critical pedagogy (CP)

Critical pedagogy (CP), as a poststructuralist educational movement, challenges the asymmetrical, power-over nature of classroom discourse and seeks to accommodate multivocality in the classroom and in the society. This study probed the discourse architecture of EFL classrooms in Iran. Specifically, it aimed to explore to what extent Iranian EFL classrooms have stepped away from the teacher-dominant initiation-response-follow-up (IRF) discourse structure and welcomed CP-oriented dialogism and multivocality. To this end, a number of EFL classrooms in Isfahan and Shahrekord (Iran) were observed, and the running classroom discourse was audio-recorded, transcribed, and analyzed. The results showed that discourse-construction opportunities were distributed unevenly in favor of teachers regarded as the sole authority in the classroom. Student-regulated symmetrical talks were seldom evidenced in the classrooms. The findings further demonstrated that the power-over IRF discourse architecture, despite its communicative inadequacies, still seems to be dominant in EFL classrooms in Iran. Finally, it is suggested that L2 practitioners should move towards transforming the status quo, include more elements of CP into L2 classrooms, and invest in dialogism and multivocality as essential mechanisms to de-silence the students.

Using Critical Digital Pedagogy (CDP) considering the recent technological advancements in the field of education as well as the prevalence of critical pedagogy (CP) in the World educational systems. This qualitative study aimed to uncover ELT experts’ and English literature teachers’ perceptions of a technology-laden CP-based EFL teacher preparation program for the context of Iran within a basic interpretive design. A total of thirty male and female ELT experts with a PhD in TEFL who were selected through convenience sampling from among experienced university professors who had relevant research expertise in the field. They were university professors with PhD in TEFL with different years of teaching experience. To collect the data, a semi-structured interview was used. Data analysis was done by the MAXQDA. The results showed that the perceptions of ELT experts and English literature teachers were both in line with the tenets of CP and the use of technology in education. Further, it was indicated that the perceptions of ELT experts and English literature teachers of a technology-laden CP-based EFL teacher preparation program for the context of Iran were significantly different. The findings have some implications for EFL teacher education administrators, curriculum planners and educators. Key Words: Critical Pedagogy (CP), Critical Digital Pedagogy (CDP), EFL Teacher Education, Technology.