EXAMINING THE EDUCATIONAL VALUES OF CRITICAL LANGUAGE AWARENESS FROM AN ARISTOTELIAN PERSPECTIVE
This study aimed to examine the educational values of Critical Language Awareness (CLA) from an Aristotelian perspective. Considering CLA theory and principles and taking account of its educational values, I wondered about the extent to which this foreign language teaching approach reflected the educational values encouraged by the famous Greek philosopher, Aristotle. The examination of the educational values of CLA in light of Aristotle's educational philosophy led to the conclusion that this approach allows the practice of social virtues (intellectual and moral) I therefore suggested that in order to train their learners to integrate society equipped with social virtues (intellectual and moral) the implementation of CLA should be encouraged in foreign language classrooms. KEY WORDS: Critical Language Awareness (CLA) Educational values, Aristotelian, Foreign Langue Teaching, Social Virtues, Language Awareness, Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) INTRODUCTION Traditionally, foreign language teaching involved teaching about target language. In this respect, such methods as Grammar Translation Method (GTM) Direct Method, and Audio Lingual Method (ALM) among others were used in language classrooms. Later, with the advent of Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) there was a shift from mere knowledge of language to a focus on its communicative dimension. Today, this approach, which involves learners in the completion of realworld tasks, allows training them to be able to use language to achieve communication functions beyond classrooms. In terms of fulfilling learners' communication needs CLT is an undeniable asset. Nevertheless, it fails to fully integrate some values encouraged in contemporary society. Critical Language Awareness (CLA) to some extent, compensates for this deficiency. It provides an inestimable contribution to the learner's personal development as a critical thinker whose reasoning abilities will allow him to be a dynamic participant in contemporary society. The flourishing literature on CLA today confirms the particular interest of many theorists in this approach. Fairclough (1989, 1992, 1995, 2003) Clark (1992) and Janks (2012) to name but a few, are among the ones who scrutinized it with special care in the 1980s and the years following. They all focused on CLA as an appropriate framework for helping learners integrate critical values while learning foreign language. Though I fully adhere to their views, my paper takes a different path by examining it from an Aristotelian perspective. Considering its theory and principles and taking account of its educational values, I wonder about the extent to which CLA reflects the educational values encouraged by the famous Greek philosopher, Aristotle. This reflection is innovating for literature reveals no formal study which has addressed the issue. I will begin with a discussion of ISSN: 2411 5681 www.ijern.com 188 Aristotle's educational philosophy with a focus on the virtues encouraged before examining the educational values of CLA from an Aristotelian perspective. 1. ARISTOTLE'S PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION 1.1.THEORETICAL FOUNDATIONS The educational theories of the Greek philosophers, Aristotle (384 322 B.C. and Plato (c. 427 c 347 B.C) were the catalyst of western education before the 1600s. Though Aristotle's pragmatism keeps him distant from Plato, the idealist, both scientists do not differ fundamentally in terms of educational philosophy. They both advocate the view that the actualization of the individual's potentialities in order to fit the requirements of contemporary needs of society determines the achievement of happiness. Plato's Allegory of the Cave which presents the individual as a captive who should be sent out of the cave suggests that education aims to train the individual to understand and follow the principles of his successful socialization. Education is also at the core of the Aristotelian ethics. He considers it as "an internal process, aided by external agents, in which, primarily through individual activity and effort, potentialities are actualized and happiness is gained." (Noll and Kelly, 1970, p. 16) Aristotle encourages "the development of all of the individual's "virtues" the purely intellectual, the practical, the artistic, the moral" and complete actualization of the individual in terms of intellectual and moral virtues through education. For him, There are two different kinds of virtues. To exercise actively our reasoning abilities, as when we study nature or cogitate about something, is to be intellectually virtuous. But we also exercise our rational capacity by moderating our impulses and appetites, and when we do this, we are said to be morally virtuous. (Kabadayi, 2013, p.78) Virtue theory did not begin with Aristotle. Its roots "lie in pre Socratic times but commenced in earnest with Socrates' infuriating questioning of the values and beliefs of his fellow Athenians. The theory was significantly advanced by Plato and was elaborated by Aristotle himself." (Stedman, 2010, p.57) With his reference to virtues both intellectual and moral Aristotle's attachment to human development as an unavoidable requirement of social life clearly stands out. In order to have more insight into the relevance of his particular interest in these two dimensions of virtue, one first needs to scrutinize them individually before showing how, taken together, they value his philosophical view of social virtue. In this respect, this study draws from some developments on what intellectual and moral virtues entail in terms of social behaviors. For Baehr (2013) "an intellectually virtuous person is one who desires and is committed to the pursuit of goods like knowledge, truth, and understanding." (Karimov, 2014, p.48) He explains that "the idea is that for any intellectual virtue V, a subject S possesses V only if S is (a) disposed to manifest a certain activity or psychology characteristic of V (b) out of a love of epistemic goods." (Ibid) Intellectual virtue includes such elements as reasoning, knowledge, sharing views, objecting to views, argumentation, and objective reflection, to name but a few, which are indispensable for the manifestation of the right judgments, fundamental to peaceful social life. On the grounds of what precedes, an intellectually virtuous person fits the requirement of contemporary society which expects the individual to function as a dynamic participant in social life. For his social self1 Book VII of The Republic 2 A statement of Aristotle's aims of can be found in Politics (1932/1967) International Journal of Education and Research Vol. 4 No. 6 June 2016 189 fulfillment depends on intellectual virtue which allows him to positively influence the present and the future of society. As for moral virtue, it relates to the fact of doing what is morally acceptable in social life. Brown (1965, p.405) indicates that "among psychologists who study morality only one, Kohlberg (1958, 1963a, 1963b, 1964) seems to have made a serious effort to separate moral values from other kinds " He affirms that "philosophy, at least since Kant, has distinguished value theory from ethics or moral philosophy." (p.404) He goes further as to conclude that "a sharp distinction between moral values and other values is not easy to make but the central idea is that moral values carry a sense of absolute obligation, of "ought" or "should" whereas other values carry only a sense of desirability, of "I like" or "I want" " (pp.404 405) Damon (1988) cited in Vessels and Huitt (2005, p. 2) identify six ways that social scientists have defined morality: (1) an evaluative orientation that distinguishes good and bad and prescribes good; (2) a sense of obligation toward standards of a social collective; (3) a sense of responsibility for acting out of concern for others; (4) a concern for the rights of others; (5) a commitment to honesty in interpersonal relationships; and (6) a state of mind that causes negative emotional reactions to immoral acts. These categories which corroborate the views mentioned earlier suggest that moral ethics contributes to the improvement of social life. For Aristotle, education is a prerequisite for the practice of intellectual and moral virtues. Though their closeness makes it difficult to set a clear boundary between them, these two concepts are at the core of effective social relations. The individual should then be trained accordingly by emphasizing his potential roles in the good functioning of society. In one word, Aristotle encourages preparing the individual for life. The emphasis is on the achievement of more mature virtuous behaviors in terms of intellect and morality. 1.2.SOCIAL RELEVANCE Life in society in general and particularly contemporary society rests on the quality of education provided to its members. Education is therefore a requirement for an improved social life. In this respect, the relevance of Aristotle's educational theory to contemporary society clearly stands out. For, the above development shows his concern with the individual's successful social integration which, he thinks, is conditioned by an appropriation of social virtues through adequate intellectual and moral education. The relevance of Aristotle's educational philosophy is undeniable. However, the current situation in most places of the world where intellectual 'dishonesty' and social immoralities have become everyday experiences reveals the gap between his educational theory and reality. Either the realities of contemporary society make such a philosophy inappropriate or the problem lies in the failure to effectively implement it. This last apprehension sounds more reasonable. For it raises the issue of the need for schools' educational approaches and teaching practices to draw from the worldwide praised intrinsic value of Aristotle's educational theory. My current reflection on the educational value of CLA from an Aristote