Literacy is considered to be necessary for boosting economic, social and political openings for the individual and language plays a key role in literacy learning. In a multilingual situation, different languages may be used but one language usually takes a dominant position in education. English is now considered to be the global medium for communication and business, and has become the most dominant language in the world. Most people want to learn English, but when they come from diverse backgrounds and speak other languages, it is often challenging to learn.

This paper reports research on the development of critical literacy in a Bangladesh context, but it has implications for many European countries also where English is the dominant academic and business language. It reports a case study of a project of developing critical and creative thinking in classrooms where English is taught as a second language.

It briefly reports a previous study (Rasheed, 2011) of secondary schools’ classrooms in Bangladesh examining the effectiveness of English language learning. It was found that though students in Bangladesh are learning English language, they are not developing sufficient higher order thinking to cope with the complexities of the contemporary world. A further study suggested the need to develop critical thinking for the English language learners in Bangladesh (Alam, 2012).

This study tracks a project in using more critical and creative approaches to language learning.

Two research questions focus the project:

1. How can critical thinking be developed in Bangladesh English classrooms?

2. What kind of resources need to be developed for provoking critical analysis and creative thinking for Bangladesh ESL (English as second language) learners?

The conceptual framework is based on theorisations of discourses (Gee, 2012), critical literacies (Hagood 2002), literacies of social criticism (Said, 2003), and deconstruction of hegemonies of knowledge (Gramsci, 1971; Freire, 1997).

In explaining discourse Gee (2012) reminds us that different forms of language are used in different contexts, such as family, learning institutions and community. He explains how each of these forms of language conveys signals about power and position in society as well as communicating contents.

Literacy expands the ways of talking, interacting, thinking, valuing and believing (Gee, 2012), and critical literacy calls for the development of the ability not only to read and write text but also to actively analyse texts for hidden meanings and ask questions (Hagood, 2002).

The term literacy is also sometimes used in social contexts to describe the skills needed to comprehend ourselves and others, as well as to identify the ways in which we need to critique the society (Said, 2003). Similarly, critical literacy widens scopes to deal with the analysis of power relationship in family, group, society or between cultures and nations (Gramsci, 1971; Freire, 1997).  

The discussion of critical approach to literacy and to its implications for developing higher order thinking aligns with the conference themes of creativity and innovation in educational research that allows education to preserve individuality in a more learning friendly surroundings, leading to development for all.

Alam, S. (2012). Neoliberalism and citizenship in the Bangladesh secondary school curriculum. Critical Literacy: Theories and Practices, 6 (2), 16-30. Freire, P. (1997). Pedagogy of the oppressed. London: Penguin Books. Gee, P. J. (2012). Social linguistics and literacies, Ideology in discourses (4th ed.). London: Routledge. Gramsci, A. (1971), Selections from the Prison Notebooks, London: Lawrence and Wishart. Hagood, M. (2002). "Critical literacy for whom?", Reading Research and Instruction, 41, 247-264. Rasheed, M. M. H. (2011). Communicative language teaching in Bangladesh: Effectiveness and enhancements. Thesis: University of Canterbury, New Zealand.