Inquiring into the Coloniality of Knowledge, Power, and Being in EFL Textbooks

Abstract

This article inquires into the coloniality present in EFL textbooks, which continue being used as the core resource for language learning and teaching in Colombia. However, its instrumentalization, imperialism, and exploitation as an instrument of subalternation suggest that EFL textbooks produced by foreign and local publishing houses in the Colombian context are colonised in three interrelated dimensions: knowledge, power, and being. Therefore, this research proposal aims at unveiling the ontological, epistemological, and power criteria rooted in critical interculturality as a decolonial alternative, and inspired by the decolonial turn, to orient the development of other contextualised materials from the voices of Colombian teachers, authors and experts.

Critical Intercultural Pedagogical Experiences: The case of two public schools

“…Doing research on critical interculturality can pose a challenge because although researchers might be willing to embrace decolonial theories, they are forced to re-think their positionality towards new ways of being, knowing, and power. Despite this, Critical Interculturality (CI) is being studied by different scholars (Granados-Beltrán, 2018a, 2018bNúñez-Pardo, 2020a, 2020bRamos-Holguín, 2013. For example, Granados-Beltrán (2018a, 2018b) has indicated that CI, from a decolonial standpoint, "can support initial foreign language teacher education ontologically and epistemologically" (Granados-Beltrán, 2018b, p. 10).…”

“…In Colombia, the field of FLT and learning is also beginning to embrace a critical intercultural perspective. Some Colombian ELT scholars (Álvarez Valencia, 2014;García & García, 2014;Granados-Beltrán, 2016, 2018a, 2018bNúñez-Pardo, 2020a, 2020bUsma Wilches et al, 2018) have addressed critical intercultural discourses depending on their interests and the context in which these issues take place. Theoretical knowledge and studies regarding CI have been a relevant and necessary initial development; however, it seems the teaching and learning practices of pedagogical experiences from a critical intercultural perspective remain at an early stage.…”

Teacher Education. A Black Student-Teacher’s Narrative About Black Identity

“…English language teaching (ELT) and teacher education (TE) have not escaped this hegemony, causing an unquestionable dominance of the inner-circle countries (Kachru, 1990) regarding initial teacher education. In Colombia, for example, scholars are interested in decolonizing materials (Núñez-Pardo, 2020, English language pedagogy (Ubaque-Casallas, 2021), higher education from the perspective of indigenous students (Usma et al, 2018), and doctoral TE (Castañeda-Peña & Méndez-Rivera, 2022); some even have concentrated on exploring the racialization of the ELT field (Bonilla Medina & Finardi, 2022). However, studies that question, challenge, or attempt to document racist practices in ELT and TE are scarce.…”