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Global Citizenship in the English Language Classroom: Student Readiness for Critical Reform

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Critical Issues in Teaching English and Language Education

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Abstract

The idea of global citizenship promotion has gained momentum in education as part of a movement to promote twenty-first century skills or critical thinking skills. In higher education institutions in Oman, where programs are mainly delivered through English as a Medium of Instruction, attempts to promote critical thinking skills in the English language classroom have so far been minimal. This brings forth the question: are students of English ready to embrace critical education and explore the possibilities it provides for ESL/EFL contexts? This study explored students’ views on a proposed critical English language course and whether such an initiative would be welcome by English language learners. The course aims to address global issues and engage with multiple perspectives on various authentic texts. This research employs a qualitative approach to data collection seeking to engage with and depict human experiences. Thus, interviews, focus groups and observations were used to shed light on student readiness to engage in a critical approach.

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  • Benesch, S. (2017). Emotions and English language teaching: Exploring teachers’ emotional labor. London: Routledge.

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  • Grimwood, R. (2018). Producing global citizens? How New Zealand universities implement the concept of global citizenship. New Zealand Sociology, 33(1), 97–120.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat, Oman

    Alina Rebecca Chirciu

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  1. Alina Rebecca Chirciu
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Correspondence to Alina Rebecca Chirciu .

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  1. Graduate School of Education, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK

    Salah Troudi

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Chirciu, A.R. (2020). Global Citizenship in the English Language Classroom: Student Readiness for Critical Reform. In: Troudi, S. (eds) Critical Issues in Teaching English and Language Education. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-53297-0_6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-53297-0_6

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  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-53296-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-53297-0

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