Enhancing Language Learning Engagement through Critical Literacy Practices

Abstract

This research paper seeks to determine the connection between language learning engagement (LLE) and critical literacy in 34 ninth-grade students from a public high school in Caquetá, Colombia. A Participatory Action Research study was conducted, consisting of group interviews, questionnaires, and student artifacts. Students’ experiences of local social and environmental issues informed the critical literacy practice to provide learners with tools to examine problems occurring in their community. The findings emerging from this research suggest that the practice of critical literacy engages students in learning from the cognitive, social, and emotional dimensions. This critical approach plays a pivotal role in activating students’ motivation to persevere with language learning and tackle learning-related difficulties.