RECENT TRENDS IN POWER AND IDEOLOGY, CURRENT CHALLENGES FOR MODERN ASPECTS

Abstract

One may argue that the lack of focus on ideology in the dominant theory and research of ESL education is to blame for the widespread acceptance of long-held ideas and practices in the field. The purpose of this article is to bring attention to some of the literature on power and ideology in ELT that has not received enough attention from researchers, with the expectation that this will help to clarify some critical concerns within the field. To help bring the tiny but vociferous community of English language teaching (ELT) researchers and practitioners closer together, this paper takes as its starting point the idea that ideology underlies all social activities. A brief definition of "ideology of language" (education) will follow, and then will provide a worldwide outline of this very tiny but very active school of ideology in ELT. The overarching goal of this discussion is to urge for ELT that is ideologically and politically conscious in its philosophy, research, and practice.