Censorship and Academic Freedom in ELT Research: Implications for Practitioner Motivation

Abstract

For most teacher-researchers within the field of ELT, a significant motivation for undertaking research is to improve teaching practice in order to better facilitate language-learning outcomes. The research process often begins with the identification of a potential problem or weakness in current practice, and is informed by previous findings reported in the academic literature. However, when certain pedagogical practices are deemed by authorities to be exempt from criticism or questioning, a serious threat is posed to the development and transfer of knowledge. In this session, the presenters will discuss the experiences of researchers who attempted an informed challenge to a long-established English-only language policy at a Japanese university and efforts made by institutional agents to deter the research from being undertaken and subsequently published in a transparent manner. Attendees will be given the opportunity to discuss relevant issues and to share their own stories related to academic censorship, with a focus on how freedom of inquiry, as expressed through ELT research initiatives, can be asserted and protected, and how repression of such freedoms impacts negatively upon teaching and research motivation.