The use of a participatory approach may entail taking risks in certain contexts. It involves discussing socio-political issues that aim to challenge the discourse of those in power representing neoliberal ideology. Critical pedagogy and the participatory approach oppose political and neoliberal power relations in educational settings that determine the content of the curriculum and syllabus. This study is a personal reflection around a participatory research activity to create meaningful change through reflection and action. The study involved a lecturer-researcher, four instructors, and eight university students in second language learning settings in a Turkish university; it aimed to improve our social practices and enable the teacher-students and student-teachers to reflect on the current content of the standard curriculum and to produce a critical syllabus for a listening-speaking class. The findings show that the participants and the researcher were anxious about articulating their radical ideas because of the current political atmosphere. Meanwhile, they reported having developed a positive attitude towards the preparation of a critical syllabus. Besides, the participants and the researcher produced a six-stage recommendation for teachers and learners to use a participatory approach. By doing so, we could help one another develop critical perspectives and take action by producing an action plan in classrooms.