Critical Literacy in ELT Classroom Testing
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.14198/raei.2022.36.02Keywords:
Language Teaching, Evaluation, Critical Literacy, Teacher EducationAbstract
Critical Literacy (CL) has lately influenced English Language Teaching (ELT) in Brazil, mainly after the publication of the National Guidelines for High School Teaching, and several practitioners have started to use CL perspectives in their ELT contexts. Besides, CL and Critical Language Education have been the focus of much research in Brazil. Nonetheless, these alternative approaches have not yet made their way into testing and assessment. This paper focuses on the relationship of CL and English Language testing. First, we present an overview of important concepts in the area of testing and assessment in ELT. We also discuss important concepts of CL and other critical approaches to ELT. Then, we briefly discuss the possibility of using CL together with CA in English teaching. To illustrate, we summarize a course in ELT, which has used CL and CA at university level. Finally, considering tests as part of the social practices in educational contexts, we demonstrate that, just as CL may be used for Citizenship Education and Social Justice in English classes, the same approach should be used when testing, particularly due to the use of language as a tool for social reconstruction and critique for the exposure of inequalities. Principles for developing critical practices in testing and assessment are discussed along the paper.Funding
CNPq, CAPESReferences
ALDERSON, J. Charles and Jayanti Banerjee. 2001. "Language Testing and Assessment (Part I)." Language Teaching 32: 213-236. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0261444800014464
ALDERSON, J. Charles and Jayanti Banerjee. 2002. "Language Testing and Assessment (Part II)." Language Teaching 35: 79-113.
ALDERSON, J. Charles and Arthur Hughes, eds. 1981. Issues in Language Testing (ELT Documents, v. 111). London: The British Council.
BOBKINA, Jelena; and Svetlana Stefanova. 2016. "Literature and critical literacy pedagogy in the EFL classroom: Towards a model of teaching critical thinking skills." Studies in Second Language Learning and Teaching 6: 677-696. https://doi.org/10.14746/ssllt.2016.6.4.6
BOND, Guy L. and Eva B. Wagner. 1966. Teaching the Child to Read. 4th ed. New York: Macmillan.
BORAIE, Deena. 2018. "Types of Assessment." In Liontas 2018, 5291-5297.
BRAZIL. 2006. Orientações curriculares para o ensino médio: linguagens, códigos e suas tecnologias - conhecimentos de línguas estrangeiras. Brasília: Ministério da Educação / Secretaria de Educação Básica. http://portal.mec.gov.br/seb/arquivos/pdf/book_volume_01_internet.pdf. [Accessed online on Feb. 6, 2008].
BROWN, H. Douglas. 2004. Language Assessment: Principles and Classroom Practices. New York: Person.
CASTELL, Suzanne De, Allan Luke and D. Maclennan. 1986. "On Defining Literacy." In Castell, Luke and Egan 1986, 3-14.
CASTELL, Suzanne De, Allan Luke and D. Maclennan., eds. 1986. Literacy, Society, and Schooling: A Reader. Cambridge: Cambridge UP.
CERVETTI, Gina, Michael J. Pardales and James S. Damico. 2001. "A Tale of Differences: Comparing the Traditions, Perspectives and Educational Goals of Critical Reading and Critical Literacy." Reading Online 4: n. p. http://www.readingonline.org/articles/art_index.asp?HREF=/articles/cervetti/index.html [Accessed online on Mar. 30, 2007].
CROOKES, Graham V. 2013. Critical ELT in Action: Foundations, Promises, Praxis. New York: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203844250
DAVIS, J. M. 2018. "Terminology: Assessment, Evaluation, and Testing." In Liontas 2018, 5255-5261.
DOOLEY, K., Beryl Exley and David Poulus. 2016. "Research on Critical EFL Literacies: An Illustrative Analysis of Some College Level Programs in Taiwan." English Teaching and Learning 40: 39-64.
DUBOC, Ana P. Martínez. 2013. "Teaching with an Attitude: Finding Ways to the Conundrum of a Postmodern Curriculum." Creative Education 4: 58-65. https://doi.org/10.4236/ce.2013.412A2009
ESQUIVEL, Johanna. 2019. "Embodying Critical Literacy in a Dual Language Classroom: Critical Discourse Analysis in a Case Study." Critical Inquiry in Language Studies 17: 206-227.
https://doi.org/10.1080/15427587.2019.1662306
FERRAZ, D. M. 2010. "EELT - Education through English Language Teaching in a Brazilian Technical School." Revista Crop 15: 102-119. http://200.144.182.130/revistacrop/images/stories/edicao15/v15a07.pdf. [Accessed online on May 6, 2017].
FERRAZ, D. M. 2015. Educação Crítica em Língua Inglesa: Neoliberalismo, Globalização e Novos Letramentos. Curitiba: CRV.
FREIRE, Paulo. 1975. Pedagogia do Oprimido. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: Paz e terra.
FREIRE, Paulo. 1982. Educação como Prática da Liberdade. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: Paz e Terra.
FREIRE, Paulo. 1984. A Importância do Ato de Ler. São Paulo, Brazil: Cortez.
FREIRE, Paulo and Donaldo Macedo. 1987. Literacy: Reading the Word and the World. New York: Continuum.
FULCHER, Glenn and Fred Davidson. 2007. Language Testing and Assessment: An Advanced Resource Book. New York: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203449066
GENESEE, Fred and John A. Upshur. 1996. Classroom-based Evaluation in Second Language Education. New York: Cambridge UP.
GOERTEL, R. A. 2018. "Classroom comprehension assessment." In Liontas 2018, 2053-2058. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118784235.eelt0492
GONÇALVES, Glaucia R., Sandra. R. G. Almeida, Vera L. M. O. Paiva and A. S. Rodrigues Junior, eds. 2009. New Challenges in Language and Literature. Belo Horizonte: FALE/UFMG.
GRILLO, M. C. and V. M. R. Lima. 2010. "Especificidades da Avaliação que Convém Conhecer." In: Grillo and Gessinger 2010.
GRILLO, M. C. and R. M. Gessinger, eds. 2010. Por que Falar Ainda em Avaliação? Porto Alegre: ediPUCRS.
HANCOCK, C. 2006. "Language Teaching and Language Testing: A Way and Ways to Make Appropriate Connections." Acción Pedagógica 15: 6-13. http://www.saber.ula.ve/bitstream/handle/123456789/17276/articulo1.pdf?sequence=2&isAllowed=y. [Accessed online on Dez. 12, 2017].
HAWKINS, Margaret R., ed. 2011. Social Justice Language Teacher Education. Bristol, UK: Multilingual Matters. https://doi.org/10.21832/9781847694249
HUGHES, Arthur. 1989. Testing for Language Teachers. Cambridge: Cambridge UP.
HUH, Seonmin. 2016. "Instructional Model of Critical Literacy in an EFL Context: Balancing Conventional and Critical Literacy." Critical Inquiry in Language Studies 13. https://doi.org/10.1080/15427587.2016.1154445
JANKS, Hilary. 2013. "Critical Literacy in Teaching and Research." Education Inquiry 4: 225-242. https://doi.org/10.3402/edui.v4i2.22071
JORDÃO, C. M., J. Z. Martinez and Mór W. Monte, eds. 2018. Letramentos em Prática na Formação Inicial de Professores de Inglês. Campinas: Pontes.
KRESS, Gunther. 2003. Literacy in the New Media Age. London: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203299234
KRESS, Gunther and Theo Van Leeuwen. 2006. Reading Images: The Grammar of Visual Design. 2. ed. London/New York: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203619728
LIONTAS, John I., ed. 2018. The TESOL Encyclopedia of English Language Teaching. Singapore: Willey. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118784235
LUCKESI, C. C. 2008. Avaliação da Aprendizagem Escolar. São Paulo, Brazil: Cortez.
MCLAUGHLIN, Maureen and Glenn L. Devoogd. 2004. Critical Literacy: Enhancing Students' Comprehension of Text. New York: Scholastic.
MATTOS, Andrea M. A. 2000. "A Vygotskian Approach to Evaluation in Foreign Language Learning Contexts." ELT Journal 54: 335-345. https://doi.org/10.1093/elt/54.4.335
MATTOS, Andrea M. A. 2014. "Educating Language Teachers for Social Justice Teaching." Interfaces Brasil/Canadá 14: 125-151. https://periodicos.ufpel.edu.br/ojs2/index.php/interfaces/article/view/6738/4644. [Accessed online on May 6, 2017].
MATTOS, Andrea M. A. 2018a. “Formação Crítica de Professores: Por uma Universidade Socialmente Responsável.” In Jordão, Martinez and Monte Mór 2018, 83-105.
MATTOS, Andrea M. A. 2018b. “English Teacher Critical Education in Brazil.” In: Liontas, J. I., ed. The TESOL Encyclopedia of English Language Teaching. Singapore: Willey. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/9781118784235.eelt0929. [Accessed online on July 14, 2018].
MATTOS, Andrea M. A., D. M. Ferraz and W. Monte Mór. 2015. Letramentos e Formação de Professores de LE. III CONEL-Congresso Nacional de Estudos Linguísticos, Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo (UFES). Oral Presentation.
MATTOS, Andrea M. A. and K. M. Valério. 2010. "Letramento Crítico e Ensino Comunicativo: Lacunas e Interseções." Revista Brasileira de Linguística Aplicada 10. https://doi.org/10.1590/S1984-63982010000100008
MONTE Mór, W. 2009. "Foreign Languages Teaching, Education and the New Literacies Studies: Expanding Views." In Gonçalves, Almeida, Paiva and Rodrigues Junior, eds. New Challenges in Language and Literature. Belo Horizonte: FALE/UFMG. p. 177-189.
MORGAN, Wendy. 1997. Critical Literacy in the Classroom: The Art of the Possible. New York: Routledge.
MULIK, K. and M. S. Retorta, eds. 2014. Avaliação no Ensino-Aprendizagem de Línguas Estrangeiras: Diálogos, Pesquisas e Reflexões. Campinas: Pontes.
NORTON, Bonny and Kelleen Toohey, eds. 2004. Critical Pedagogies and Language Learning. New York: Cambridge UP.
https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139524834
O'SULLIVAN, Michael and Karen Pashby, eds. 2008. Citizenship Education in the Era of Globalization: Canadian perspectives. Rotterdam: Sense. https://doi.org/10.1163/9789087905910
PALMER, Adrian S. and Lyle F. Bachman. 1981. "Basic Concerns in Test Validation." In Alderson and Hughes 1981, 135-151.
PASCOAL, Lílian A. V. 2018. "Avaliações escritas de Língua Inglesa em contextos de extensão e formação de professores: possíveis relações com letramento crítico." M.A. Thesis. Federal University of Minas Gerais, Brazil.
PENNYCOOK, Alastair. 2001. Critical Applied Linguistics: A Critical Introduction. Mahwah, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum.
https://doi.org/10.4324/9781410600790
QUEVEDO-CAMARGO, G. 2014. "Efeito Retroativo da Avaliação na Aprendizagem de Línguas Estrangeiras: Que Fenômeno É Esse?" In Mulik and Retorta 2014, 71-88.
RICHARDS, Jack C. and Richard Schmid. 2010. Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics. London: Pearson.
SCARAMUCCI, M. R. V. 2011. "Validade e Consequências Sociais das Avaliações em Contextos de Ensino de Línguas." Linguarum Arena 2: 103-120.
SHOHAMY, Elana. 2004. "Assessment in Multicultural Societies: Applying Democratic Principles and Practices to Language Testing." In Norton and Toohey, K. 2004, 72-92.
https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139524834.005
SOARES, M. 1998. Letramento: Um Tema em Três Gêneros. 2. ed. Belo Horizonte: Autêntica.
UR, Penny. 1996. A Course in Language Teaching: Practice and Theory. New York: Cambridge UP.
VALÉRIO, K. M. and A. M. A. Mattos. 2018. "Critical Literacy and the Communicative Approach: Gaps and Intersections." Revista Brasileira de Linguística Aplicada 18: 313-338.
https://doi.org/10.1590/1984-6398201812252
VETTER, Diane. 2008. "Towards a Critical Stance: Citizenship Education in the Classroom." In O'sullivan and Pashby 2008, 105-111. https://doi.org/10.1163/9789087905910_009
WENGER, Étienne. 1998. Communities of Practice: Learning, Meaning and Identity. Cambridge: Cambridge UP. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511803932
WIELEWICKI, V. 2011. "Letramento Literário e Avaliação: Empalhando a Borboleta?" Revista X 1: 48-58. https://doi.org/10.5380/rvx.v1i1.24551
Downloads
Statistics
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2022 Lílian Aparecida Vimieiro Pascoal, Andrea Machado de Almeida Mattos
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
