Critical Dialogic Pedagogy and Adolescents’ Identity Development in a Grade 11 English First Additional Language Poetry Classroom in South Africa

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In this article, we are interested in three things: an effective methodology for implementing critical dialogic pedagogy (CDP) in English First Additional Language (FAL) poetry in a South African classroom, the forms that dialogue can take in the English FAL poetry classroom, and the effect of CDP on adolescent learners’ identity development. Based on our in-depth descriptive analysis of one lesson observation conducted in a Gauteng township school, we argue that achieving criticality in dialogic education in the English FAL poetry classroom can be done by utilising a problem-posing method of teaching which involves drawing on learners’ real-life problems to make poetry relevant, asking higher-order questions in class discussions, drawing on multiple modalities to make learning enjoyable, and creating an inclusive space for all learners’ ideas to flourish. Furthermore, we found that dialogue in the English FAL poetry classroom can include dialogue with learners, dialogue about learning, dialogue through digital resources, and dialogue for social justice. Finally, we note that the effective implementation of CDP can enhance adolescent learners’ social identities.