The Role of Language in Social Justice in Education

The Role of
Language in
Education
for Social JusticeDr. Ruslana Westerlund
TEAL Manitoba Conference
Keynote and Follow Up Session (Combined and revised for SlideShare)
October 23, 2015
Dr. Ruslana Westerlund. Reclaiming The Language for Social Justice

My Story

The children watch expectantly as Ukrainian immigrant Joe Wacha and his wife work to seal the
timber walls of their home, located four miles north of Vita, Manitoba, circa 1905.
Source: Archives of Manitoba, W. J. Sisler Collection 118, N9631.
Ukrainians in Winnipeg

Ukrainians in Winnipeg,
circa 2011

What Does Language
Have to Do with Social
Justice?

One goal for today:
Not answers or mastery of this content, but an exploration of
a direction for viewing language in school.

Welcome!

Canadian Museum of
Human Rights, Winnipeg,
Manitoba, Ukrainian
Holodomor Exhibit

Example of “Grammatical Manipulation”
• “Families were often broken apart when a family
member was sold to another owner.”
• Slave owners often broke slave families apart by selling a
family member to another owner.
From How Texas Teaches History, New York Times
October 21, 2015.
Language as a Tool for
Critical Literacy

Example of “Grammatical Manipulation”
• Some slaves reported that their masters treated them
kindly. To protect their investment, some slaveholders
provided adequate food and clothing for their slaves.
However, severe treatment was very common. Whippings,
brandings, and even worse torture were all part of
American slavery.
Language as a Tool for Critical Literacy
From How Texas Teaches History, New York
Times
October 21, 2015.

Teachers weigh in…

• “They were being deported to the barren regions of the
Soviet Union.” - why is the perpetrator hidden?
• “bunk” “sheer absurdity”
• “death from starvation” v. “widespread mortality”
Language as a Tool of
Critical Literacy

Grade 5 Social Studies
Manitoba Curriculum Essentials

From Apology to Reconciliation: Residential
School Survivors Cluster 1: The Past (p. 22)
Language as a Tool for Critical
LiteracyDr. Ruslana Westerlund. Reclaiming The Language for Social Justice

Problematize
issue
Identify bias
Critique different
views
Pursue a new line
of inquiry
Offer alternative
solution to the
problem
Language as a Tool for Critical
Literacy

Language as a Social Justice
Tool Gives Students AGENCY to
Take Critical Stance Toward
Knowledge and Information

… “language is a form of ‘‘praxis’’ (p. 646); it is meant
for actual use. Therefore, what is of interest is not
abstract linguistic competence—the ability to produce
an infinite number of grammatical sentences in a
Chomskyan sense—but rather linguistic capital, the
amount of power one can claim in the social world on
the basis of one’s linguistic ability and use. For
Bourdieu, communication is not merely an exchange of
information but ‘‘an act of power’’ (Bourdieu &
Wacquant, 1992, p. 145).
Kanno, Y., & Kangas, S. N. (2014).

A language ideology is a model for
how social or cultural differences
are to be linguistically expressed.
It codifies language norms and
contains notions on which social
functions a language variety should
have. It further defines who is to
have access to economic, social
and cultural goods. Notions on
language and on social belonging
linked to language can … work as
mechanisms of exclusion and
social boundary markers.
Niklas Bernsand
Surzhyk and National Identity in Ukrainian
Nationalist Language Ideology
What Does
Language Have to
Do With Social
Justice?

What Does Language Have
to Do With Social Justice?
In the absence of an explicit focus on
language, children from certain…
backgrounds continue to be privileged,
and others to be disadvantaged in
learning, assessment, and promotion,
perpetuating the obvious inequalities
that exist today.
Mary Schleppegrell,
The Language of Schooling

What Does Language Have to
Do With Social Justice?
Language as linguistic capital
Communication as an act of power (v.
exchange of information)
Language provides access to social, economic,
and cultural goods
Language can serve as mechanisms for
exclusion or inclusion
The absence of explicit focus on language of
schooling leads to further societal inequalities

Player v. Spectator

Player v. Spectator: 200 games

Does this Happen to our
Students?
“Understand”
all the words
but can’t
meaningfully
participate in
learning
Teachers not
inquiring and
building on
what students
already know
Explanations
above the
students’ ZPD
Language is
taught as the
end itself vs.
the means to
an end
Disengage
and fall
behind?

Key Concepts
• Teachers must draw out and work with
the preexisting understandings that their
students bring with them.
• Students come to the classroom with
preconceptions about how the world
works. If these initial understandings are
not recognized, engaged and valued,
students can’t learn new concepts or
perform at the surface level. (How
People Learn, National Academy Press)
All learning
builds on
prior
knowledge,
and cultural,
linguistic
and life
experiences.

MB K-12 Framework for
EAL/LAL Programming

Key Concepts
• Language is a resource for
meaning making
• Language learning and cognitive
engagement go hand in hand.
• Knowing language is knowing
particular ways in which language
is used for particular purposes in
particular contexts
Knowing
language
means being
able to
participate
in literacy
practices.

Key Concepts
• Meaning is situated.
• Meaning is negotiated.
• Social interactions are key to
learning and constructing new
meanings.
• New meanings are created daily.
• Language is evolving, dynamic, and
messy
Words do
not carry
inherent,
static
meanings.

What Do These Words
Mean?
Home Offense
Guest Defense

Words have situated
meanings
• Home Game
• Go D!
• Playing offense
• Home is 6, Guest is 12

Your role: sports reporter
Your job: report the game
• Home Game
• Wide Receiver
• Quarterback
• Playing defense
• Incomplete pass
• Fumble on the play
• Flag on the play

The Nature of Language
Language is inseparable from
all human action (Walqui,
2012).
Words are not defined not by
dictionaries; meaning is co-
constructed by users in
situated contexts (Bakhtin,
1981)
Teachers and students need
meta-awareness and meta-
language to navigate language
and in various contexts
(Turkan et al, 2014)
Language is usage-based and
fosters agency (Walqui, 2012).
Language is contingent on
purposes and use and it spirals
in power across time (Walqui,
2012)

What
language and
registers do
you use
through your
day?
How does
language
change?
What factors
influence the
language
change?
Language is Inseparable from All
Human Action (Van Lier & Walqui)

Language is Inseparable From All
Human Action (Van Lier & Walqui)
Dieting Selling Biking
Social
Media
Basketball

What
language do
your students
use through
their day?
How does
language
change in
purpose and
complexity?
What factors
influence the
language
change?
List Ways Your Students Use
Language in Your Classes

How Does Language Change
in Schooling Contexts?
Short Stories Poetry
Information
Reports
Persuasive
Speeches
Science Lab
Reports
Mathematical
Explanations
Constructing
Arguments
from
Evidence in
Science

Language Development
From Structural View of Language Development to

Language increases
in uses through schooling
From expressing needs and wants to
presenting complex arguments
From personal recounts to historical
accounts
From telling how you got an answer to
“constructing viable arguments and
critiquing the reasoning of others”
From information reports to interpretation of
histories
From reporting facts to critiquing
perspectives

How Do We Empower
Students to Use Language as
a Tool for Social Justice in
Our Classrooms?

A Boy Who Ran with Blocks
http://www.immersionfilm.com/Dr. Ruslana Westerlund. Reclaiming The Language for Social Justice

A Boy Who Ran With Blocks…
• Discuss what Moises already knew
• Analyze language expected of him
• Identify other ways Moises can show what he knows
A boy ran three blocks in six
minutes. If he continued to
run at the same speed, how
long would it take him to run
the next twenty blocks?

The Role of Language in
Social Justice
Language is a
tool for
inclusion or
exclusion
Language gives
students agency
Language is a
gateway to
meaning
making

What is YOUR Role as a
Teacher in “Language for
Social Justice”?

Language Expresses Meanings
• Halliday (1978) defined academic register as “a set of
meanings that is appropriate to a particular function
of language, together with the words and structures
which express these meanings. We can refer to a
‘mathematics register,’ in the sense of the meanings that
belong to the language of mathematics (the
mathematical use of natural language, that is, not
mathematics itself), and that a language must express if
it is being used for mathematical purposes” (p. 195).

Grade 4 Science Practices
Language Demands:
• Make claims based on evidence
• Communicate persuasively orally
• Defend claims
• Participate in scientific discussions
• Communicate scientific knowledge
in writing
What language
will students
need to do this?

Focusing on Language in Use
What is the essential learning do all students need to learn about?
What can EAL students do independently in English?
What can EAL students do with supports?
What is the topic being studied?
What is the purpose for language use?
What register is required (formal or informal) in the task?
What is the genre (e.g. report on an experiment)?
What are the key structures that make up that genre (see next page)?

Integrating Content and Language
Science Objectives Language Objectives
Students will develop an
understanding of what constitutes a
scientific method. They will carry out
independent investigations to prove or
disprove common myths. They will
develop understandings about the
kinds and functions of variables and
the need for replication in the context
of developing a method; carrying out
practical experiments; observing,
recording, and interpreting results; and
drawing conclusions. They will
complete an experimental report
detailing their investigations.
Students will write an experimental
report, using:
• An appropriate organizational
structure for that genre
• Appropriate language structures
(nominalizations and nominal
groups, cause and effect structures,
passive voice as appropriate).
• Time connectives (first, second,
following that…, the final step)
• Correct technical vocabulary
(controlled, dependent,
independent, variable; replicate,
replication).
Gibbons, P. (2009) English Language Learners Academic
Literacy and Thinking p. 160

Grade 4 Science Practices
Manitoba Curriculum Overview
Language Demands:
• Ask questions
• Participate in a scientific
discussion
• Clarify your thinking through
language
• Ask more relevant, focused, and
sophisticated questions
• Refine questions
• Make predictions
What language
will students
need to do this?

How Does the Teacher Support
Students’ Language Development?
https://www.teachingchannel.org/

Sentence Frames: a Running
Start, not a Straight Jacket

Teacher Guest Blog
https://reclaimingthelanguage.wordpress.com

Grade 6 Math Processes
Where is the Language?

Grade 5 Social Studies
Where is the Language?

Deeper Learning for ELs

Deeper Learning with ELs
• How does Deeper Learning happen with
students who are new to English?
• In what ways do students and teachers
both leverage students’ native languages
as an asset for learning?
• How does project-based learning lead to
deep and integrated learning of language
and content? https://www.teachingchannel.org/

How Does This Teacher Support
Literacy Development of EAL Students?

• Join me in my mission of reclaiming the language for
social justice on Facebook: Reclaiming the Language
for Social Justice:
https://www.facebook.com/Reclaiming-The-Language-
For-Social-Justice-1520741064881929/
• Twitter: @ellbillofrights
• Blog: https://reclaimingthelanguage.wordpress.com/

References
• Bernsand, N. (n.d.). Surzhyk and National Identity in Ukrainian
Nationalist Language Ideology. Forum. Berliner Osteuropa Info.
• Christie, F., & Derewianka, B. (2008). School discourse:
learning to write across the years of schooling. London,
Continuum.
• de Jong, E., & Harper, C. (2005). Preparing mainstream teachers
for English language learners: Is being a good teacher good
enough? Teacher Education Quarterly, 32(2), 101–124.
• Donovan, M.S., Bransford, J. D., & Pellegrino, J. W. (Eds)
(1999) How people learn: Bridging research and practice.
National Academies Press
• From Apology to Reconciliation. Residential School Survivors.
A Guide for Grades 9 and 11 Social Studies Teachers in
Manitoba
http://www.edu.gov.mb.ca/k12/cur/socstud/far/apology_reconcili
ation.pdf

References
• Gibbons, P. (2009). English learners, academic literacy,
and thinking: learning in the challenge zone. Portsmouth,
NH: Heinemann
• Halliday, M. A. K. (1978). Language as social semiotic.
London, UK: Edward Arnold.
• How Texas Teaches History, New York Times October 21,
2015.
• Kanno, Y., & Kangas, S. N. (2014). “I’m not going to be,
like, for the AP”: English language learners’ limited access
to advanced college-preparatory courses in high
school. American Educational Research Journal, 51(5),
848-878.*

References
• Schleppegrell, M. J. (2004). The language of schooling: A
functional linguistics perspective. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence
Erlbaum Associates.
• Turkan, S., De Oliveira, L., Lee, O., & Phelps, G (2014)
Proposing a Knowledge Base for Teaching Academic
Content to English Language Learners: Disciplinary
Linguistic Knowledge. Teacher College Record.
• The New York Times Guilty of Holocaust Denial. YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WkMfbBmSno0
• van Lier, L., & Walqui (n.d.). Language and the Common
Core Standards. Understanding Language

The Role of Language in Social Justice in Education

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