Teacher Ideology in English Language Education

Abstract

There are at least three theoretical routes in reconceptualizing English language education in the world today and, more specifically, in multilingual Philippines. The first – change what English to teach – is to describe, acknowledge, and endorse the multilinguality of English in the country. The second – change how to teach English – is to locate English language education within the broader educational landscape of the country which in recent years has, to some extent, reconfigured the languages of instruction in favor of the “mother tongues,” especially in the elementary level. The third theoretical route – change how to think about English (and other languages, for that matter) – is to describe, evaluate, and critique the broad ideologies and ideological structures of English language education in the country. This assumes that the teaching of English is intricately linked with discourses, ideologies, and unequal relations between languages beyond the formal confines of the classroom. Thus, reconceptualizing English language education puts the spotlight on the role of teacher ideology in the process. We cannot change the way we teach English if we do not change the way we think about English and its role in the Philippines and the world. Here, English language education is not only about the form(s) of English but, more importantly, about the content of education itself, and this thus has implications for the content of English language teacher training, textbooks and other teaching and learning materials, and everyday classroom talk.