ERIC Number: EJ1168489
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2017
Pages: 17
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: EISSN-2331-186X
EISSN: N/A
Teaching English or Producing Docility? Foucauldian Analysis of Pakistani State-Mandated English Textbooks
Channa, Liaquat Ali; Gilhooly, Daniel; Channa, Abdul Razaque; Manan, Syed Abdul
Cogent Education, v4 n1 Article 1283101 2017
The scholarship of language education, particularly with reference to learning and use of English, is marked by varieties of English. One may note two broad models: (1) ENL, ESL, and EFL; (2) EIL, ELF, and WEs. Although the scholarship is replete with debates, the debates seem to only construct and maintain that learning English and its use are neutral activities that "earn" and "equip" a learner with certain capital rather than "make" him/her as such. This paper draws upon Foucault's theories of "discourse" and "disciplinary power." This paper takes Pakistani state-mandated English textbooks of Grades 1-5 as official documents that contain qualitative data. The qualitative data are analyzed thematically. Two major themes of male body and female body are found which are analyzed and discussed through the Foucauldian lens. The paper holds that learning English and its use perpetuate and produce docility. The paper contends that neither is language a neutral tool nor are its use and learning value-free activities in any of its varieties.
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, English (Second Language), Second Language Instruction, Textbooks, Elementary Education, Qualitative Research, Human Body, Gender Differences, Language Usage, Social Influences, Power Structure, Textbook Content, Males, Females
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Pakistan
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A