Apprenticing English language teacher learners into using public scholarship to mobilize critical knowledge
There is increasing awareness that English language education is entangled in networks of unequal power that result in social inequities (Pennycook, 2021). Language teachers occupy a pivotal position within language learning ecologies; while uncritical pedagogic practices might exacerbate social injustices, Hawkins and Norton (2009) note that language teachers are uniquely positioned to both "make transparent [and] disrupt potentially harmful and oppressive relations of power" (p. 32). Critical language teacher education (CLTE) is one approach through which English teachers can develop the knowledge, skills, and attitudes necessary to do such emancipatory work. The implementation of CLTE is not straightforward, however. Each language education context is situated at a distinct point within those complex networks of unequal power, meaning that CLTE must be sensitive to the particularities of each context (Hawkins & Norton, 2009). Furthermore, as Kubota (2023) has argued, although critical applied linguistics has produced much knowledge and raised awareness, concrete actions have been more elusive. This Classroom Exploration describes an attempt to empower an international cohort of teacher learners (TLs) studying at a university in the United States to take situated critical action through apprenticing them into public scholarship. Traditional forms of scholarship such as academic journal articles and books, trapped behind expensive paywalls and academic jargon, can be inaccessible. In contrast, public scholarship mobilizes knowledge through "texts" (e.g., research-based theater, blog posts, podcasts, etc.) that are more accessible—in terms of cost, content, expression, and structure—to a general public or specific publics (e.g., in-service teachers, multilingual children, etc.). In fact, Kubota (2023) identifies the mobilization of critical knowledge through public scholarship as a key strategy that might help us bridge the gap between critical theory and practice in language education. In a 14-week graduate-level course in critical applied linguistics, Moore (first author) included learning objectives and related activities that apprenticed the enrolled TLs into producing effective public scholarship on a critical issue plaguing a language learning context with which they were familiar (e.g., tertiary English education in Qazaqstan). These objectives/activities were grouped into the four phases described below. The first step was to establish an understanding of what public scholarship is and why it is important. To do this, Moore gave a short presentation in the second class explaining the idea of public scholarship and how it differs from traditional scholarship. The class also read and discussed Kubota (2023). To understand what characterizes effective public scholarship, Moore selected public scholarship texts related to the changing weekly topics (e.g., a YouTube video on native speakerism in ELT, a resource website for language educators interested in critical language awareness, a podcast episode discussing critical language testing). For homework, TLs completed an Analyzing Public Scholarship Worksheet (supplementary material 1) in which they responded to the content of the text and considered the extent to which the author(s) were able to effectively exploit the multimodal potential of their chosen text type to convey meaning to their target audience. During the weekly class, TLs discussed their analyses in small groups, consolidated their answers to the question, "What makes an effective [YouTube video]?" and added those ideas to a Padlet under the column for that week's text type (see Figure 1). In Week 5, TLs were asked to submit a 500-word description of a language education context (classroom, school, state, etc.) familiar to them and a critical problem that plagues it. They were also asked to articulate a solution-focused question or set of questions, the answers to which might mitigate or solve the critical problem (e.g., "How can we challenge cultural essentialism in Japanese junior high school English textbooks?"). To help the TLs build up the knowledge necessary to inform any critical action, as a mid-term assignment they were asked to complete a literature review by identifying peer-reviewed theoretical and empirical scholarship of potential relevance to their critical questions and drawing explicit connections between that scholarship and their situated critical issue and question(s). For their final assignment, TLs were asked to produce a complete draft of a piece of public scholarship that might function as an intervention in their chosen critical issue. Towards the end of the course, TLs were asked to conduct a meta-analysis across the text type columns of the Padlet and answer the broader question: What makes effective public scholarship? These ideas were synthesized by Moore into a rubric (supplementary material 2) TLs would use to guide the production (and eventual self-assessment) of their own public scholarship. The characteristics of effective public scholarship revealed through this inductive process included having a message tailored to a specific target audience, the author's ability to position themself early and clearly in terms of the main topic, and their effective exploitation of the multimodal affordances of the text type for meaning making. Each characteristic was given equal weighting in the rubric. TLs built up a shared understanding of the rubric by using it to "assess" the public scholarship mentor text chosen for each of the latter weeks and then comparing their assessment to the assessments of their peers and the instructor. When producing their own public scholarship, TLs were encouraged to translanguage, using whichever linguistic resources that would enable them to convey their ideas effectively to their chosen target audience. Recognizing the power of collaboration, TLs were also encouraged to work with others to produce effective public scholarship. TLs shared a completed first draft of their text in the final class and received feedback from their peers. One of the TLs, Noerkhasanah (second author), shares her public scholarship below. After class, they completed their self-assessment and submitted it to the instructor. Self-assessment was necessary as some TLs produced work in languages that were not part of the instructor's linguistic repertoire. Those who produced work through collaboration completed a survey through which they reported the nature and extent of the work produced by others and reflected on the experience. Finally, each TL completed a reflection, explaining their rationale for the work and the steps they took to maximize its efficacy, and suggesting how they would respond in a second draft to the feedback they received. Due to the potential risks of publishing critical public scholarship, the decision on whether to do so was left with each TL. The target audience for my public scholarship was a group of Indonesian students affected by the growing trend of schools that adopt Western curricula, such as the International Baccalaureate and Cambridge, and enforce strict English-only policies. These policies not only mandate English during classes, but also in everyday interactions, suppressing the use of other languages (such as Bahasa Indonesia and ethnic languages) within the school community. My goal was to challenge the preference for British English as the "standard English" and encourage pride in being multilingual and embracing unique accents tied to ethnic languages through the creation of a children's picture book, Sekar dan Logat Sundanya (When Sekar Speaks) (Figure 2). By analyzing various public scholarship texts, I gleaned insights into crafting effective scholarship. These include employing age-appropriate storytelling, avoiding unnecessary jargon, and incorporating an author's note to position myself and stimulate further exploration. I strategically integrated translanguaging into the narrative, illustrating the normality of using Bahasa Indonesia, Sundanese, Javanese, Padangnese, and English. The story's relatable protagonist, Sekar, is a multilingual child who comes to recognize her full linguistic repertoire as a gift. The illustrations play a vital role in conveying the message in children's picture books, expressing the characters' emotions, and authentically representing cultural nuances. I was fortunate to find an Indonesian illustrator whose style fit the story. Collaborating with the illustrator posed its own set of challenges, as it required intensive communication to ensure authentic representation of cultural elements and effective message delivery in each spread. During the final class, I presented my completed draft to two classmates and received invaluable feedback. Their suggestions included incorporating an English translation in the book to reach an even wider audience and providing an audiobook version. I have carefully noted those points as potential areas for consideration in the book's future development. Additionally, prompted by Dr. Moore's feedback on color contrasts and font selection in certain spreads, I refined the layout to ensure that the texts are easier to read. Drawing from my prior experience in publishing children's picture books, I understand that some public scholarship text types, particularly children's picture books, might be less accessible than others as readers need to purchase them. Despite this, I have submitted the manuscript to several publishing houses in Indonesia and am currently awaiting their review. The public scholarship apprenticeship strand made space for TLs like Noerkhasanah to produce critical, situated interventions in language education contexts that mattered to them. Other public scholarship texts produced by TLs have included a YouTube video on implementing critical pedagogies in adult ESL classrooms, a blog post (written in Qazaq) critiquing the dominance of British English as a norm in Qazaqstan's English language education, and a co-authored opinion piece celebrating linguistic diversity on U.S. college campuses and sharing concrete strategies faculty can implement to avoid perpetuating linguistic discrimination. However, sharing critical public scholarship is not without risks to the authors, including exposing oneself to government censorship and online criticism rooted in oppressive ideologies. Future iterations of this course will include more discussion around such potential risks to help TLs make more informed decisions around if and how to publish their work. Keeping such risks in mind, critical teacher educators might follow this four-phase model to empower TLs to take concrete action through public scholarship. Even without following the inductive apprenticeship reported here, the rubric shared above can act as a ready guide for any aspiring public scholars who wish to challenge social injustices within their local language education contexts. Ashley R. Moore is an assistant professor of TESOL at Boston University Wheelock College of Education and Human Development. He is a critical applied linguist and teacher educator. His research interests include the pursuit of queer/trans-affirming language education, linguistic dissociation, critical realist research methodology, and critical language teacher education. Lia Noerkhasanah is currently pursuing a master's degree in language and literacy education at Boston University. Her research interests are focused on second language acquisition in multilingual learners, the decolonization of children's picture books, and the promotion of equitable language instruction practices. Supplementary material 1. Supplementary material 2. Supplementary material 3. Please note: The publisher is not responsible for the content or functionality of any supporting information supplied by the authors. Any queries (other than missing content) should be directed to the corresponding author for the article.
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