Exploring critical perspectives in English teaching and learning at a Colombian university

Abstract A critical perspectives approach to teaching and learning English as a foreign language is a relatively recent practice in the global South, and even though there are reports that explain how this approach is enacted in the curriculum, few studies have been conducted on how teacher educators and pre-service teachers deal with its implementation in their everyday practices. Hence, a descriptive qualitative study was conducted at a public university to delve into the perceptions of teachers and pre-service teachers regarding this approach and the challenges that it entails. The participants were nine in-service teachers and 31 pre-service teachers teaching and learning English following a curriculum based on critical and intercultural perspectives. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews, document analysis, and a survey. The thematic analysis of the data yielded results that suggest a nuanced perception of participants, especially the pre-service teachers, and highlight the challenges that both groups of participants undertake when teaching and learning English through critical perspectives. These findings suggest an important issue to the EFL field, which is the need for going beyond language as a system when teaching and learning it, while ensuring in-service teachers’ professional development and the adequate balance between linguistic aspects of the language and the promotion of critical awareness.