Exploring critical pedagogy and choice in eap material development: A case study

In recent years, English language teaching materials, textbooks, videos and websites that facilitate the learning of language, which have grown in number, have tended to cover safe, non-controversial topics using the banking model (in Paulo Freire’s terms). Often these topics did not engage learners either affectively or cognitively. This study addressed the lack of choice and localised context in an English for Academic Purposes course in Hong Kong by incorporating learners’ choices of topic and digital stories into the course. The findings indicated that learner autonomy over topic and the affordances of digital delivery stimulated students to feel ownership and relevance to their local community. The results suggested that by incorporating the principles of critical applied linguistics, second language learners and students can co-construct material and knowledge and represent what they find personally meaningful, which may lead to social changes in society. Copyright © 2019 AsiaTEFL.org. All rights reserved.