Abstract Summary
This study presents the process as well as the benefits and challenges of implementing critical literacy into the Korean EFL classroom. It challenges prevailing assumptions about lack of critical thinking skills among Asian EFL students due to their low English proficiency levels and cultural backgrounds. It concludes with suggestions for teachers who are interested in integrating critical literacy into their classrooms.
Abstract :
This qualitative case study explores how critical thinking skills can be incorporated through critical literacy pedagogy into the EFL classroom in South Korea. In the current Korean ELT context, the continual narrowing of the EFL curriculum to test preparation often restricts space for critical literacy pedagogy. The present study illustrates how critical literacy in the era of standardized testing can be operationalized in the high school classroom by examining the instructional approaches of an EFL teacher through class observations and teacher interviews.
This study describes the process as well as the benefits and challenges of implementing critical literacy in the Korean EFL classroom in which students examined social issues, such as racism, sexism, and LGBT rights. Through multiple tries at choosing research topics, creating texts with students, and reflecting on the texts they constructed, the teacher promoted ‘problem-posing’ with students to unravel power relations inherent in society.
Findings reveal that the teacher’s strong rapport with and mutual trust between students were pivotal to critical literacy pedagogy. With the teacher’s initiative to raise critical awareness on social issues, high school students in this study demonstrated their critical thinking skills that moved from teacher-guided interaction toward more student-centered learning by deconstructing and (re)constructing text for the purpose of taking social actions and becoming agents of change.
This study challenges prevailing assumptions about a lack of critical thinking skills among EFL students mostly due to their low English proficiency levels and cultural backgrounds. Korean EFL learners in this study were capable of interrogating social issues and presenting their research in a multimodal format to their peers, with the use of sophisticated academic vocabulary. The presentation will conclude with suggestions for teachers who are interested in integrating critical literacy into their EFL classrooms.
