Going Bravely into Liminality: English Language Practitioner Agency in a Prison-Education Program in Sabah, Malaysia

Abstract

English language practitioners at the university often occupy a rather displaced position as they are seen as service providers rather than intellectual contributors. This study explores how three university English language practitioners enacted agency while working in a liminal space – a prison (hereafter ‘correctional centre’) in Sabah, Malaysia. Using collaborative dialogic reflection, the three practitioners documented and discussed their experiences of designing and teaching context-specific communication modules for incarcerated prospects. The reflections were analysed thematically, resulting in three themes becoming apparent. First, reconfiguring professional identity showed how engagement in prison education enabled the practitioners to challenge deficit views of English teachers and to reposition themselves as community-engaged professionals. Second, responsiveness to liminal communities indicated how listening to prospects’ aspirations led the practitioners to view English not merely as an academic subject, but as a resource for belonging. Third, risk-taking as situated praxis showed the process of co-constructing materials with those who were otherwise thought to be incapable. These themes illustrate how entering liminal spaces could foster praxis-oriented and morally grounded forms of agency that expand what English language teaching could be and do. The study also points to the need for greater institutional recognition for community-based work and calls for further research on teacher agency and moral responsibility in other liminal educational contexts.

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