New course teaches educators to ‘incorporate social justice’

University of Minnesota’s Center for Advanced Research on Language Acquisition (CARLA) is hosting a program on teaching language “through the lens of social justice.”

“Teaching for and about social justice positively influences all students, yet social justice education can be challenging to integrate into the language classroom,” CARLA explains on its website.

"Social justice education can be challenging to integrate into the language classroom."

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“In the first part of this institute, participants will examine the principles of social justice education and identify ways that these principles can support our standards, objectives, and targeted skills in contemporary foreign language education.”

According to the department, the five-day program that begins on July 17 will help educators “identify their own interests and strengths in becoming language educators for social justice.”

The second part of the initiative will train participants to utilize their knowledge to create education opportunities for foreign language students.

“A collaborative, creative set of experiences will help participants go from big ideas to activities and assessments for their classroom, all while teaching for and about social justice,” the website explains.

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The course, which is only intended for “elementary to postsecondary foreign language teachers, immersion educators, English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers, and teacher educators,” will also provide instructions on adapting “textbooks and other classroom materials to incorporate social justice principles.”

The program further stresses that participants will learn how to create a classroom environment that facilitates “social justice education,” building a “Social Justice Unit,” integrating “Social Justice in Performance Assessments,” and more.

CARLA discloses that the initiative will feature three presenters that teach at Concordia College, Rowan University, and University of Iowa.

University of Minnesota did not immediately return Campus Reform’s request for comment.

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