Critical Pedagogy in ELT: Images of Brazilian Teachers of English

Abstract

Recently, some scholars inside the English language teaching (ELT) community have started to question the absence of a critical view in the teaching and role of English internationally. More specifically, they have attempted to encourage ESL/EFL teachers to address such sociopolitical issues as the alleged neutrality of English as an international language. They argue for a critical pedagogy that would encourage pedagogical practices aiming to empower teachers and learners, and consequently to change the nature of schooling and transform society. Considering that critical pedagogy has its roots in the work of Brazilian educator Paulo Freire, we investigated what 40 Brazilian English teachers knew about and thought of critical pedagogy in ELT. Our findings showed that they were unaware of it. Attached to the strong appeal of a dominant integrative discourse, the English teachers saw themselves as agents of good in that they prepared students to be successful in the world. In view of the fact that Brazil's new National Curriculum Parameter is based on critical pedagogical assumptions, we wonder how such a pedagogy might operate in this particular context.