NAVIGATING CONTEMPORARY ISSUES IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING: A NARRATIVE LITERATURE REVIEW

Abstract

This study presents a narrative literature review of contemporary issues in English Language Teaching (ELT), focusing on four major themes: Artificial Intelligence integration, translanguaging and multilingual identity, educational policy through the Merdeka Curriculum, and the decolonization of ELT via Global Englishes. Using a qualitative approach, the study synthesizes recent peer-reviewed literature published between 2020 and 2025 from databases such as Scopus, ERIC, and Google Scholar. The findings reveal that ELT is undergoing a significant transformation toward more flexible, technology-enhanced, and learner-centered pedagogies. Artificial Intelligence is increasingly used to support personalized learning, although concerns related to ethics, academic integrity, and digital literacy remain. Translanguaging is recognized as an effective strategy for leveraging learners’ full linguistic repertoires, while the Merdeka Curriculum highlights persistent challenges related to teacher readiness, digital inequality, and professional development gaps. Meanwhile, the Global Englishes perspective challenges native-speaker norms and promotes communicative effectiveness and linguistic diversity. Overall, the study concludes that the effectiveness of current ELT reforms largely depends on teacher capacity, institutional support, and the ability to integrate technological, linguistic, and pedagogical innovations in context-sensitive ways.