When English language teachers have developed critical consciousness, they can adapt curriculum and classroom practices that move beyond supporting the learners’ linguistic and communicative competences to facilitate the development of the learners’ interactional competence and critical consciousness. Teachers can model how to engage critically in discussions that challenge the sociocultural, economic, and political epistemologies of today’s globalized world and how to take action to improve our local and global societies.
Teachers who have developed critical consciousness, at least to some degree, can in turn support their students’ development of critical consciousness. When language teachers develop critical consciousness, they become increasingly solidary with and empathic towards their students’ own journey to critical consciousness. Furthermore, teachers become aware of current ideologies and uncover common myths in the field of English language teaching. As they uncover these myths, they reflect on these myths and how they affect their practice and their students’ development.
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