Developing critical awareness through dialogic engagement for social justice in EFL classrooms

Abstract

In the context of Nepal, English is not only a compulsory subject but also the primary medium of instruction in the majority of private and public educational institutions. Despite this, a significant disparity persists in students' English language proficiency, largely due to unequal access of resources and opportunities to participate in the educational activities. This gap is particularly pronounced among learners from marginalized communities. As Canagarajah (1999) argues, the global dominance of English often reinforces the marginalization of learners' cultural identities and contributes to the reproduction of inequalities within educational systems. This study, Developing Critical Awareness Through Dialogic Engagement in EFL Classrooms for Social Justice, examines how social inequalities manifest in Nepalese EFL classrooms and explores the potential of dialogic pedagogy to foster critical awareness among learners. The prevailing culture of silence, fear, and power imbalance especially affects disadvantaged and poor students, so the research aims to promote both speaking proficiency in English and social justice. The findings highlight dialogic engagement as a transformative approach for creating more inclusive and equitable language learning environments The researcher adopted a Critical Participatory Action Research (CPAR) methodology, emphasizing collaborative and reflective practices designed to empower students. The study was conducted in a public school in Nepal, involved forty-one ninth-grade students from diverse cultural, linguistic, and socio-economic backgrounds. Data collection methods included informal discussions, field notes from classroom observations, participants' reflections, focus group discussions, and written responses. The study also examined evidence of social injustices through multimodal writings, surveys, and observations. Data were recorded via mobile devices and field notes, then analyzed using a thematic approach to identify key patterns in the dialogue, texts, and reflections related to the English language, critical awareness, and social justice. A triangulated analysis of data from observations, recordings, interviews, and written reflections was conducted to ensure comprehensive findings. The findings of the study were organized into five primary themes: (1) manifestations of social inequalities in EFL classrooms, (2) transformative practices for student engagement, (3) dialogic engagement for promoting social justice and English proficiency, (4) addressing diversity to ensure social justice, and (5) fostering critical awareness to uphold social justice in classrooms. The study underscores the importance of addressing social inequalities through inclusive pedagogical practices, which not only enhance language proficiency but also promote equitable participation and empower learners. The study highlights the importance of transformative activities such as "Logic of the Day," Fishbowl Discussions, opinion and reason generators, Socratic Seminars, and problem-posing—in promoting critical awareness through dialogic engagement. It establishes that critical engagement fosters critical thinking, which in turn supports the development of critical awareness. Achieving justice in the classroom requires embracing diversity, valuing student voices, offering scaffolding, and fostering a culture that questions injustice. True classroom justice is realized when students' identities, knowledge, and abilities are acknowledged and respected. Meaningful dialogic opportunities not only improve English proficiency but also empower students to become advocates for social justice.