This course aims to offer pedagogical principles and practice opportunities for language teachers who would like to integrate social justice issues into their classes. The overarching goal is to increase the capacity of language teachers to benefit from the transformative potential of language instruction to eliminate any kind of discrimination and to raise social justice and equality at large. The objectives of the course will include enabling language teachers:

• to value students’ diversity, to establish a caring and inclusive environment and to demonstrate trust and solidarity

• to draw on the talents and strengths students bring to their education, while building on their cultural and linguistic resources

• to make curriculum relevant and applicable to all their students by accommodating and differentiating instruction

• to create a learning environment that promotes critical thinking and agency for social change

The course will cover:

Theoretical frameworks:

• Critical pedagogy

• Feminist theory

Critical issues:

• Gender equality

• LGBTQ issues

• Environmental education

• Immigration

• Race

Pedagogical frameworks:

• Inclusive education

• Peacebuilding

• Culturally responsive pedagogy

• Differentiated instruction

The course will be balanced in terms of theory and practice. While there will be seminars on each of the critical issues, the lessons will include workshops for which the students will submit reflection posts and design lesson plans. The course will also include discussion of current events, news, stories of injustice, etc. to make the course content more relevant to students’ lives. It is one of course objectives that the students will have a chance to apply the course content in their immediate and/or ideal teaching contexts.