Addressing race in English language teaching

Erika de Freitas Coachman & Izabelle da Silva Fernandes
Rio de Janeiro

The aim of this paper is to analyze a set of didactic materials developed to teach English as an Additional Language at a Brazilian public school in Rio de Janeiro. Such materials were designed to invite 7th grade students with diverse social, racial, and economic backgrounds to learn about the world and the English language from viewpoints that delineate a decolonial stance (Mignolo, 2010; Kumaravadivelu, 2016; Jansen, 2017). Grounded on the notions of Critical Race Literacy (Ferreira, 2014) and Critical Language Awareness (Alim, 2005), this paper looks into didactic activities built upon emancipatory (Freire, 1996) and transgressive (Pennycook, 2006; hooks, 2013) approaches to Applied Linguistics and Language Education, understanding English Language classrooms as privileged arenas for the construction of ideas on race. The methodological approach is based on the premises of a Dialogical Discourse Analysis (Brait, 2006/2018) to identify centripetal and centrifugal forces (Bakhtin, 1981) in the didactic materials produced. Results have indicated that the discourse genres selected (Bakhtin, 2003/1979 apud Tilio, 2017) and the set of activities developed are permeated by social voices (Bakhtin, 1981) that promote decolonial dialogues in the English language classroom.

Publication history

Date received: 30 July 2022

Date accepted: 8 December 2022

Published online: 24 July 2023

Table of contents

In 2016, students from the University of Pennsylvania removed a portrait of William Shakespeare from its prestigious spot at the English Department to replace it with a picture of the African American poet Audre Lorde (Demeter, 2019). The symbolic meaning of such substitution draws our attention to a heated debate on the social and racial implications of language and literature teaching. On social media posts, movements such as DisrupTTexts have gained momentum, for they advocate a thorough modification of university and school syllabi, pointing the finger at racist and hegemonic forces at work in the craft of these choices over the centuries. Controversies triggered by such events and social movements have become increasingly recurrent as they denounce to what extent universities, schools, and society at large have failed to address key issues on race, identity, diversity, and education.

Full-text access is restricted to subscribers. Log in to obtain additional credentials. For subscription information see Subscription & Price. Direct PDF access to this article can be purchased through our e-platform.

References

Ackimie, P.
(2021) Racist humor and Shakespearean comedy. In A. Thompson (Ed.), The Cambridge companion to Shakespeare and race. Cambridge University Press. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Adams, T. E., Jones, H. S., & Ellis, C.
(2014) Autoethnography. Understanding qualitative research (1st ed.). Oxford University Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Adichie, C.
(2009) The danger of a single story. Retrieved on 19 April 2021 from https://​www​.youtube​.com​/watch​?v​=D9Ihs241zeg
Alim, H. S.
(2005) Critical language awareness in the United States: Revisiting issues and revising pedagogies in a resegregated society. Educational Researcher, 34 (7), 24–31. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
①
Almeida, S.
(2018) O que é racismo estrutural? Letramento.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Badoe, A., & Diakité, B.
(2008) The pot of wisdom. Ananse stories. Groundwood Books.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Bakhtin, M.
(1979/2003) Estética da criação verbal. São Paulo: Martins Fontes.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
①
(1981) The dialogic imagination: Four Essays by M. M. BAKHTIN. Edited by Holquist, M. (ed.), Emerson, C. and Holquist, M. (trans.), University of Texas Press Slavic series, Austin.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
① ②
(1984) Problems of Dostoevsky’s poetics (Theory and History of Literature, Vol. 8, 1st ed.). University of Minnesota Press. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(1986) Discourse in the novel. In Speech genres and other late essays (pp. 259–422). Austin University of Texas Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(1986) The problem of speech genres. In Speech genres and other late essays (pp. 60–102). Austin University of Texas Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(1987) A cultura popular na Idade Média e no Renascimento. Hucitec.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Bakhtin, M. M., Holquist, M.
(Ed.) & Emerson, C. (Trans.) (1982) The dialogic imagination: Four essays (revised ed.). University of Texas Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Brait, B.
(2018) Bakhtin: Outros conceitos-chave. Contexto (original work published 2006).Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
①
Brocos, M.
(1895) Cam’s redemption. Retrieved on 5 November 2021 from https://​mare​.art​.br​/a​-redencao​-de​-cam/
Degruel, D., Serbin, S., Rubel, S.
(2014) Yennega – Princess of Gambaga. Editorial and artistic direction: E. Joubeaud. United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. Retrieved on 10 March 2020 from https://​en​.unesco​.org​/womeninafrica​/sites​/default​/files​/pdf​/Yennega%2C%20Princess%20of%20Gambaga​_Women%20in%20African%20History​_Comic%20Strip​.pdf
Demeter, J. M.
(2019) African-American Shakespeares: Loving blackness as political resistance. In H. Eklund & W. B. Hyman, Teaching social justice through Shakespeare: Why Renaissance literature matters now (pp. 67–75). Edinburgh University Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Denzin, N. K., & Lincoln, Y. S.
(2000) The Sage handbook of qualitative research. Sage.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Du Bois, W. E. B.
(2007/1915) The negro (Electronic Classics Series). Pennsylvania State University.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Evaristo, C., de Andrade, M. A. S., & Tillis, A. D.
(2016) Selected poems. Meridians: Feminism, Race, Transnationalism 14 (1), 84–93. Retrieved on 3 April 2023 from https://​www​.muse​.jhu​.edu​/article​/631821
Eward-Mangione, A.
(2014) Decolonizing Shakespeare: Race, gender, and colonialism in three adaptations of three plays by William Shakespeare (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). University of South Florida. Retrieved on 3 April 2023 from https://​digitalcommons​.usf​.edu​/etd​/5628
Fairclough, N.
(1992) Discourse and social change. Polity Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Fernandes, F.
(1960) Prefácio. In F. H. Cardoso & O. Ianni (Eds.), Cor e mobilidade social em Florianópolis. Companhia Editora Nacional.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Ferreira, A.
(2014) Teoria racial crítica e letramento racial crítico: Narrativas e contranarrativas de identidade racial de professores de línguas. Revista Da Associação Brasileira De Pesquisadores/As Negros/As (ABPN), 6 (14), 236–263.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
①
Flick, U.
(2009) An introduction to qualitative research (4th ed.). Sage.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Flores, N., & Rosa, J.
(2015) Undoing appropriateness: Raciolinguistic ideologies andlLanguage diversity in education. Harvard Educational Review, 85 (2), 149–171. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Freire, P.
(1967) Educação como Prática da Liberdade. Paz e Terra.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(1985) Reading the world and reading the word: An interview with Paulo Freire. Language Arts, 62 (1), 15–21.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(1996) Pedagogia da autonomia: Saberes necessários à prática educativa. Paz e Terra.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
①
Freyre, G.
(2019) Casa grande & senzala. Global Editora (original work published 1933).Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Gray, J.
(2010) The Construction of English: Culture, Consumerism and Promotion in the ELT Global Coursebook. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Heliodora, B.
(1968) Othello: A tragedy built on a comic structure. Shakespeare Survey (pp. 31–38). Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Holliday, A.
(2006) Native-speakerism. ELT Journal, 60 (4), 385–387, Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
hooks, b.
(2013) Ensinando a transgredir: A educação como prática da liberdade. Martins Fontes (original work published 1994).Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
①
Jansen, J.
(2017) As by fire: The end of the South African university. Tafelberg.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
①
Junior, O., & Starkoff, V.
(2020) From my window. Barefoot Books.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Kumaravadivelu, B.
(2016) The decolonial option in English teaching: Can the subaltern act? Tesol Quarterly, 50 (1), 66–85. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
①
Ladson-Billings, G.
(1998) Just what is critical race theory and what’s it doing in a nice field like education? Qualitative Studies in Education, v. 11, n. 1, pp. 7–24. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Little Jr., A.
(2016) Re-historicizing race, white melancholia, and the Shakespearean property. Shakespeare Quarterly, 67 (1), 84–103. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Loomba, A.
(2002) Shakespeare, race, and colonialism. Oxford University Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Luke, A.
(1997) Critical approaches to literacy. In V. Edwards & D. Corson (Eds.), Encyclopedia of language and education (Vol. 2, 143–151). Kluwer. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Mignolo, W.
(2010) Desobediencia epistémica: Retórica de la modernidade, lógica de la colonialidad y gramática de la descolonialidad. Del Signo.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
①
Moita Lopes, L. P.
(2006) Linguística aplicada e vida contemporânea: problematização dos construtos que têm orientado a pesquisa. In L. P. Moita Lopes, Por uma linguística aplicada indisciplinar. Parábola Editorial.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
N’Gugi, M.
(2011) Nairobi heat. Melville House.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Nascimento, G.
(2019) Racismo linguístico. Letramento.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Nyong’o, L, Harrison, V.
(2019) Sulwe. Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Ortelius, A.
(1570) Theatrum orbis terrarum. Retrieved on 5 November 2021 from https://​commons​.wikimedia​.org​/wiki​/File:Theatrum​_Orbis​_Terrarum​_Titlepage​_(cropped)​.jpg
Pennycook, A.
(2006) Uma lingüística aplicada transgressiva. In L. P. Moita Lopes, Por uma linguística aplicada indisciplinar. Parábola Editorial.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
①
Quijano, A.
(2005) Colonialidade do poder, eurocentrismo e América Latina. In A colonialidade do saber: Eurocentrismo e ciências sociais. Perspectivas latino-americanas. Consejo Latinoamericano de Ciencias Sociales (pp. 117–142). http://​bibliotecavirtual​.clacso​.org​.ar​/clacso​/sur​-sur​/20100624103322​/12​_Quijano​.pdf
Santos, B. S.
(1995) Towards a new common sense. Law, science and politics in the paradigmatic transition. Routledge.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(1995) Three metaphors for a new conception of law: The frontier, the baroque, and the south. Law and Society Review, 29 (4), 569–584. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2002) Para uma sociologia das ausências e uma sociologia das emergências. Revista de Ciências Sociais, 63 , 237–280.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Santos, G.
(2009) Relações raciais e desigualdade no Brasil. Selo Negro.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Segato, R. L.
(2005) Inventando a natureza. Família, sexo e género no Xangô de Recife. Santos, Daimones. Editora da Universidade de Brasília.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Shakespeare, W.
(2014) Othello. Adapted by R. Dickins. Usborne.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Slovo, G.
(2018) Nelson Mandela’s unpublished prison letters are full of life and love. The Guardian, 14 July 2018.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Sousa, M.
(2010) Boitatá. Girassol.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Thiong’o, N.
(1986) Decolonising the mind: The politics of language in African literature. Heinemann Kenya.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Tilio, R.
(2017) The contemporary coursebook: Introducing a new proposal. In R. Tilio & A. Ferreira (Eds.), Innovations and challenges in language teaching and materials development. Pontes Editoras.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
①
Volóchinov, V.
(2017) Marxismo e filosofia da linguagem: Problemas fundamentais do método sociológico na ciência da linguagem (Editora 34). (Original work published 1929).Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Wilson, J.
(2016) The Meaning Of #BlackGirlMagic, And How You Can Get Some Of It. HuffPost Style & Beauty. Retrieved on 19 April 2021 from https://​www​.huffpost​.com​/entry​/what​-is​-black​-girl​-magic​-video​_n​_5694dad4e4b086bc1cd517f4
Wernick, A.
(1991) Promotional culture. Sage. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Woodward, K.
(2000) Identidade e diferença: Uma questão teórica e conceitual. In T. Tadeu da Silva & K. Woodward (Eds.), Identidade e diferença: A perspectiva dos estudos culturais. Vozes.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
 
Authentication
Mobile Menu Logo with link to supplementary files background Layer 1 jbe-platform.quadraat-sans-bold jbe-platform.quadraat-sans-bold-dark jbe-platform.quadraat-sans-bold-light jbe-platform.quadraat-sans-bold prag Twitter_Logo_Blue