Researching de-/coloniality in diverse geopolitical contexts: from (g)localising English language teaching to digital platform collaboration

• In Event: Empowerment, Decolonization, and Global-Local Perspectives in Education

Proposal

One of the primary objectives of the project is to explore the nature of (de-)coloniality in education in diverse geopolitical contexts (Germany, Lao P.D.R., Ukraine, Cameroon, Ghana). The study will explore the nature of (de-)coloniality here by comparing how learning materials are imported or localised or found/developed and used in English language learning and teaching (ELT) in diverse contexts.
Coloniality as well as Euroanglocentrism and hegemonic "Global North" ideologies and practices in ELT are reproduced by the usage of so-called “international” materials. To decolonise ELT materials and teaching in diverse context, naturalised coloniality must be challenged and materials developed based on a localising and decolonising framework by and with local educators in Lao P.D.R., Ukraine, Cameroon and Ghana. This approach is expected to enhance the learning experiences of local learners but also enables them to engage confidently in a globalised world using EIL while expressing their lived experiences, knowledges, and linguistic and cultural backgrounds.
Identifying decolonial tendencies, overlaps, challenges and new pathways in teachers' practices with teaching materials serves to bundle efforts worldwide and help the already existing virtual community in Teacher Research (e.g. Electronic Village Online) create a robust decolonial framework for postmethod classroom emancipation. Thus, the teacher educators in this project aim to support teachers with different levels of experience and expertise whilst decolonising teacher education and curricula at their own universities.
In this context, digital ELT materials have the advantage that they can be adapted easily to become relevant to the learners. As they facilitate a more cost-effective way of adapting, digital resources are easier to realise for smaller local groups. The flexibility of digital resources does not only facilitate collaboration betweeen partners in different context "striving [...] in their own local histories confronting global designs” (Mignolo and Walsh, 2018, p. 245) but also adaptations to local needs and the presentation of more realistic language models (Dringó-Horváth & Menyhei, 2021). Digital resources furthermore simplify connecting the course input to the students’ possibilities for informal digital learning of English (IDLE).
On the downside compared to working with printed course books, digital materials might increase the gap between students from rural and urban backgrounds. Students from rural backgrounds sometimes do not have access to the internet when they are at home and many students’ only digital device is a mobile phone. However, it is particularly these students who would benefit from an increased use of visualisation and multi-media approaches that would take the focus away from written input and global North content.
For collaboration and comparative analysis between between project partners, we will set up a digital education platform, more specifically a learning management system (LMS like Moodle, Canvas, etc.). This system will allow participants to create, share and view various multimedia content (text, audio, animations, AI, video). To avoid conflicts with the different universities' or schools' privacy policies, we will use our own independent system. Each participant (administrators, teacher educators, teachers, students) will have their own access ID for this system. However, it will be possible to connect this system to the systems of the desired university or institution. In addition, this platform will serve as a venue to organise free workshops and forums on challenging topics such as (de-)coloniality in the digital society, AI and classroom management, AI and the creation or adaptation of teaching and learning materials from one cultural context to another. Publications will be Open Source and disseminated by a low-threshold project blog.
Decolonizing textbooks in the various contexts aims to foster inclusive and contextually relevant pedagogy by integrating local languages, cultural narratives, and indigenous knowledge in the different education systems. This approach challenges Western-centric content, empowering teachers to connect with students' lived experiences and promoting a more equitable and locally grounded educational framework.

Authors

• Isabel Martin, University of Education Karlsruhe

• Nico Hillah Hillah, PH-Karlsruhe

• Christopher Yaw Kwaah, UNIVERSITY OF CAPE COAST, GHANA

• Lanta Ketoukham, Savannakhet university

• Rebecca Dengler, Humboldt Universität zu Berlin

• Monika Popow, Polish Naval Academy