2021 WAESOL Annual Conference

Is antiracist English language teaching possible? Reaching beyond the horizon for racial justice in TESOL

With increasing public attention to entrenched patterns of systemic racial injustice, the landscape of the English teaching profession has shifted over the past eighteen months, emphasizing for English teachers the degree to which the notion of language can never be conceptualized in a narrow sense but must always be understood in sociohistorical context and as intertwined with capital, class, gender, religion, ability, nation, and particularly race. As English language teachers practice our craft, our work continues to be embedded in histories of racial violence and domination, and in a contemporary context of inequitable global racial power. These enduring legacies are indelibly but invisibly woven throughout our language practices, pedagogies, relationships, and the educational, social, and institutional spaces we are immersed in.

This leaves English teachers asking ourselves complicated questions and navigating challenging terrain. What does it mean to be an English teacher at this particular moment? How might we as English teachers reconceptualize the goals of our practice given the racialized nature of the notion of English? How can we maintain a critical eye toward the legacy of colonization and racialization in which the profession is embedded when we know that privileged forms of English can open doors for our students? How can we negotiate the racialized nature of the English language as we are teaching it? How might we attend to the messy intertwining of English with what Flores (2016) has termed ‘hegemonic Whiteness’? How does our consciousness of our own racial identities become salient in our practice?

This presenter asks what an ELT practice that is clear-sighted about the injuries and damages of colonialism and racial inequity might look like. She asks: Is the teaching of English irretrievably rooted in race and empire? Is antiracist English language teaching possible? What might it look it? And how might it be achieved?

Using an "educational equity portal" metaphor, participants will consider the gateway between the educational world we knew before the pandemic and the next one we are ready to create and explore four key, post-pandemic equity strategies and practical ways to implement them in their own classrooms.

Come gain an understanding of 1) the global refugee crisis and the impact of forced migration; 2) the context of families arriving in WA from Afghanistan and many other countries; 3) trauma informed approaches to education and how to create a safe and healing learning space for newcomer students.

This study examines the attitudes and perspectives of Filipino and Chinese ESL/EFL teachers on World Englishes through focus group discussions, open-ended questionnaires, and interviews. The results will help in identifying the gaps in language teaching, providing suggestions on inclusivity and asserting legitimacy of non-native English teachers as speakers of English.

To reach today's learner, today's teacher should be equipped on ensuring students are challenged healthy, engaged, safe and supported. This session aims to support teacher's endeavors in this effort.

This interactive K-8 Newcomer session presents a template for a Newcomer program. Learn about key elements of a Newcomer program, have discussions on instruction and assessment, develop recommendations for a Newcomer program for older students, and develop a check list of elements for a Newcomer instructional program.