DECOLONIAL AND SITUATED APPROACHES TO LANGUAGE AND CULTURE IN HIGHER EDUCATION: IMPLICATIONS FOR TEACHING AND LEARNINGÂ
Special Issue 3 (2026), 117 pages
* Intro
* Contents
* Authors
* Reviewers
Framing the Conversation: Language, Culture, and Education in the Global South
Across the Global South, language education has become an increasingly vibrant space for rethinking how languages, cultures, and pedagogies are understood in relation to the lived realities of diverse communities. Contemporary scholarship from Africa, Asia, Latin America, and other historically marginalized contexts draws on a wide constellation of experiences, epistemologies, and educational aspirations that continue to enrich the field of English Language Teaching (ELT). This Special Issue is conceived from and for the Global South, bringing together contributions that invite readers into an ongoing conversation about how language education can be imagined through locally grounded yet globally connected perspectives.
This conversation emerges at a moment when educational research increasingly recognizes that meaningful pedagogical innovation is inseparable from the social, cultural, and historical contexts in which it takes place. Across diverse educational settings, researchers are examining language as a dynamic space where communication, identity, culture, knowledge systems, and educational practices are continually shaped in relation to one another. In doing so, they contribute to a broader scholarly movement that seeks to expand the horizons of ELT by embracing plurality, contextual responsiveness, and dialogue across different traditions of knowledge.
The conversation reflected throughout this Special Issue is not an isolated one. It grows from a broader intellectual journey in which scholars from different regions have gradually invited us to imagine language, education, and knowledge through more open, dialogical, and plural horizons. These conversations have encouraged scholars to explore educational realities through encounters among histories, cultures, and ways of knowing that illuminate one another while preserving their own particularities. Enrique Dussel’s (2013) reflections on transmodernity, Boaventura de Sousa Santos’ (2018) ecology of knowledges, Walter Mignolo’s (2011) call to broaden the horizons of knowledge production, and NgĹ©gÄ© wa Thiong’o’s (2012) notion of globalectics all contribute, in different ways, to this shared invitation: to think with others rather than merely about others. For English Language Teaching, this means recognizing that meaningful educational innovation flourishes through dialogue among communities, languages, and educational experiences, where diversity becomes a source of shared learning and pedagogical renewal.
This Special Issue also contributes to the evolving trajectory of the Educational Role of Language (ERL) Journal, whose interdisciplinary mission has consistently emphasized the transformative role of language in education across diverse cultural, social, and institutional contexts. Grounded in the understanding that language shapes both educational practice and the ways in which learners engage with the world, ERL has established itself as a forum where linguists, teacher educators, educational researchers, and practitioners exchange ideas that foster meaningful educational change across disciplines and geographical settings. As the journal enters a new phase with an increased emphasis on language methodology and educational innovation, this volume reflects its continued commitment to promoting context-responsive scholarship capable of enriching contemporary educational practice.
Within this broader vision, the present volume responds to the Special Issue strand, Decolonial and Situated Approaches to Language and Culture in Higher Education: Implications for Teaching and Learning. Bringing together scholars working across diverse geographical, cultural, and disciplinary contexts, the volume offers a multifaceted exploration of how language, culture, and education continue to be reimagined through locally grounded experiences, multilingual realities, and context-sensitive educational practices. The studies presented here reflect the vitality of contemporary scholarship emerging from the Global South while contributing to ERL’s ongoing commitment to fostering dialogue, innovation, and educational transformation.
To accompany readers through this conversation, the volume has been organized into two complementary sections. The first, Decolonial and Situated Approaches to Language, Culture, and Education, foregrounds studies that examine the broader educational conditions shaping language teaching and learning, including curriculum design, teacher education, language policy, multilingualism, and institutional practices. The second, Expanding Perspectives on Language, Culture, and Learning, brings the conversation closer to pedagogical experience by exploring diverse pathways through which language education continues to evolve across the Global South. This section demonstrates how innovative educational practices emerge through sustained dialogue between local realities and wider scholarly conversations in relation to studies on literature, storytelling, translanguaging, intercultural education, learner autonomy, gender-inclusive language, pragmatics, and student learning,
Ultimately, this Special Issue invites readers to view language education as a shared intellectual praxis sustained by dialogue among diverse communities, epistemologies, and educational voices. In this spirit, the volume welcomes the globalectical vision proposed by NgĹ©gÄ© wa Thiong’o, where knowledge emerges through reciprocal encounters among multiple voices, each contributing to a more plural, equitable, and contextually responsive understanding of English language teaching. The conversations initiated throughout these pages remain open, inviting readers to continue shaping new understandings of language, culture, and education from, and with, the Global South.
Angelica Maria Rojas IsazaÂ
DECOLONIAL AND SITUATED APPROACHES TO LANGUAGE, CULTURE, AND EDUCATION
2. Evelyn Kee Mew Wan Khin, Shameem Oozeerally – Designing curriculum at the intersection of language, culture, and coloniality: reflections from primary French textbooks in Mauritius
EXPANDING PERSPECTIVES ON LANGUAGE, CULTURE, AND LEARNING
7. Oussama Ahmed Gaid – The catalyst effect: cultural scaffolding in literary-based intercultural communicative language education
8. Kate Heath – Exploring the roles of English and Arabic in English-medium higher education programs in Saudi Arabia
List of Special Issue 2026-2(3) Authors
List of Special Issue 2026-2(3)3 ReviewersÂ
AUTHORS
Oussama Ahmed Gaid orcid.org/0009-0009-8116-7323: ALGERIA, M’sila University, Laboratory for Theoretical and Applied Linguistic Studies. Oussama Ahmed Gaid is a PhD candidate in Applied Linguistics and Didactics of English at M’sila University, where he also serves as a research assistant in the Laboratory for Theoretical and Applied Linguistic Studies. He currently teaches as an adjunct instructor in the Department of English Language and Literature at Batna 2 University, Algeria. His research focuses on second/foreign-language pedagogy, corpus-informed instruction, and the psychological dimensions of language learning. oussama.ahmedgaid@univ-msila.dz
Maribeth A. Bante orcid.org/ 0009-0000-9334-9794: PHILIPPINES, Bulacan State University, Department of English – College of Arts and Letters. Maribeth A. Bante is currently an English language instructor under the Department of English – College of Arts and Letters at Bulacan State University, Bulacan, Philippines. She is a graduate of Bachelor of Secondary Education major in English at Bulacan State University and finished her Master of Arts in Education major in English at La Consolacion University Philippines. As of now, she is pursuing the course Doctor of Philosophy in English Language Studies at Bulacan State University Graduate School. maribeth.bante@bulsu.edu.ph.
Madhurima Chakraborty orcid.org/0000-0001-8268-2129: INDIA, Adamas University, School of Education. Madhurima Chakraborty, Assistant Professor, School of Education, Adamas University, M.A., (Eng.) M.Ed., Ph.D., is actively engaged in research, teaching and academic mentoring at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels. Her key academic interests include language education, educational technology, teacher education, curriculum studies, and contemporary issues in educational practice. chakrabortymadhurima2@gmail.com
Rosa Ascención Espinoza Cid orcid.org/ 0000-0003-1327-5364 : MÉXICO, Escuela Normal Superior plantel Hermosillo, English Language Teaching. Rosa Espinoza is a full-time professor at the Escuela Normal Superior de Hermosillo, Mexico, in the Bachelor’s Program in English Teaching and Learning. She holds a PhD in Humanities from the University of Sonora. Her research interests focus on English language teaching, educational inclusion, intersectionality, and decolonial perspectives in education. She is a member of the National System of Researchers in Mexico (SNII). She is currently involved in research and teacher education projects to implement decoloniality in the English language teaching and learning processes. ensh.respinoza@creson.edu.mx
Carlos Andres Giraldo Montealegre orcid.org/0009-0007-3343-5157; COLOMBIA. He is a current undergraduate student in the Faculty of Education Sciences at the Universidad de la Amazonia, Florencia, Colombia, where he is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in foreign languages with an emphasis in English. He is currently completing the fifth semester of his program and is in training as English teacher. His academic interests include storytelling in education, language and literacy development, creativity and empathy in EFL classrooms, and decolonial approaches to pedagogy. He is particularly interested in the use of narrative-based strategies to promote inclusive, meaningful, and socially responsive language learning. carlo.giraldo@udla.edu.co
Kate Heath orcid.org/0009-0006-2096-4861: SPAIN, The University of Alcalá, Department of Modern Languages. Kate Heath recently completed her PhD in Modern Languages from the University of Alcalá in Spain. She has an extensive background as an English language instructor and held roles within institutions in Saudi Arabia, The United Arab Emirates, Taiwan, and Japan. She currently works in Academic Advising at the Community College of Baltimore County in the United States. Her research interests include English as a Medium of Instruction, Content and Language Integrated Learning, teacher training, vocational education, and language policy.  kate.heath@edu.uah.es Â
Kendra Herrera orcid.org/0009-0009-3941-7501: USA, Kansas State University. Herrera is the Director of Outreach and Innovation at the Center for Intercultural and Multilingual Advocacy in the College of Education at Kansas State University. Her roles in elementary through high school education as teacher, instructional coach, and administrator inform her perspective on improving instruction for multilingual learners. She currently supports teacher candidates to meet the needs of all learners in today’s classrooms. Her research centers newcomer teachers’ shift in thinking to an asset perspective as they enact Biography-Driven Pedagogy. kdherrer@ksu.edu
Socorro Herrera orcid.org/0000-0002-8142-7668: USA, Kansas State University. Herrera is a professor in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction, College of Education, and Executive Director of the Center for Intercultural and Multilingual Advocacy at Kansas State University. As an international keynote speaker, district consultant, and trainer of trainers, she has collaborated with teachers worldwide. Her research centers the role of personal histories of learner, family, and teacher in literacy development and biography-driven pedagogy; reading strategies; and teacher preparation for diverse classrooms. sococo@ksu.edu
Evelyn Kee Mew Wan Khin orcid.org/ 0009-0009-1110-7843: MAURITIUS, Mauritius Institute of Education, School of Arts and Humanities. Evelyn Kee Mew Wan Khin is an Associate Professor in the French Department at the Mauritius Institute of Education (MIE). She holds a Professional Doctorate in Education from the University of Brighton (UK). Her fields of research range from biliteracy development in postcolonial multilingual contexts, language-in-education policies, and Francophone Mauritian literature. e.keemew@mie.ac.mu
Shameem Oozeerally orcid.org/0000-0002-6256-1407: MAURITIUS, Mauritius Institute of Education, School of Arts and Humanities. Shameem Oozeerally is Senior Lecturer in the French Department at the Mauritius Institute of Education. He holds a Habilitation Ă Diriger des Recherches (HDR) from the University of Tours (France) and a PhD in Language Studies from the University of Mauritius. His research brings together sociolinguistics, ecolinguistics, Creole studies, and teacher education, with a focus on multilingualism, complexity, and epistemological dialogue in postcolonial contexts. He coordinates the Language Studies Doctoral Research Laboratory and is involved in projects on KreolMorisien technical lexicon development, multiliteracies, and experiential approaches to language teaching. s.oozeerally@mie.ac.mu Â
Jinhua Wang orcid.org/0009-0006-9414-3927: USA, Kansas State University, Instructor. Jinhua Wang is an ELL teacher at Topeka High School and holds PreK–12 certifications in ESOL and Chinese. She has extensive experience teaching EFL in China and ESL/Chinese in U.S. schools. She also serves as an instructor/research collaborator at the Center for Intercultural and Multilingual Advocacy (CIMA) at Kansas State University. Her research focuses on teacher education, bilingual/multilingual literacy, translanguaging, applied linguistics and qualitative methodologies. jinhuawang@ksu.edu
REVIEWERS
Carol Benson (USA, MLA International)
Muhammad Bilal (United Kingdom, East Sussex College/University of Brighton)
Ivana Cimermanova (Slovakia, University of Presov)
Leah Davcheva (Bulgaria, Sofia University St. Kliment Ohridski)
Georgi Dimitrov (Bulgaria, University of National and World Economy)
Veronique Duché (Australia, The University of Melbourne)
Oumaima Elghazali (Morocco, Mohammed V University)
Antonia Estrella (Portugal, Higher School of Education of the Polytechnic Institute of Lisbon)
Yasunari Harada (Japan, Wesada University)
Sahar Javaid (Pakistan, Government College University Faisalabad)
Małgorzata Karczewska (Poland, University of Zielona Góra)
Irene Krasner (USA, Defense Language Institute Foreign Language School)
Achla Raina (India, Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur)
Maria Dolores Ramirez-Verdugo (Spain, University of National Distance Education)
Pantea Rinnemaa (Sweden, University West)
Thorsten Schröter (Sweden, Mälardalen University)
Sanja Simel Pranjic (Croatia, University of Osijek)
Juan Carlos Vargas (Colombia, Universidad Santiago e Cali)