Critical ELT Practices in Asia

Book excerpt: This is the first, and long awaited work on critical approaches to teaching English for the purposes of democracy and social justice that challenges the current views of ELT, such as English being merely a tool for communication or the acquisition of basic skills or high test scores for advancement in education and the marketplace. - A timely work and a fresh look at critical approaches to ELT in Asia. - An invaluable work that simultaneously problematizes current ELT practices while introducing new possibilities for critical practices in localized contexts in Asia. - An important work that shines a light on how the forces of globalization not only dictate the spread of English as an international language, but how these forces also dictate what is taught and how. - An informative view on how ELT practices are being re-envisioned by critical educators in Asia. This groundbreaking volume, compiling critical perspectives of English language teaching in China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Korea, and Sri Lanka, confronts colonial legacies observed in educational practices and policies that perpetuate a divide between the privileged and the underprivileged. ?The critical reflections scrutinize the nature of English as a commodified gatekeeper and simultaneously provide alternative visions for language education. - Ryuko Kubota, Professor, The university of British Columbia.