A graduate student perspective on ELT preparation to advance the decolonization/decolonial project in TESOL/applied linguistics

• In Event: Decolonial Approaches to the Teaching of English and World Languages

Abstract

Objectives
Fostering critical dispositions (McClure & Vasconcelos, 2011) and equipping future language educators with the tools to support diverse learners have been central to teacher preparation programs for decades. Innovative language teacher preparation programs aiming to prepare pre-service and in-service teachers for engaging in decolonization efforts underscore the development of these fundamental skills and competencies in the preparation of future leaders. Responding to calls for continuous reflective praxis (Mignolo & Walsh, 2018) and framed within the theoretical perspective of decolonization and decoloniality, as articulated by scholars in the field (e.g., De Costa et al., 2024; Hunt & Leeuw, 2020; Motha, 2014; Mignolo & Walsh, 2018), the presenter argues for what English Language Teacher (ELT) preparation programs need to consider in the preparation of future ELT professionals who can advance decolonial work with confidence.

Methods
Beginning by disclosing their own positionality and motivation for engaging in this work, the presenter discusses the challenges, complexities, and limitations they have observed and experienced when introduced to a decolonial agenda in an existing traditional applied linguistics/TESOL program. Derived from their own educational experiences and reflective praxis, they discuss what works well and what may still need optimization to prepare pre-service and in-service teachers to advance the decolonization project. The presenter incorporates storytelling in the examination of their experiences navigating decolonial approaches and initiatives in my graduate work within TESOL/applied linguistics individually and with their peers.

Findings
Reflecting on their personal experience as a new TESOL master’s student encountering the decolonial perspective, and with the collaborative support and vulnerability of their peers and professor, the presenter recounts how they gained transformative insight that furthered their passion for the decolonial agenda and fueled a strong desire for advocating for not only multilingual learners, but also for peers, colleagues, and the field at large. In a diverse graduate classroom encompassing both international and US perspectives and lived experiences, students collectively challenged each other’s preconceptions of education broadly and ELT in particular. The presenter discusses the key features of our collaborative environment that fostered such growth and transformation on their part. Faced with not only the obstacles of rigorous concepts and theories but also students’ ability to be vulnerable with each other and critically reflect on their ideologies and positionalities, the outcomes transformed how students approach ELT and their current trajectory in the doctoral program. It is hoped that, in sharing these experiences, a decolonial agenda can be pushed forward via advocating for decolonization of ELT programs. Limitations will also be addressed regarding ecological constraints and how the decolonial agenda is a lifelong endeavor with no cure all for fighting Eurocentric ideologies within applied linguistics (Mignolo & Walsh, 2018).

Significance
This contribution demonstrates unique insight into the graduate student perspective on decolonization and the prospective contribution for ELT preparation programs to further support future teachers in advocating for critical transformation for their students and in their workplaces. Additionally, this presentation highlights programmatic suggestions to instill an environment conducive to decolonizing work for future educators.

Author

• Sarah Marie Howard, Oregon State University