English language teaching and the challenges for citizenship and identity in the current century

Abstract

Recent educational reforms in Brazil have emphasised the need for developing citizenship at all school levels. However, in order for this call to become reality it is necessary to provide teachers with opportunities for reflection on the meanings of citizenship and how language learning can contribute to those understandings. Especially in relation to English, a language that is more and more branded as an international language, it is important to consider definitions of planetary citizenship, its role in fostering global citizenship and the potential for bringing together people from different parts of the world. Parallel to those considerations, the notion of identity has to be redefined, since in a global world the global and the local are in constant tension. In this paper the changing context of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) education considering the technological milieu of the next century and the advantages and threats technology poses to identities and the democratization of knowledge will be discussed. It will be argued that this new context requires EFL teachers who are increasingly aware of the connections between their classrooms and the outside world, and who are able to think anew about their roles as educators.