초록 열기/닫기 버튼
English textbooks used in Korean secondary schools deal mostly with the social and cultural issues and values of English-speaking countries, especially the U.S. Their content is intrinsically not neutral but ideological because it is based on unequal power relations between the target and native countries. Unless students are able to recognize such problematic content in English textbooks and restructure it in terms of social justice and equity, they might be affected by political and ideological domains outside the classroom. The purpose of the qualitative study reported here was to identify such problematic content in English textbooks through a critical theory lens and to explore the possibility of drawing on critical pedagogy in order to encourage students to develop critical literacy. English textbooks currently used in the 9th grade of Korean schools were analyzed to identify problematic content. Drawing on the identified content, critical literacy pedagogy was applied with three Korean secondary school students. Interviews and video-recordings were employed to gather students' feedback on lessons. Findings suggest that English textbooks include politically or ideologically problematic content and that critical literacy can be an effective way for students to restructure it in terms of social justice and equity.
