Pedagogical tasks for fostering critical transformative efl teachers: pre-service efl teacher-educators

Critical pedagogy as a teaching approach aimed at helping learners attain critical consciousness by means of questioning and challenging domination and the beliefs and practices that dominate has drawn inspirational attention in many EFL teaching and learning contexts. The argument is that critical pedagogy is concerned with challenging and transforming the traditional teacher-centered pedagogy into not only a learnercentered pedagogy but also a dialogic pedagogy whereby the teacher is not the only knowledge provider, and the learner is not a sole knowledge recipient. However, the praxis, i.e. the reciprocal relationship between theory and practice, is still a major concern for many EFL/TESOL student teachers as much of the discussion about critical pedagogy is “too abstract, theoretical, and couched in exclusionary language” with little attention to practicing teachers (Johnston 2002, p.70). To fill this void, this paper aims to re-envision some pedagogical tasks for fostering critical transformative EFL teachers. These pedagogical tasks attempt to offer possibilities that are contextualized and socio-politically engaged rather than certainties and are aimed at urging EFL per-service teachers to reconceptualize traditional roles and responsibilities. In particular, the primary goals of these reenvisioned pedagogical tasks are twofold: (1) to raise pre-service EFL teachers’ awareness about critical pedagogy and (2) to help and guide them to practice critical pedagogy in their classrooms.

Critical pedagogy ,

Transformative ,

Problem-posing ,

Critical intervention ,

Or critical consciousness ,