This article starts from a comment on my locus of enunciation (i.e., the context from which I?speak), a key element of decoloniality as a means of resisting the idea of disembodied knowledge or neutrality promoted by modernity/coloniality. I?then proceed to explain how I?understand the entanglement of modernity and coloniality and why we need to…

In this contribution, I argue for a radical reappraisal of accepted ideas about how English is taught and tested. I am not alone in questioning the validity of the current orthodoxy. Others have expressed views that correspond or are consistent with the points I make here. What I have sought to do is to synthesize them in the formulation of a…

This article responds to Jordan and Gray's critique of the global coursebook and the call to have open, critical discussions about coursebook use in light of SLA research (Jordan and Gray 2019). I?make a case for why the assumptions made about what constitutes a global coursebook are too narrow. I?also dismiss the idea of one type of global…

Michael Swan and Catherine Walter (see EJ1142765) take issue with the current emphasis in the teaching of listening and reading on higher-order skills-and-strategies training. They argue that L2 learners typically already possess the relevant skills and strategies necessary for listening and reading in L2, and, by implication, can and do deploy…

This article responds to recent critiques of the usefulness of research findings to teaching, and the call for teachers to rely on their experiences and intuition. I discuss the fallibility of intuition and then examine the nature of research and of critical thinking and their importance for teachers and teacher education. I provide evidence of…

Paul Stapleton's assessment of the current state of language teaching research (LTR) raises important issues. However, his proposal that social science research approaches in ELT have failed, and that that they should be replaced by approaches from the biological sciences, is unlikely to connect with the knowledge-building needs of ELT…

Sowden's article raises a number of questions concerning English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) and criticizes it as a simplified and culturally neutral means of communication. In this response, I address the issues concerning the conceptualization and use of ELF as well as the implications for ELT. I provide up-to-date evidence of ELF research and show…

This article reports on a teacher-talk training course for Japanese primary school teachers, who are preparing to teach "communicative English" for the first time. The article argues that teacher-talk training is important for communicative classes with young students because most of the input and interaction is by default teacher…

The idea of grammar as a "liberating force" comes from a paper by Henry Widdowson (1990) in which grammar is depicted as a resource which liberates the language user from an over-dependency on lexis and context for the expression of meaning. In this paper, I consider the implications for second language teaching of the notion of grammar as a…

Uysal's article provides a research agenda for IELTS and lists numerous issues concerning the test's reliability and validity. She asks useful questions, but her analysis ignores the uncertainties inherent in all language test development and the wider social and political context of international high-stakes language testing. In this response, I…

English language teaching tends to deal with the pleasanter side of second-language interaction such as making friends, relating experiences, and expressing likes/dislikes while ignoring such everyday communicative realities as rudeness, disrespect, and impoliteness. While neglected in the English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classroom,…

This article argues that recent changes in both users and uses of English have become so far-reaching that a major rethink of English language teaching (ELT) goals is called for. It goes on to claim, however, that this will first require a substantial overhaul of English language testing, given that teachers and learners alike will be reluctant to…

This article responds to points raised in the article "The paired format in the Cambridge Speaking Tests" by Julie Norton in the 59/4 issue of this Journal on the potential drawbacks of a paired format in oral testing, based on observations about the nature of the discourse produced in this context. This article argues that, although the author…

This article offers a response to the comments and claims made in Jennifer Jenkins' article, "The spread of English as an International Language: a testing time for testers." It examines some assumptions underpinning her views and responds to claims about current policy and practice in English language testing. It goes on to explain the key…

Discusses the view that the spread of English is endangering many regional languages and their corresponding cultures. Suggests that this view is based on premises that no longer hold true in a world marked by cultural intermixing and growing multilingualism. Implications for the English-as-a-Second-Language teacher are highlighted. (Author/VWL)