Decolonizing Primary English Language Teaching

This book tells the story of a project in Mexico which aimed to decolonize primary English teaching by building on research that suggests Indigenous students are struggling in educational systems and are discriminated against by the mainstream. Led by their instructor, a group of student teachers aspired to challenge the apparent world phenomenon that associates English with “progress” and make English work in favor of Indigenous and othered children’s ways of being. The book uses stories as well as multimodality in the form of photos and videos to demonstrate how the English language can be used to open a dialogue with children about language ideologies. The approach helps to support minoritized and Indigenous languages and the development of respect for linguistic human rights worldwide.

Mario E. Lopez-Gopar is Professor at the Faculty of Languages of the Universidad Autonoma Benito Juarez de Oaxaca, Mexico. His main research interest is the intercultural and multilingual education of Indigenous peoples in Mexico.