Critical Race and Decolonial Theory Intersections to Understand the Context of elt in the Global South

Abstract

Critical race theory (crt) questions social practices that have perpetuated discrimination and social inequality. Decolonial studies coincide with these efforts to deracialise elt practices, explaining racialisation as dominant structures constituted in whiteness-centred practices that situate some in disadvantage (usually non-white) while privileging others (usually white). In the context of English language teaching (elt), that colonisation/racialisation can take the form of some hierarchisation of English native speakers from the Global North while otherising non-native speakers of English and native speakers of English from the Global South. Therefore, coloniality/racialisation are useful terms to explain practices that value foreign over local identities alienating regional/local views and languages. In this article, the links between crt and decolonial theories are explored and colonisation/racialisation of elt are approached through the analysis of macro and micro practices developed in two public universities, one in Colombia and one in Brazil. The aim is to disrupt those practices by making evident decolonisation/deracialisation efforts in undergraduate and graduate students’ proposals