A Critical Review of Agency in ELT: Philosophical, Psychological and Social Turns

Agency is the belief that human beings have the ability to influence their lives and environment while they are also shaped by social and individual factors [1] and [2]. The purpose of this study is a critical review of agency in ELT along with the philosophical, psychological and social turns of the concept. First, the definition of agency from different perspectives and different disciplines is given. As one of the most common tendencies in discussions of agency is the treatment of it as a synonym for free will, the philosophical treatment of agency is then explained. In addition, since agency is not only a central concept in modern educational theory and practice, but also is a key notion and issue in contemporary social theory, particularly in sociology, economics and political science, the idea of agency in social theory and the ambiguous and misleading concept of social structure which is crucial in social analysis will be elaborated. Furthermore, the notions of meditated agency and agency as intersubjective or individualistic with a focus on [3] and [4] works are presented. To account for some pedagogical implication and application of the concept of agency and ELT, dialogism and agency, the relationship between structure and teacher agency in the classroom, agency and positioning, agency and identity, the role of agency in learning, student agency, and teacher agency are the remaining issues to be discussed

Keywords:

Agency , Free will , Meditated agency , ELT