Decolonizing English Language Teaching Practices and Policies

This book brings together teachers and scholars from the Global South to showcase original frameworks and perspectives on decolonizing English language teaching.

The contributors introduce local praxiologies, understood as the knowledges that emerge through critical reflection from teachers' everyday practices. In this sense, praxiologies can also be taken as informed teaching actions, conceived within decolonial frameworks and embedded in practice. The book addresses issues related to the multiple epistemological stances teachers use to open space within formal educational settings to practice global Englishes, contesting traditional standardized instruction. The first three sections are organized by educational level (primary/basic, secondary, and higher education), with each chapter providing examples of pedagogical practices or methodologies, epistemological frameworks, or diverse approaches to policies regarding English language teaching. The final section interrogates the foundational role of language policy in sustaining or dismantling colonial power structures within education systems. Through these chapters, the authors argue that decolonizing language policies extends beyond a theoretical exercise into a material necessity for transforming educational practice.

Essential reading for scholars and students interested in decolonial teaching practices, Global South epistemologies, English language teaching, critical language pedagogies, and language policy studies.