In recent years, there has been growing attention to social justice issues among academic literacy specialists. Practitioners often get caught in bind by which they are unsure how to be both progressive and pragmatic in their approach to literacy instruction-particularly when it comes to multilingual and multidialectal writers (Shapiro, 2022). Critical Language Awareness, or CLA, offers a productive "both/and" response to this conundrum, by engaging students in critical analysis of language in social contexts while also offering explicit instruction in the norms and conventions of language use in a variety of contexts. I argue that a CLA approach is the most viable means of aligning academic literacy curricula with our commitment to social responsibility. A CLA approach takes seriously students short-term needs-including the need to write confidently with standardized English. This approach also takes seriously our commitments to linguistic and social justice, as well as anti-racism and cultural inclusion.
CLA Pedagogy engages students in deep explorations of language, identity, power, and privilege, with the goal of promoting self-reflection, social justice, and rhetorical agency (Shapiro, 2022). This particular approach traces back to the 1980s, when linguists and literacy scholars in the United Kingdom came together to answer the question: What knowledge about language do students-and their teachers-need in order to read and write across social and cultural contexts? (e.g., Clark et al., 1990; Fairclough, 1992/2014; Janks, 2010). Since then, many scholars and practitioners have adapted CLA to their own instructional contexts around the globe, including in East Asia (e.g., Crookes, 2010). Latin America (e.g., Farias, 2005), and South Africa (e.g., Janks, 2010). CLA Pedagogy has also been taken up in instruction of languages other than English-particularly Spanish for heritage speakers (e.g., Holguín Mendoza, 2018).
This presentation offers an accessible and engaging introduction to CLA Pedagogy that includes examples of applications used in both secondary and tertiary contexts. I show how I incorporate CLA goals and principles in courses such as "Language and Social Justice," "The English Language in a Global Context," "English Grammar: Concepts and Controversies," and "Narratives in the News Media." I share examples of readings/media, activities, and assignments from these courses, which teach students to attend closely and critically to language, within a social justice framework, offering opportunities for reflection throughout.
Clark, R., Fairclough, N., Ivanič, R., & Martin‐Jones, M. (1990). Critical language awareness part I: A critical review of three current approaches to language awareness. Language and Education, 4(4), 249-260.
Crookes, G. (2010). The practicality and relevance of second language critical pedagogy. Language teaching, 43(3), 333-348.
Fairclough, N. (1992/2014). Critical language awareness. Routledge
Farias, M. (2005). Critical language awareness in foreign language learning. Literatura y lingüística, (16), 211-222.
Holguín Mendoza, C. (2018). Critical language awareness (CLA) for Spanish heritage language programs: Implementing a complete curriculum. International Multilingual Research Journal, 12(2), 65-79.
Janks, H. (2010). Literacy and power. Routledge
Shapiro, S. (2022). Cultivating Critical Language Awareness in the writing classroom. Routledge.
