Critical Perspectives on Language Teaching Materials

Reviews / Votes

'There have been monographs and edited collections on language teaching material over the years, but none have managed to do what this book does cover the basics of the field while moving debate on further in a variety of different areas. Thus within the covers of this collection, magnificently edited by John Gray, we find not only general information about language teaching materials, but also detailed attention to how such materials are cultural artefacts, that is how they are human-produced objects which communicate information about the culture within which they are embedded and from which they emerge, as well as their creators. A key factor here is the move by contributors to an interdisciplinary approach to language teaching materials, leaving behind an approach which is informed exclusively by mainstream language teaching and learning literature. Further to this, the contributions to this collection examine a range of factors, including how culture is both a central factor in the very fabric of materials and how, at the same time materials convey views about culture and cultures; how materials are key commodities mediating neoliberal policies and practices, to the point that they act in effect as agents of neoliberalism; how materials position learners (and teachers) as particular types of people; how materials developed in one context condition and shape pedagogical practices in other contexts in another; and finally, how materials can be and are often resisted byteachers and learners. All of these issues, and more, are addressed engagingly and imaginatively in this volume, the result being an excellent source of ideas for anyone interested in language teaching materials in the 21st century.' - David Block, Universitat de Lleida, Spain

'Gray's Critical Perspectives on Language Teaching Materials is a timely and innovative addition to the field of language and education in collating state-of-the-art critical research on teaching materials not only in English but also in other languages by taking stock of diverse theories and methodologies. It is a significant contribution to critical literacy and critical pedagogy and it will be the most

valuable to those who are working on these fields at both theoretical and practical levels.' - Language and Education