Another myth in language teaching practices is the (often) unquestionable avoidance of the use of L1 use in the classroom. Canagarajah (1999) cautioned against the prevalent belief that “the use of the learner’s first languages should be eschewed at all costs” (p. 126). When the use of the learner’s first languages is ignored, it shifts the status and privileges the English language over the learner’s L1. However, critically conscious L2 teachers, like Canagarajah, question the exclusion of their learners’ L1 from the classroom and look for ways of incorporating it in a way that respects the local culture and supports L2 learning.
Textbooks are a good example of the shift of status to the L2 over the learner’s L1. Most English language textbooks are the product and producer of such myth. Higher profit margins are possible when textbooks can be sold worldwide rather than only locally or to a particular group of people. Besides the exclusion of L1, scholars have criticized the content of these textbooks for their focus on multicultural celebration (i.e., food, festival, and fun curriculum) and (mis)representation of Peoples (for examples of L2 teachers’ critical discussion on language textbooks, see Chun, 2014; Moreno-López, 2015; Nguyen & Ishitobi, 2012).
When L2 teachers develop critical consciousness, they question the content of the textbooks assigned to them by their institutions and governments and, when allowed by their context, encourage students to join in this effort (e.g., West, 2014). When no culturally-appropriate textbooks are available, and circumstances are favorable, often teachers will produce their own material and encourage their students to create them as well (e.g., research topics and question the ways in which it has been (re)presented by the media).
References:
Canagarajah, A. S. (1999). On EFL teachers awareness and agency. ELT Journal, 53(3), 207-214.
Chun, C. W. (2014). Addressing racialized multicultural discourses in an EAP textbook: Working toward a critical pedagogies approach. TESOL Quarterly, 50(1), 109-131. doi:10.1002/tesq.216
Moreno-López, I. (2015). Critical activities in the Spanish classroom: A qualitative study. NECTFL Review(75), 31-55.
Nguyen, H. t., & Ishitobi, N. (2012). Ordering fast food: Service encounters in real-life interaction and in textbook dialogs. JALT Journal, 34(2), 151-185.
West, G. B. (2014). Doing critical pedagogy in neoliberal spaces: Negotiated possibilities in Korean hagwons. In P. C. Miller (Ed.), Readings in language studies (Vol. 4, pp. 231-246). Grandville, MI: International Society for Language Studies.
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