academic interests

1) Philosophy of (language) teaching

In simple terms, it is desirable for professionals to have clear, well-developed, well-grounded perspectives on their work, in its personal, institutional, and social contexts. If you are not clear about what you are doing and why, it’s plausible that you may have problems in your professional practice. Getting clear about your values, your knowledge base or conscious professional expertise, and your role in society, would seem to be important.

In my writing, instruction, and my preliminary efforts to guide empirical investigations in this area, I am intending to make space for second language professionals (typically teachers, but other areas of practice also need philosophies) to develop in this area. An important resource, but by no means the only one, is the discipline known as philosophy of education. This, along with the history of second language teaching, is what I mined and reworked for the purposes of the area of applied linguistics/second language studies, in my 2009 book: Values, philosophies, and beliefs in TESOL. [Google Books  Preview]

2) Critical language pedagogy

Language teaching, or any other kind of teaching, that has as one of its goals the fostering of social justice, is usually these days prefaced by the word “critical”. I’m interested in supporting language specialists who direct their efforts towards curriculum that will work to foster democracy and equality and aid the development of minority and oppressed groups.  I think it’s a shame that so much language teaching (particularly of English, internationally) is just about credentialling (people passing exams), particularly when the well-to-do in many places hire tutors that other families can’t afford to get their children through such language exams; I think there needs to be a big question-mark after “Who benefits???” from the research that’s done to improve second language teaching (better often means better-resourced; so who is really getting the “best” language instruction, around the world? — maybe those who have the resources!). So let’s balance things out a bit, and have some language teaching that at least points in the direction of those who aren’t well-resourced and really could themselves use a second language to improve their own lives and those of others.

I provide something of an overview of this area in this past paper: “The practicality and relevance of second language critical pedagogy”.

I have continued to work as an observer, analyst, and supporter of critical language teachers, including publishing Critical ELT in Action and Starting points in critical language pedagogy.