Critical agency and glocal subjectivity in ELT material development: an analysis of English language textbook of Bangladesh
This paper explores ‘glocal subjectivity’ in an English language textbook produced by National Curriculum and Textbook Board of Bangladesh for Grades XI-XII. In the era of globalization (Mukherjee & Krieckhaus 2011), glocal subjectivity, i.e. creation of self that appreciates the ingredients o...
| Main Authors: | , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
2019
|
| Online Access: | http://journalarticle.ukm.my/13993/ http://journalarticle.ukm.my/13993/ http://journalarticle.ukm.my/13993/1/31365-104159-1-PB.pdf |
| Summary: | This paper explores ‘glocal subjectivity’ in an English language textbook produced by National Curriculum and
Textbook Board of Bangladesh for Grades XI-XII. In the era of globalization (Mukherjee & Krieckhaus 2011),
glocal subjectivity, i.e. creation of self that appreciates the ingredients of both global and local spaces
(Gutierrez 2013) is relevant for material development in ELT, as it carries implications for critical agency
(Richmond 2011). In post-colonial countries, critical agency allows non-native textbook writers to exercise
freedom in selecting themes and designing language learning activities which may be used in the classrooms to
develop critical minds (Pineda-Báez 2004). Through qualitative content analysis (Julien 2008), this research
examines how the non-native material writers in Bangladesh exerted critical agency to construct glocal
subjectivity in the English textbook. Findings reveal that textbook writers constructed glocal subjectivity by
selecting appropriate topics. Nevertheless, the textbook contains the following limitations: pedagogically
unsound language learning activities, low aesthetic quality, misrepresentation of Bangladesh, and post-colonial
ambivalence. Based on the findings, this paper suggests that textbook writers in the post-colonial countries need
to be aware of the issue of representation and make use of the wisdom of Applied Linguistics to produce
politically correct and pedagogically effective English language textbook. |
|---|