Critical Language Education

Abstract

This chapter is about critical language education. A lot has been written about it, from a variety of disciplines, so it is not easy to get a full sense of the issues at stake. Historical accounts trace its origin to the French revolution and several key figures have made significant contributions such as Proudhon, Ferrer, Freinet, Pestalozzi, Dewey and more recently Freire. These educationalists conceptualized education and learning in ways that we now take for granted, for instance in terms of personal development and social transformation, involving autonomous learning; project work; analysis, introspection and refection; negotiation and discussion; experiential and activity-based work; interdisciplinary content; and an inquiry-based curriculum. The chapter revises the move from critical thinking to critical literacy, critical language education and critical pedagogies.