Critical Foreign Language Teaching : Centring Student Agency in Foreign Language Pedagogy

This book develops the theory and practice of critical foreign language pedagogy. Written by a distinguished scholar of pragmatics and sociolinguistics, it encourages educators to think beyond traditional methods of language teaching to consider both the social reality of being a foreign language user and the personal goals and experiences of each learner. It emphasises the need to teach students how to navigate the types of interactional difficulties, power imbalances, and hostility they may experience outside of the classroom as well as how to recognise and analyse ‘native’ speaker norms and practices. It further stresses the importance of first-language knowledge in developing foreign language expertise, encouraging educators to build on the skills learners already have to empower them to express their personality and individuality in their target language.

A significant contribution to foreign language pedagogy, this book offers language teachers, bilingual speakers, and researchers practicable insights into how to support learners to attain and realise their own goals and aspirations in their target language.