by Sara Felix
Felix, S. (2012) “Academic English programs feeding the walking dead of academia: Critical thinking as a global antibody?” In Zombies in the Academy: Living Dead in Higher Education. Ed. R. Walker, C. Moore, & A. Whelan. London: Intellect Press.
ABSTRACT: English for Academic Purposes (EAP), the entrance for international students into universities, is... more
ABSTRACT: English for Academic Purposes (EAP), the entrance for international students into universities, is historically anything but academic. In fact, EAP prevents any form of reflection and encourages brain inactivity. It is the first step towards the zombification of higher education. And, as these students return to their home countries, educated and infected, the silent take-over of zombies grows. Global infect rates expand exponentially as a zombie pandemic seems inevitable. However, all hope is not lost. EAP may be a field created for the living dead, but the application of praxis—action informed by reflective thought—offers antibodies against the temptation to join the zombie horde for these students about to enter into higher education.
EAP is now a place for those that are brain dead. Zombie features dictate the teaching in these programs. Just as zombies act without thinking, so do teachers and students. The use of checklists and forms, the simplification of language at the cost of ideas, and the lack of desire to push students past simple linguistic regurgitation and memorization all show brain decomposition. Scanning commonly used textbooks found in EAP resource rooms reveal these zombified thoughtless activities as they offer texts on critical reading without asking any inference or evaluative questions, provide listening activities that focus on numbers and fact and not on concepts and interpretations, and finally encourage the writing of simple five paragraph essays without asking the students to ever take a stand, critique arguments, and form ideas of their own. The message of this form of teaching and learning is clear: brains not wanted, and if they show up, they shall be consumed. After all, zombies feast on the brains of the living. So, it is best to follow the horde of zombies—better to become one than to be devoured. This is academic English for the international university—a zombie’s groan without thought.
However, there are potential antibodies. The integration of thought into this mindless action can provide a defence against further zombification. Specifically, critical thinking as defined by Kincheloe (2000, 2010) could provide this immunity. The reflective process changes thoughtless action into praxis. Rather than infecting the teacher and student with a viral desire to consume, it empowers both to take control over themselves through a critical stance. Freire (1972) first introduces this in adult literacy as a means of combating powerlessness in the city slums. Through dialogue between the students and teachers, both sides of the dialogue begin to promote thought and understanding from each other which is then used to inform action. As action becomes informed, the temptation to simply allow one’s self to become a member of the living dead diminishes. The very act of questioning (Freire, 1989) leads to thought, to wider understanding and to change. The living need not choose between consuming or being consumed. The intertwining of thought and action become the purpose behind everything that is ‘taught’—including language. Other educators, such as Giroux (2009) and hooks (1994, 2010) have built upon this theme to combat zombies in general and higher education.
These antibodies offered to the living who still have the will to fight is slow in being offered in EAP. Benesch (2002) offers a look at this understanding of the role of education as a place to foster thought and change for society (rather than unquestionably following the hordes) in the context of EAP programs. After all, is it not purpose and meaning in phonemes that separate out the language of humanity from the groans of zombies? However, she remains one of the lone voices behind the zombie front lines crying out for praxis in EAP. This needs to change if there is to be life for those international students entering into the academy.
Creating a critical stance as a way of transforming EAP students from zombie candidates to the living demands the use of content to foster students' think. Content gives students something to engage in, therefore resulting in a desire to communicate. There needs to be an integration of alternative academic texts that offer opposing stances on issues otherwise deemed to be “the way things are” by dominant culture—the culture of zombie consumption. Through these alternative readings, students question what they know and why they know it—forcing their nearly eaten brains to reactivate, and to use language (in this case, academic English) to express this stimulated brain function. Thinking, specifically critical thinking, needs to be brought to into focus.
EAP programs have been developed from their first inception as a way to create a zombie class that was to do the bidding of their corporate business masters.
However, the field is not doomed to remain in the grips of the living dead. There is hope (a pedagogy of hope according to Freire and hooks) that zombies can be defeated and beat back within their own territory. And, should this fight succeed, then these students can enter into the academy and into their degrees of study, prepared to defend themselves against the zombies that lurk in the shadows of their faculties. A first line of defence against the zombie hordes can be created from a place that was once the source of infection.
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