In their widely cited essay “Social Justice in the Language Classroom: A Call to Action,” Randolph and Johnson define social justice as “any aspect of the language classroom through which participants (students, teachers, and other stakeholders) come to a greater understanding of or make progress towards equity in society.”^[1] Through the deliberate integration of a large variety of perspectives into the curriculum, this approach aims to challenge students to interrogate the dominant culture by examining its relationship to its subcultures, and to recognize how the internalization of systems of power and privilege impact their thinking and behavior. Self-reflection is thus critical for everyone involved. In conjunction with self-reflection, the main components of social justice pedagogy are the empowerment of different voices and perspectives, the encouragement of critical thought, and the modelling of social change.^[2] Although not every component is present in every lesson, all should appear in each unit. Mastery of the content remains front and center, but is, in a social justice context, the first step towards reflection and critique.^[3] Each plan is developed from an essential question (What do they need to know? What do they need to be able to do?), which, through backward design, reframes the topic. Thus pre-existing content can be used, with modification, to support the aims of the social justice classroom, often by encouraging students to take note of who and what is—and is not—included in the presentation of the target culture(s).

Challenging students to recognize and address issues underlying social injustice at home and abroad certainly squares with the mission of the liberal arts, making this pedagogy an easy fit for many. That said, it too presents some challenges. First of all, not every educator sees themselves as an activist and may feel uncomfortable taking on this role. Likewise, students often perceive themselves as powerless in the face of social inequities and for this reason may fail to engage with the essential questions. Lastly, because social justice pedagogy also demands the recognition of diverse experiences and voices in the classroom itself, educators must continuously adjust their instruction to adapt to their students, leading potentially to the need to update plans each time they are taught. For an example of this pedagogy in practice, see the sample lesson plan provided in this chapter.

Resources

Brunow, Beate and Britton Newman. “A Developmental Model of Intercultural Competence: Scaffolding the Shift From the Culture-Specific to the Culture-General.” In Diversity and Decolonization in German Studies, edited by Regine Criser and Ervin Malakaj. Palgrave Macmillan, 2020, 139 – 156.

CARLA (Center for Advanced Research on Language Acquisition) Social Justice Planning Templates (user’s guide and templates for curricular units, lesson plans, and assessments)

Hackman, Heather W. “Five Essential Components for Social Justice Education.” Equity & Excellence in Education 38 (2005): 103 – 109.

Randolph Jr, Linwood J., and Stacey Margarita Johnson. “Social Justice in the Language Classroom: A Call to Action.” Dimensions 52, no. 1 (2017): 99-121.

Sederberg, Katherine and Magda Tarnawska Senel. “Teaching Politically Relevant Authentic Texts: Integrating Social Justice Pedagogies and Literacy-Based Approaches in the Beginning Language Classroom.” In Social Justice Pedagogies: Multidisciplinary Practices and Approaches, edited by Katrina Sark. University of Toronto Press, 2023, 166 – 178.

Tarnawska Senel, Magda. “Social Justice in the Language Curriculum: Interrogating the Goals and Outcomes of Language Education in College.” In Diversity and Decolonization in German Studies, edited by Regine Criser and Ervin Malakaj. Palgrave Macmillan, 2020, 63 – 81.

Learning for Justice. Social Justice Standards. The Teaching Tolerance Anti-Bias Framework. Southern Poverty Law Center, 2022.