Decolonising Language Teaching: More Than a Box-ticking Exercise

Abstract

Language teaching has traditionally offered a space for the development of cultural knowledge and intercultural understanding as well as language learning. Furthermore, language teachers have recently become more critically race aware in their roles. In this research, we found a shift towards the decolonisation of the language curriculum within a more general trend towards increasing diversity and inclusion in school and university curricula. This research was aimed at exploring those developments in a collaborative team project that included both lecturers and post-graduate certificate in education (PGCE) students who, following training, undertook classroom research. Data analysis delivered insights regarding personal understanding of decolonisation and teachers’ implementations. Despite constructive work evident in Modern Foreign Language (MFL) teaching and resources, there was considerable insecurity about the process and student voice was lacking. However, the arts-based approach enabled creative and positive representation of perspectives and the student researchers expressed a transformation of their mindset into one of activism.

Citation

Richardson, C., Jones, J. and Linaker, T. (2024), "Decolonising Language Teaching: More Than a Box-ticking Exercise", Moncrieffe, M.L., Fakunle, O., Kustatscher, M. and Rost, A.O. (Ed.) The BERA Guide to Decolonising the Curriculum: Equity and Inclusion in Educational Research and Practice (The BERA Guides), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 131-139. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-83549-144-720241012