Speaking about Newspeak - Teaching Democracy, Critical Thinking and Language through Nineteen Eighty-Four

Abstract

This essay presents how to use George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four as a literary intergrated project of teach democracy, critical thinking, English language skills and critical language study in the English 6 EFL classroom in upper secondary school in Sweden. This literary study is done through the lens of critical pedagogy with an emphasis on the way language influences power and helps dominant groups, in both the world of Nineteen Eighty-Four as well as contemporary society, remain in control. The issue of language as a means of power over thought and actions is highly relevant in schools today, where the curriculum clarifies the importance of problematizing democratic values and critical ability in order to make students autonomous, freethinking members of society. The project is based on relevant pedagogical theory and suggests ways of fulfilling these goals through the use of literary analysis and discussions pertaining to these subjects. By the end of the lessons, students should not only have the critical ability to stand up for their own values, but have a proficiency in handling different discourses and a knowledge of how their language and that of others influence their everyday communication.