Workshop Series & Professional Learning Community

In response to findings from focus groups with teachers from traditionally underrepresented and marginalized groups in language education, CARLA is offering a workshop series on the theme of adapting existing instructional materials and practices to teach for social justice. Each workshop treats a different social justice topic and is followed by a professional learning community (PLC), where language educators discuss the topic in more detail, puzzle through questions of implementation, and share experiences.

Workshop Topics

• Disability in our World Language Classrooms: Adapting Mindsets and Materials
  
• Be Like Water: Amplifying Asian Voices in Language Education with Flexibility and Resilience
• Inclusivity in Practice: Enhancing LGBTQ+ Representation in Language Teaching
• Establishing an Antiracist Language Classroom

Disability in our World Language Classrooms: Adapting Mindsets and Materials

Facilitator: Tammy Berberi, Associate Professor of French, University of Minnesota-Morris

Workshop slide deck (PDF)

This workshop focused on developing skills for creating more accessible, inclusive, and socially just language classrooms by centering the strengths and perspectives of disabled people. Attendees defined disability as an opportunity for creative adaptation and meaning making that supports everyone’s learning and growth. They also developed navigational skills to implement universal design for learning in world language classrooms and to create activities to supplement textbooks and other instructional materials. This workshop served as an introduction to strategies and resources that can foster equity and participation for disabled students and, by introducing new ways for encountering differences in target cultures, global citizenship skills for all students. 

Be Like Water: Amplifying Asian Voices in Language Education with Flexibility and Resilience

Facilitator: Kaishan Kong, Associate Professor of Chinese, University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire

Webinar Recording

This workshop developed skills to integrate and amplify Asian Voices in world language education. Participants co-constructed the definition and constituents of Asian Voices, and navigated when, where, what, who and how to strengthen Asian representation in teaching. The presenter discussed research findings in recent publications to address some concerns and challenges encountered by world language teachers, and then shared a framework to inspire language teachers to enhance Asian representation with pedagogical flexibility and emotional resilience. Participants examined examples and developed their own teaching plans using backward design.

Learn more about some of these ideas from the pre-workshop webinar recording above right.

Inclusivity in Practice: Enhancing LGBTQ+ Representation in Language Teaching

Facilitator: Joshua Paiz, Teaching Assistant Professor of English for Academic Purposes (EAP), George Washington University and Teacher Educator, TESOL Institutes of Montgomery College and the Community College of Baltimore County.

Webinar Recording

This workshop equipped language educators with a more robust understanding of how to address gender and sexuality in their professional practice. Drawing from recent research in Lavender Applied Linguistics, this workshop first presented theoretical grounding, enabling educators to make informed pedagogical decisions that align with disciplinary best practices. The presenter then discussed practical applications, exploring with participants what the pedagogical implications of this growing body of research could look like in various classroom contexts. Participants reflected on elements of this “queered” educational approach that they can incorporate into their current practice and, perhaps more importantly, use to identify areas they need to critically engage with further. The goal was to facilitate meaningful change in teachers’ educational practices that can enhance student learning and success.

Establishing an Antiracist Classroom

Facilitator: Dr. Krishauna Hines-Gather, Vice President for Equity, Diversity and Justice at Mount Saint Mary’s University, Los Angeles

During this workshop, Dr. Krishauna Hines-Gaither incorporated best practices from her book, The Antiracist World Language Classroom (Routledge, 2023). The workshop defined antiracism and distinguished it from social justice; and provided strategies for how educators can include antiracism in their classrooms. Through a balance between theory and practice, the workshop centered the voices of Black descendants and other underrepresented communities and provided practical tools to incorporate antiracist lessons across language levels and proficiencies. Key workshop principles are applicable to a variety of disciplines.