English Language Learners Making Sense of Social Issues through A Critical Literacy Cycle
- Yeison Dubán Gómez Castillo
, - Jairo Enrique Castañeda-Trujillo
Abstract
This article explores how students engage with social problems in their local community through critical literacy in an English as a foreign language class. Using an interpretive, descriptive qualitative action research approach, the researchers examined the social issues in the students’ environment through observation sheets, questionnaires, and interviews. The results showed that critical literacy enhances students’ reading skills by enabling them to actively connect different texts and determine whether the messages promote or discourage the marginalization of minority groups. The study showed that raising students’ awareness of social issues empowered them to identify opportunities for change in their local communities. By overcoming personal and collective barriers and speaking out, students were inspired to seek transformative solutions.
Keywords
critical literacy, foreign language, local context, social problems, positioning
Author Biography
Yeison Dubán Gómez Castillo
Yeison Duban Gomez Castillo is a full-time English teacher who has taught in both private and public schools. He works at SENA Valle del Cauca, teaching English for specific purposes. He holds an M.A. in didactics of English from Universidad Surcolombiana. He is currently enrolled in a Ph.D. program in education at Universidad Pedagógica Experimental Libertador.
Jairo Enrique Castañeda-Trujillo
Jairo Enrique Castañeda-Trujillo holds a B.A. degree in Spanish and English from Universidad Pedagógica Nacional and an M.Ed. with Emphasis in English Language Didactics from Universidad Externado de Colombia. At present, he is studying in the Interinstitutional Ph.D. in Education Program at Universidad Distrital Francisco José de Caldas in the ELT Education emphasis. He is a member of the research group Aprendizaje y Sociedad de la Información and Estudios Criticos de Politicas Educativas Colombianas. He works as an Assistant teacher and researcher at Universidad Surcolombiana (USCO).
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