political issues or the relationship between language and power (Pennycook, 1994). The study involves examining the learners’ reading styles and a critical analysis of the reading materials, leading to the learners’ “writing back” (Pennycook, 1994) or “talking back” (Wallace, 2002) to the contents they have read.
Following the theoretical definitions of Critical Language Awareness and critical reading, this study clarifies the role of EFL teachers in choosing materials, setting tasks, and managing their classrooms, all of which are based on classroom activities in an agricultural university in Japan.
Keywords:- the role of nonnative EFL teachers, Critical Language Awareness
References
Fairclough, N.(ed) (1992). Critical Language Awareness. London: Longman.
Pennycook, A. (1994). The Cultural Politics of English as an International Languge. London: Longman.
Wallace, C. (2002). Local literacies and global literacy. in Block, D and
Cameron, D.(eds), Globalization and Language Teaching, p.101-114.
London:
Routlege
contact asian_efl_journal@yahoo.com
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