EFL teachers’ critical literacy instructional perspectives and practices: The case of the Egyptian university context

Abstract

Critical literacy instruction in Egypt remains under-explored. This study combined questionnaire and semi-structured interview data to explore Egyptian university EFL teachers' critical literacy perspectives and practices. The results indicate that most participant teachers are unwilling to teach critical literacy and prefer to focus on core curricular components only. The few teachers with a positive attitude to critical literacy instruction reported integrating it into reading, literature, writing and speaking courses. Their narratives, however, indicate implementing a weak version of critical literacy instruction. This has been mainly caused by the lack of emphasis on critical literacy in the curriculum, students’ limited experiences, socio-cultural considerations, and teacher ideological bias. The teachers also reported that female and male students are interested in different types of critical literacy topics. It is concluded that critical literacy practices in the Egyptian university context could be fostered through training teachers, reforming curricula, and coordinating institutional efforts.