Reimagining ELT: nomadic knowledging and nomadic languaging

Abstract Drawing on an ethnographic study with the Mongolian nomadic herders - xууч xөөрөх - loosely translated as “nomadic reminiscing circle,” this article seeks to expand the growing decolonial languaging turn in ELT. It introduces the intertwined land-based cosmologies of “nomadic knowledging” and “nomadic languaging,” drawing on a philosophy where life, nature, time, language, and identity are understood as inherently fluid but attuned to the cycles of the land. Yet, this fluidity exists in tension with the contextual rootedness - the need for linguistic boundaries to protect nomadic knowledge systems. English is welcomed into the Mongolian nomadic cosmologies only when it enters with humility, respect and care. This tension highlights that the languaging turn in ELT must attend not only to fluidity but also to rootedness. Just as nomads adapt to ever-changing environments, ELT must remain responsive to shifting identities, evolving language practices and contextualized local practices.