科研成果详情

Perceptions and practices of linguistic shame and shaming associated with English language use significantly affect users' willingness to communicate (WTC) in English. This situation continues to pose significant challenges for teaching and learning of the language in postcolonial contexts like Sri Lanka. These practices of linguistic shame and shaming create instructional challenges for the teaching and learning of English in many disadvantaged local contexts, placing the onus of tackling these challenges largely on teachers of English. The tacit nature in which these practices unfold within instructional settings add an additional layer of difficulty. Awareness of linguistic shame and shaming practices and of the nature and extent to which they manifest in instructional settings is seen as prerequisite for finding pedagogically viable solutions for these challenges. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews, and the findings indicated that participants' awareness of and their ability to articulate what linguistic shame and shaming is varied considerably. We discuss the implications of these findings for teaching and learning of English in contexts where practices of linguistic shame and shaming are widespread. We conclude that these findings have far-reaching consequences for language learners and should therefore have great potential to inform pre-service English language teacher education curricula.