Critical Agency and Glocal Subjectivity in ELT Material Development: An Analysis of English Language Textbook of Bangladesh

Adilur Rahaman,Harunur Rashid Khan

doi:10.17576/3l-2019-2502-12

Abstract

This paper explores ‘glocal subjectivity’ in an English language textbook produced by National Curriculum and Textbook Board of Bangladesh for Grades XI-XII. In the era of globalization (Mukherjee & Krieckhaus 2011), glocal subjectivity, i.e. creation of self that appreciates the ingredients of both global and local spaces (Gutierrez 2013) is relevant for material development in ELT, as it carries implications for critical agency (Richmond 2011). In post-colonial countries, critical agency allows non-native textbook writers to exercise freedom in selecting themes and designing language learning activities which may be used in the classrooms to develop critical minds (Pineda-Baez 2004). Through qualitative content analysis (Julien 2008), this research examines how the non-native material writers in Bangladesh exerted critical agency to construct glocal subjectivity in the English textbook. Findings reveal that textbook writers constructed glocal subjectivity by selecting appropriate topics. Nevertheless, the textbook contains the following limitations: pedagogically unsound language learning activities, low aesthetic quality, misrepresentation of Bangladesh, and post-colonial ambivalence. Based on the findings, this paper suggests that textbook writers in the post-colonial countries need to be aware of the issue of representation and make use of the wisdom of Applied Linguistics to produce politically correct and pedagogically effective English language textbook. Keywords: critical agency; glocal subjectivity; material development; resistance; post-colonial

Highlights

After the publication of Phillipson’s (1992) Linguistic Imperialism and Kramsch’s (1993) Context and Culture in Language Teaching, there was a growing critical awareness regarding textbooks produced in the Euro-American academia
The paradigm of ‘English as an International Language’ (EIL) (Sharifian 2009) and the resistance against ‘native speakerism’ (Phillipson 1992, Rampton 1996) germinated a movement that encouraged the production of ELT textbooks by local experts in EFL countries
In order to identify the impact of the critical agency on ELT material development, we carried out a qualitative content analysis (Julien 2008) of the selected English language textbook

Summary

Introduction

After the publication of Phillipson’s (1992) Linguistic Imperialism and Kramsch’s (1993) Context and Culture in Language Teaching, there was a growing critical awareness regarding textbooks produced in the Euro-American academia. The Cultural Politics of English Language by Pennycook (2017, first published in 1994) unraveled the neo-colonial projects in ELT and emphasized the need for homegrown materials and methods which gradually gained currency in the academic community. The paradigm of ‘English as an International Language’ (EIL) (Sharifian 2009) and the resistance against ‘native speakerism’ (Phillipson 1992, Rampton 1996) germinated a movement that encouraged the production of ELT textbooks by local experts in EFL countries. This movement ostensibly excluded British-American consultants from the panel of Textbook Writers. As a consequence of such critical intervention, the current English language textbook (introduced in 2015) titled English for Today: Classes XI-XII (Billah et al 2015) for general education stream in Bangladesh is written and edited by local experts; non-native ELT material

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Conclusion