A New Way to Teach Culture: Social Justice in the Language Classroom

Abstract

“A New Way to Teach Culture: Social Justice in the Language Classroom” explores the need for social justice education in the English language classroom in North America. In light of English as a global language, the current socio-political climate of America necessitates a need for a deeper awareness of current social justice issues. By taking advantage of the interrelationship between language and culture, language teachers have the potential to challenge the dominant ideologies present in the English language by teaching culture through a new lens of social justice. I outline the colonial roots of English that have contributed to its current position in society, and I then describe how language teachers can challenge this dominant way of thinking in the classroom.