LLT Journal, e-ISSN 2579-9533, p-ISSN 1410-7201, Vol. 23, No. 1, April 2020 LLT Journal: A Journal on Language and Language Learning http://e-journal.usd.ac.id/index.php/LLT Sanata Dharma University, Yogyakarta, Indonesia 182 BOOK REVIEW: PERSPECTIVES AND REFLECTIONS ON RACIAL LITERACY AS AN APPROACH TO CRITICAL WRITING INSTRUCTION Title of the book : Teaching Racial Literacy: Reflective Practices for Critical Writing ISBN : 9781475836622 (electronic) Author : Mara Lee Grayson Publisher : Rowman & Littlefield Page : 149 pages Luisito Manalansan Nanquil Bulacan State University, Philippines correspondence: luisitonanquil@gmail.com DOI: doi.org/10.24071/llt.2020.230114 received 30 March 2020; accepted 28 April 2020 In the EFL/ESL classroom, the reflective teachers have to address issues on ethnicity and racism so that they can provide conducive, friendly, and harmonious environment where learners can feel they are accepted regardless of differences and diversities. Ethnography, as mentioned in the book of Grayson (2018), attests the need for language teachers to consider the concepts of race and ethnicity when they teach writing in the language classroom. There are instances when new students and even old feel intimidated because they cannot feel sense of belongingness or they don’t feel welcome at all in the class. Through the initiatives and techniques of the language teacher, the students can see gradually the connections between them and their classmates. John Dewey, as cited by Grayson (2018), points out the functions of progressive education in social progress. Nieto (2003) on the other hand, supports diversity and race by explaining the importance of multicultural education in framing relevant curriculum framework for literacy. Racial literacy and racism are both unnoticed issues in the composition/writing classroom. The researcher-reviewer attempted to explain, appraise, and describe the features and contents of the book authored by Grayson (2018). For a more effective review of the material, the researcher compared his own experiences and thoughts to the objectives and perspectives discussed in the book. As a language teacher, the researcher himself does not only focus on speaking, listening, and reading but among other essential skills, writing is clearly and equally important. The task of instilling among learners the value of this area may not always be successful due to some factors. First, learners may not be inclined or interested with writing. Second, the learners have not yet developed vocabulary to understand their own skills in writing which means they could hardly see meanings and directions. Another reason is the poor grammar skills of the learners, obstructing their desire to write purposefully and meaningfully. Many teachers are not aware that racial literacy exists as an approach to teaching writing. They have knowledge on other pedagogies such as differentiated instruction, cooperative learning, project-based learning and so on. But this racial literacy is stranger to them. The book illustrates how useful this approach is. For instance, when students are engage into writing, if the language teacher inculcates with students the essence of diversity and culture, most likely, the learners can