This paper is a critical analysis of curriculum with a discussion of its main tenets and exploration of issues within the literature. The focus is on curriculum in English as a Second Language (ESL) using critical applied linguistics as a framework. The ideas explored in the paper are synthesized and applied to ESL curriculum in the United Arab…

In the British post-colonial era, instruction in English as a second language has developed stronger ties to the field of applied linguistics than to education. Both British and foreign instructors have been trained in linguistic rather than educational theory and practice. One result has been a cadre of specialists not fully prepared for jobs in…