Korean students’ avoidance of critical pedagogy in a liberal arts English class

This study aims to examine how Korean university EFL students’ reluctance to engage in critical pedagogy (CP)—including discussion of difficult social justice issues and social action—was manifested in a liberal arts English speaking class taught by a native English-speaking teacher. Although CP has been implemented in EFL education, there remains limited understanding of how students respond to this type of learning in classroom contexts. To highlight students’ representative ways of resisting CP-oriented lessons, one native English-speaking teacher’s speaking class was selected and analyzed. A qualitative research methodology guided data collection and analysis. Eighteen students’ artifacts—including writings produced for class discussion and activities, as well as posters—were analyzed. Findings show that students were actively engaged in imagination, creativity, and empathy but paid little attention to critical perspectives. Regarding social issues, students tended to focus more on practical and immediate needs and quick-fix solutions to the situations, instead of thinking critically about the social, cultural and ideological dimensions of the target issues. Educational implications have been discussed in relation to CP in EFL contexts.