Exploring the transformative potential of duoethnography for critical language teaching

This paper explores the transformative potential of duoethnography for critical language studies in settings of ethnolinguistic diversity. In duoethnography, two researchers juxtapose their experiences in a dialogic manner, seeking critical understanding that would otherwise not be available through individual self-reflection. Such understanding requires openness, trust, and respect for diverse ways of knowing, and a willingness to reexamine and possibly change prior beliefs. In this paper, we discuss our utilization of duoethnography in our teaching of content-based English for Academic Purposes (EAP) in a public university in Canada. We show how EAP areas of specialization such as second/additional language awareness, bi/multilingualism, lexicogrammar, discourse and semiotic analyses of texts contribute important transdisciplinary insights to support critical citizenship education. We also identify keystone practices for language and citizenship education that potentially advance duoethnographic aspirations, particularly in developing dialogic understandings of socio-political issues.