CRITICAL LITERACY TO DEMYSTIFY BELIEFS REGARDING TEACHING ENGLISH AS AN ADDITIONAL LANGUAGE

Abstract

Beliefs can be social and individual, paradoxical, contextual and dynamic. Regarding the teaching of English as an additional language, the permanence of beliefs filled with linguistic prejudice and colonialist epistemological ideologies is still evident. In addition to formalist views of what language is, which outlines what determines that one has knowledge of a language (for example, mastery of grammatical forms and structures disregarding or neglecting socio-communicative aspects), there is also an idealized model of a “native” speaker from a neocolonial perspective that focuses on certain variants (such as American or British English). Fighting linguistic prejudice, questioning common sense beliefs, and fostering critical thinking helps to promote self-esteem and language security for both students and teachers. This study, then, proposes a demystification of these beliefs based on the practice of multiliteracies and critical literacy as a path to a comprehensive, conscious and critical linguistic formation.