Resources for Language Justice in Higher Education
Date: April 2022
As a concrete step toward language justice on campus, we proudly present the MIC Resource
Page for Language Justice in Higher Education, for faculty, staff, and administrators,
with specific recommendations, readings, references, curricular approaches, pedagogical
strategies, program information from other institutions, and related policies and
procedures. Our goal is to draw on our expertise to support students, colleagues,
and administrators alike as we promote language justice for all, especially those
who speak/write stigmatized varieties of English and those who speak/write English
as an additional language.
The contents of this page were created by two MIC-affiliated faculty members: Loredana Polezzi (European Languages Literatures and Cultures) and Shyam Sharma (Program in Writing and Rhetoric).
We would like to acknowledge the support and encouragement by Dr. Judi Brown Clarke, Vice President for Equity & Inclusion and Chief Diversity Officer.
This is a living, dynamic document. We welcome everyone's feedback and suggestions for improvement
All of us as academics are in privileged positions to affect the balance of justice
and injustice in our classroom instruction, research, and other aspects of our work.
A significant way in which we do this is through the beliefs we hold, the habits we
form, and the actions we take about language.
This resource page is meant to sharpen our awareness about the impact of language
practices on social justice in higher education and society. The ideas outlined here
are for us to consider, try out, and adapt to the various aspects of our work. Let
us see what can help us, our colleagues, and our students as we seek to move toward
a more just and inclusive society.
As a community of scholars and practitioners engaged in promoting social justice through language practices, we would also love to hear from you.
Statement of Language Diversity and Justice
While language diversity is sometimes considered a barrier to communication, it can in fact be a rich resource to be shared and utilized for the common good and should be celebrated as an integral part of our cultural and social diversity. Promoting and celebrating language diversity fosters opportunities and confidence for learning and personal growth among our students. It also provides the entire campus community access to more bodies of knowledge, opportunities for exchange across cultures and value systems, and spaces for collaborative meaning-making. Making diversity visible and audible through greater recognition and respect of languages (including varieties and accents) is central to the mission of social justice. Stony Brook University strives to promote linguistic diversity and leverage it for its institutional and social goals.
What is “language diversity”? Language diversity encompasses all linguistic resources that are available to individuals and groups; these may include multiple languages as well as varieties and accents of one language, in speech and writing.
How does language diversity connect to social justice? There is a history of social injustice associated with language, from programs to eradicate languages of Native peoples to racial prejudices and violence against those who don’t speak the right language or variety/accent. Within academia, languages and language variants are associated with hierarchies of prestige and desirability, privilege and favor. Whether consciously or unconsciously, we judge and we are judged, on the basis of the way we speak and write.
How can we foster critical awareness and agency in language use? Linguistic justice is posited on paying explicit attention to our behavior and expectations about language. As teachers, adopting a critical language awareness – or understanding and acknowledging the politics and power dynamics of language – can help us empower our students as learners and communicators in educational settings and society.
How can we help students mobilize language diversity? We can foster student learning by showing more respect and acceptance to the use of different languages in classroom discourse, encouraging students to learn and communicate by using all their languages, and rewarding them for drawing on knowledge via their languages.