Unburdening the Pedagogy of the Oppressed: A Case Study of ELT Classrooms at University Level in South Punjab

Abstract

Recently, the concept of Critical thinking got much significance in the teaching and learning process. Thinking creatively and critically in the English language beckons our representation in different domains of development as well. The present study is aimed to investigate the on-going teaching-learning process of English Language Teaching at University Level in South Punjab from the perspective of critical thinking. The theoretical insights have been taken from Freire’s Banking concept of education in his seminal work, Pedagogy of the Oppressed (2018). The findings of the study reveal that our ELT classrooms are lacking the creativity and critical thinking at large. Further in our classrooms, the Banking Model of teaching is being practiced where a student remains passive and the teacher is considered as the ultimate source of knowledge. It points out that our teaching and learning process is moving on some faulty lines which need revisions and amendments. It is suggested that the Problem Posing Model of teaching and learning may be adopted in our ELT Classrooms so that our graduates at the university level may think critically and independently.