Pluriecological and synergic visions for applied linguistics: Pedagogical possibilities for language diversity and inclusion

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Abstract Summary

Diversity and Inclusion have become the buzz word in language education and more recently in the field of applied linguistics. Although on paper, some educational policies advocate for the inclusion and diversity of knowledges, content, programs and approaches to teaching, the reality remains at a conceptual or theoretical level. This presentation will showcase three research and pedagogical projects that advocate for a synergic approach to the teaching of languages to address issues of inequality, racism, and language loss. Using a pluriversal politics approach to understand the three distinct pedagogical approaches, I intent to provoke critical reflections to respond the questions of how to address equity, diversity and inclusion in the contexts of English language teaching and Indigenous language revitalization. More specifically, this presentation hopes to translate experiential knowledge and critical research into innovative discussions on language education that may enhance students' social engagement in language learning from a Pluriecological and synergic vantage point. Ultimately, this perspective might equip teachers, students, and researchers with the necessary pedagogical and empirical skills for critically interrogate colonial forms of language instruction and to evaluate global and local issues for more inclusive and equitable practices to achieve UN's proposed Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Submission ID :

AILA878

Submission Type

Oral Presentation

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[SYMP93] English as a medium of education, multilingualism and the sdgs: equity, diversity and inclusion ?

Argument :

In recent years, concepts of diversity and inclusion in education have been on the rise due to the ongoing struggles due to the social inequality and discrimination against minorities at a global scale. Education has long been pointed as the equalizer to find alternatives and solutions to this international crisis, more specifically what its role might be after a "post pandemic" state. This presentation will describe pedagogical initiatives that promote equity and inclusion from three different perspectives and research projects: Addressing Anti-Black racism in an ESL class in Canada; peace education for social cohesion in Colombia; and the revitalization of the Quechua language in Latin America through online and in-person sessions. The approaches described in this presentation hope to serve as guiding points for pre/in service teacher education seeking alternative forms of teaching leading towards a more democratic, and socially-just world.

Using a pluriversal politics approach to understand the three distinct pedagogical approaches, I intent to provoke critical reflections to respond the questions of how to address diversity and inclusion in the contexts of minority education. To this, Arturo Escobar (2020) proposes opening up a new perspective on reality and possibility, a new world in which all are accounted for, he advocates for the "Pluriverse" – "a world where many worlds fit" (p. 9). He interrogates the roots of dualities such as nature/culture, object/subject, fact/value and reason/emotion divide into a possible model of ontological or pluralistic politics in which radical relationality is envisioned "all entities that make up the world are so deeply interrelated that they have no intrinsic, separate existence by themselves" (p. xiii). As such, I argue that the three distinct pedagogical approaches converge at fighting for a new world beyond capitalism, neoliberal and globalist narratives to teach languages in which the center of the pedagogical practices are geared towards Buen Vivir, Vivir Sabroso and Sentipensar at the core of human existence (de Sousa Santos, 2008; Escobar, 2018, 2020; Fals-Borda, 2015; Lara, 2022; Oviedo Freire, 2017, 2020; Quiceno Toro, 2016).

This presentation will describe the potential to advance theoretical scholarship for decolonial approaches to language education and applied linguistics research (Macedo, 2019). The pedagogical experiences might extend research on culturally informed pedagogy and curriculum by contextualizing the importance of student' backgrounds and experiences in the creation of language curriculum and policies, in a manner that is sustaining and relevant to their context (Ladson-Billings, 1992; Paris & Alim, 2017). Specifically, this presentation hopes to translate experiential knowledge and critical research into innovative discussions on language education that may enhance students' social engagement in language learning, and thereby equip them with the necessary skills for critically evaluating global and local issues for more inclusive and equitable pedagogical practices.