The Role Of Critical Language Awareness in Teaching English as a FL.

Abstract

In a foreign language context, critical language awareness (CLA) as an approach to language teaching is approved to play a crucial role in enhancing language acquisition. Yet, in spite of adopting a communicative approach to second language teaching, English teaching situation in the Maghrebi countries including, Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco, Libya and Mauritania, seems to reflect a version that does not include the critical awareness component within its priorities. In other words, in spite of recognizing the importance of language awareness within focus on form trends of communicative approaches, awareness is believed to be regarded but a descriptive level of English language. Contrarily and by adopting a critical pedagogy in English teaching methodology, the Maghreb, reflecting somehow a shared sociocultural context, can adjust language instruction towards raising learners’ consciousness about the linguistic and/or cultural Self and Other at both the descriptive and the explanatory level. This article attempts to trace the main claims within critical language awareness methodology, with much focus on Fairclough’s Model. The attention is to be shifted then to Literature as a highly recommended authentic material to settle ‘Knowledge about language’, another designation of language awareness, among others.