Critical Reading in Language Education - by C Wallace (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

Addressed to researchers in Applied Linguistics, and to professional teachers working in, or studying teaching and learning processes in, multilingual classrooms, Critical Reading in Language Education offers a distinctive contribution to the question of how foreign language learners can be helped to acquire effective literacy in English. At the heart of the book is first-hand classroom research by the author as both teacher and researcher, demonstrating an innovative research methodology and empirical evidence to support a critical reading pedagogy.

Review Quotes

'This text is a very important work in the exploration of ESL teaching...with exciting discussion, well-grounded in theoretical positions and paradigms...very accessible to its audience.' - Dr Pat Smith, University of Ballarat, Australia

'Critical Reading in Language Education is the definitive text on critical reading for second language pedagogy. It incorporates a substantive, lucid, and respectful critique of current formulations of theories of critical literacy, as well as offering concrete, elaborated exemplifications of alternatives. Wallace provides tools and examples for enacting the critical reading pedagogy she proposes. She insists on the close study of discourse, attention to detail and methodological rigor; at the same time, she is able to broadly contextualize this detailed analysis and examine its implications through a wide lens. As such, her practice becomes a model for others doing similar classroom based research. This book will be invaluable in preparing teachers for second language classrooms; it is a must-read for second language researchers and practitioners alike.' - Professor Elsa Auerbach, University of Massachusetts, Boston, USA

About the Author

CATHERINE WALLACE is Reader in Education at the Institute of Education, University of London, UK. She teaches on the MA TESOL at the Institute and is the co-ordinator of an Advanced Diploma in Minority Ethnic Achievement. She has a number of publications in the field of early literacy and the teaching of reading to learners of English as a second or foreign language. These include: Learning to Read in a Multicultural Society: The Social Context of Second Language Literacy (1988) and Reading (1992).