Af’idatul Husniyah, Mohd Iqbal Ahamat, Hasti Rahmaningtyas
The global prominence of English has sparked debates about its sociocultural and sociopolitical implications, particularly in English Language Teaching (ELT). Issues, such as prescriptive Western ELT practices, focus on accuracy, and reliance on imported coursebooks often overlook colonial histories and political contexts. Despite this, decolonial perspectives, especially within the Southeast Asian context, remain largely unexplored. Using a phenomenological approach, this study examines decolonisationin teacher preparation programmes through the experiences of four secondary school teachers (two from Indonesia and two from Malaysia). It also contrasts language policy practices in these postcolonial nations, where English is taught as a Second Language (ESL) and a ForeignLanguage (EFL), respectively, and proposes decolonisation strategies. Key challenges identified include (1) limited understanding of decolonisation, (2) dependence on Western teaching methodologies, (3) overemphasis on Western cultures, and (4) reliance on imported materials. Suggested strategies include (1) integrating local materials and (2) adopting more practical teaching resources. © 2025 The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.
Moray House School of Education and Sport, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom; Department of Applied English, Politeknik Negeri Malang, Malang, Indonesia; School of Educational Studies, Universiti Sains Malaysia, George Town, Malaysia; Centre for Fundamental and Continuing Education, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu, Kuala Terengganu, Malaysia; Department of English, Universitas Negeri Malang, Malang, Indonesia
