Do we need critical educational linguistics?

Abstract

Over the past 30 years, the term “criticality” has become increasingly common in studies of educational and applied linguistics. Derived originally from the work of the Frankfurt School and widened by the linguistic turn in the writing of Habermas, the first linguistic sub-field was Critical Discourse Analysis, proposed by British scholars. In 1990, Alastair Pennycook called for critical applied linguistics, and in 2021 traced its expansion over thirty years. Given the steady deterioration of the modern world and its effects on language teaching and use, there is good reason to encourage critical approaches to educational linguistics and to seek solutions to the current crises. But continued critique without solutions in praxis is not desirable.