Disrupting Colonial Tensions in Initial Language Teacher Education: Criteria Based on Critical Interculturality
Colombian English Language Teaching (ELT) is experiencing a paradigmatic change guided by the decolonial turn. This turn has enriched the debate about the implementation of a bilingual policy in Colombia, its impact on languages other than English, the purposes of learning English in the country, a...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Universidad de Antioquia
2022-09-01
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| Series: | Ikala: Revista de Lenguaje y Cultura |
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| Online Access: | https://revistas.udea.edu.co/index.php/ikala/article/view/349090 |
| _version_ | 1797994946713616384 |
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| author | Carlo Granados-Beltrán |
| author_facet | Carlo Granados-Beltrán |
| author_sort | Carlo Granados-Beltrán |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description |
Colombian English Language Teaching (ELT) is experiencing a paradigmatic change guided by the decolonial turn. This turn has enriched the debate about the implementation of a bilingual policy in Colombia, its impact on languages other
than English, the purposes of learning English in the country, and English teacher practices and identities. This article shares the results of a critical ethnography that collected data from students and teacher educators from elt preparation programs and institutional and legal documents. Results indicate that, in Colombian elt, there are six discursive tensions representing coloniality. These are (a) English teachers as instructors or as educators; (b) native or non-native English speakers; (c) poor image of foreign language teachers as opposed to an idealized language teacher; (d) instrumental or cognitive and intercultural purposes for learning English; (e) emphasis on disciplinary knowledge or on interdisciplinary knowledge; and (f ) division or integration between theory and practice. To counter these tensions, a set of criteria are proposed. These criteria are: (a) elt preparation graduates are professionals in language pedagogy; (b) they are multilingual educated teachers; (c) they are well-rounded professional educators; (d) English is a means of recognizing diversity; (e) elt preparation programs embrace interdisciplinarity as a decolonizing option; and (f ) ELT preparation programs promote praxis. To conclude, the criteria proposed aim to shift initial language teacher education from an instrumental vision to a reflexive one, considering what is being learned, how, with whom, in what contexts, and the reasons that justify it.
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| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T09:53:49Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-2e486966c2b94232b4ebae0645ad8bff |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 0123-3432 2145-566X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T09:53:49Z |
| publishDate | 2022-09-01 |
| publisher | Universidad de Antioquia |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Ikala: Revista de Lenguaje y Cultura |
| spelling | doaj.art-2e486966c2b94232b4ebae0645ad8bff2022-12-22T04:30:42ZengUniversidad de AntioquiaIkala: Revista de Lenguaje y Cultura0123-34322145-566X2022-09-0127310.17533/udea.ikala.v27n3a03Disrupting Colonial Tensions in Initial Language Teacher Education: Criteria Based on Critical InterculturalityCarlo Granados-Beltrán0Institución Universitaria Colombo Americana (ÚNICA) Colombian English Language Teaching (ELT) is experiencing a paradigmatic change guided by the decolonial turn. This turn has enriched the debate about the implementation of a bilingual policy in Colombia, its impact on languages other than English, the purposes of learning English in the country, and English teacher practices and identities. This article shares the results of a critical ethnography that collected data from students and teacher educators from elt preparation programs and institutional and legal documents. Results indicate that, in Colombian elt, there are six discursive tensions representing coloniality. These are (a) English teachers as instructors or as educators; (b) native or non-native English speakers; (c) poor image of foreign language teachers as opposed to an idealized language teacher; (d) instrumental or cognitive and intercultural purposes for learning English; (e) emphasis on disciplinary knowledge or on interdisciplinary knowledge; and (f ) division or integration between theory and practice. To counter these tensions, a set of criteria are proposed. These criteria are: (a) elt preparation graduates are professionals in language pedagogy; (b) they are multilingual educated teachers; (c) they are well-rounded professional educators; (d) English is a means of recognizing diversity; (e) elt preparation programs embrace interdisciplinarity as a decolonizing option; and (f ) ELT preparation programs promote praxis. To conclude, the criteria proposed aim to shift initial language teacher education from an instrumental vision to a reflexive one, considering what is being learned, how, with whom, in what contexts, and the reasons that justify it. https://revistas.udea.edu.co/index.php/ikala/article/view/349090critical interculturalitycolonialitydecolonialityELTtecher education |
| spellingShingle | Carlo Granados-Beltrán Disrupting Colonial Tensions in Initial Language Teacher Education: Criteria Based on Critical Interculturality Ikala: Revista de Lenguaje y Cultura critical interculturality coloniality decoloniality ELT techer education |
| title | Disrupting Colonial Tensions in Initial Language Teacher Education: Criteria Based on Critical Interculturality |
| title_full | Disrupting Colonial Tensions in Initial Language Teacher Education: Criteria Based on Critical Interculturality |
| title_fullStr | Disrupting Colonial Tensions in Initial Language Teacher Education: Criteria Based on Critical Interculturality |
| title_full_unstemmed | Disrupting Colonial Tensions in Initial Language Teacher Education: Criteria Based on Critical Interculturality |
| title_short | Disrupting Colonial Tensions in Initial Language Teacher Education: Criteria Based on Critical Interculturality |
| title_sort | disrupting colonial tensions in initial language teacher education criteria based on critical interculturality |
| topic | critical interculturality coloniality decoloniality ELT techer education |
| url | https://revistas.udea.edu.co/index.php/ikala/article/view/349090 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT carlogranadosbeltran disruptingcolonialtensionsininitiallanguageteachereducationcriteriabasedoncriticalinterculturality |