Methods and apparatuses are provided for channel equalization in a communication system. The method includes initializing, using processing circuitry, filter coefficients of an adaptive decision feedback equalizer randomly in a predetermined search space. Further, the method includes updating, using the processing circuitry, the filter coefficients. The filter coefficients are updated using a least mean square recursion when the filter coefficients are stagnant. The filter coefficients are updated using a particle swarm optimization procedure when the filter coefficients are not stagnant. Further, the updating step is repeated until a predetermined stopping criteria is met. Further, the method includes, filtering, using the processing circuitry, a received signal using the filter coefficients.