Learner identity and curricular development: Building communities of critical inquiry in language classrooms
According to Johnson and Randolph (2015), critical approaches to language learning must address difference, power, and social stratification in the classroom and in the world. This is a challenging accomplishment, since students entering the collegiate foreign language classroom bring a vast variety of social-cultural experiences. Therefore, our research project and associated curriculum development project is grounded in a systematic assessment of the diverse needs and interests of our students. Data collection for the needs assessment occurred in beginning and intermediate-level French language courses across three institutions of higher education in the United States: A private liberal arts college in New England, a peer-institution in the South, and a public HBCU.
In the first part of our presentation, we will share nuanced insights from the three institutional contexts about student perceptions of their identities, and how they position themselves towards other cultures. The second part of our presentation will demonstrate curricular implications. Based on our findings, we designed and tested the impact of three instructional units that focused explicitly on diversity and equity in language education. These units aimed at providing students with opportunities to collectively and individually reflect on subjects related to language and power, inclusive language use, and language and critical cultural awareness. Our data suggests that the units transformed the classroom into a community of critical inquiry, as students developed an awareness of how language education often perpetuates inequities due to historical and current injustices. They developed an awareness that such inequities exist even in their classroom. We will conclude by highlighting that curriculum developers must first attempt to better understand who their students really are, before being able to design learning experiences that can effectively address the many inherent systemic inequities that are deeply woven into educational practices, interactions, and institutions.
Bibliography
Randolph Jr, L. J., & Johnson, S. M. (2017). Social justice in the language classroom: A call to action. Dimension, 99, 121.
