This collection of 16 reflective accounts and data-driven studies explores the interrelationship of religious identity and English Language Teaching (ELT). The chapters broaden a topic which has traditionally focused on Christianity by including Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim and non-religious perspectives. They address the ways in which faith and ELT intersect in the realms of teacher identity, pedagogy and the context and content of ELT, and explore a diverse range of geographical contexts, making use of a number of different research methodologies. The book will be of particular interest to researchers in TESOL and EFL, as well as teachers and teacher trainers.
This anthology is a relevant and insightful guide, addressing concerns about teacher identity, critical pedagogy and classroom practices. It is a useful pedagogical resource and provides encouragement to those of us who promote interfaith dialogue and understanding in our classes.
- Tom Scovel, Professor Emeritus, San Francisco State University, USAThis much-needed collection provides abundant and valuable support for English teachers thinking through the significance of their spirituality in their professional practice. The authors illuminate ways teachers’ belief systems – whether under the guise of formal religion, ethically informed value system, political or ideological stance, or philosophy explicitly detached from organized religion – weave themselves intractably into every corner of their pedagogical lives.
- Suhanthie Motha, University of Washington, USA
Mary Shepard Wong is a Professor in the Global Studies, Sociology and TESOL Department, Azusa Pacific University, USA. She is the co-editor of Christian Faith and English Language Teaching and Learning (with C. Kristjánsson and Z. Dörnyei, 2013, Routledge) and Christian and Critical English Language Educators in Dialogue (with A.S. Canagarajah, 2009, Routledge).
Ahmar Mahboob is Associate Professor at the University of Sydney, Australia. He is the co-editor of Language and Identity across Modes of Communication (with D.N. Djenar and K. Cruickshank, 2015, Mouton De Gruyter) and English in Multilingual Contexts (with L. Barratt, 2014, Springer).
