Global issues are controversial. As language teachers, shouldn we avoid controversy and just stick to language teaching?
The dream of controversy-free teaching is attractive, and yet is just that — a dream. Like it or not, controversy pervades all aspects of life, from disagreements about international trade to disputes on where to site the local garbage dump. Education is no different. As Stradling, Noctor, and Baines (1984) point out: Virtually all subjects and disciplines have their controversies and unresolved questions. Historians disagree over interpretations of events. Economists dispute the causes of inflation. Novels and plays continue to be a matter of controversy among scholars and critics. The natural sciences have their fundamental disputes and controversies: the origins of the universe, evolution. . . . To teach these subjects as if there were no controversies or open questions about matters of fact and interpretation would be to mislead students. (p. 1) Language teaching has its own share of controversy. Differing models of the nature of language, passionate views on teaching methodology,
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