critical pedagogyn
an approach to teaching that seeks to examine critically the conditions
under which language is used and the social and cultural purposes of
its use, rather than transmitting the dominant view of linguistic, cultural
and other kinds of information. Both the process of teaching and learn-
ing and its study are viewed as inherently evaluative or ideological in
character.
critical periodn
also critical age
the period during which a child can acquire language easily, rapidly, per-
fectly, and without instruction. In Lenneberg’s original formulation of the
critical period hypothesis, this period was identified as ranging from age
two to puberty. Lenneberg believed that brain lateralizationis complete
at puberty, making post-adolescent language acquisition difficult, with
complete learning of a second language a goal unlikely to be realized. Some
researchers now hold that the critical age for the acquisition of phonology
may be as early as five or six, while there is perhaps no age limit for the
acquisition of vocabulary. Some theorize that there is no critical period at
all, that it is possible to learn a second language perfectly after puberty,
while others argue that there is a steady decline in language learning ability
with age, with no sharp breaks identifying a critical period. For this reason
the term sensitive periodis sometimes preferred. Whether critical period
related learning deficits are biologically, socially, cognitively, or affectively
based has also been the subject of much dispute.
critical period hypothesisn
see critical period
critical readingn
1 reading in which the reader reacts critically to what he or she is read-
ing, through relating the content of the reading material to personal
standards, values, attitudes or beliefs, i.e. going beyond what is given
in the text and critically evaluating the relevancy and value of what is
read.
2 a level of reading in which the reader seeks to identify the underlying
ideology of a text, which is realized not so much by what the writer
writes about but by how people, events and places are talked about.
Critical reading focuses on the analysis of textual ideologies and cultural
messages, and an understanding of the linguistic and discourse tech-
niques with which texts represent social reality. Critical reading is one
dimension of critical pedagogy.
critical pedagogy