Post-critique in contemporary ELT praxis

Abstract

This article investigates the importance of critical thinking in English language teaching. It begins with an examination of the notion of praxis and its relevance for current critical literacy research and teacher education programmes. One such programme was a distance-learning course offered to English teachers from Brazilian public schools from November 2016 to November 2017. An analysis of excerpts from posts on Moodle forums and online chats from this course was made in order to ascertain whether participants acknowledge the importance of critical literacy and are able to identify any hindrances to its implementation in the classroom. This article concludes by advocating a post-critical (HOY, 2005) approach to the development of English teachers’ critical praxis, based on the concepts of self-reflexivity and ethics.