Abstract:

Perceptions and practices of linguistic shame and shaming associated with English language use significantly affect users’ willingness to communicate (WTC) in English. This situation continues to pose significant challenges for teaching and learning of the language in postcolonial contexts like Sri Lanka. Whilst these practices of linguistic shame and shaming create instructional challenges for the teaching and learning of English in many disadvantaged local contexts, the onus of tackling these challenges is largely on teachers of English. The tacit nature in which these practices unfold within instructional settings add an additional layer of difficulty. Awareness of linguistic shame and shaming, practices and the nature and extent to which they manifest in instructional settings is seen as prerequisites for finding pedagogically viable solutions for these challenges. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews, and the findings indicated that participants’ awareness of and their ability to articulate what linguistic shame and shaming is varied considerably. We discuss the implications of these findings for teaching and learning of English in contexts where practices of linguistic shame and shaming are widespread. We conclude that these findings have far-reaching consequences for language learners in terms of their social mobility and connectedness, and should therefore have great potential to inform pre-service English language teacher education curricular.

Keywords:

English Language Teaching (ELT), English as a Second Language (ESL), L2 pedagogy, Linguistic shame and shaming, Willingness to Communicate (WTC).