Critical Learning: Critical Discourse Analysis in EFL Teaching

Discourse analysis, the study of language use within its social context, has plenty of utilitarian aspects, especially for language learners. Besides being a means of communication, language is a practice that not only constructs, but is also constructed by the ways language learners understand themselves and their social environment. Critical discourse analysis promotes the application of critical thinking to social situations and the unveiling of hidden connections between language use, ideology and power. This paper aims to demonstrate how critical discourse analysis can be implemented in foreign language teaching in order to help students develop their internal values and critical thinking skills. The main principles of critical discourse analysis can be incorporated in order to turn a song, a t-shirt slogan or an email into the subject of linguistic exploitation and socio-cultural debate.