Teaching language politics in Australian contexts: a reflective case study

Globalization has brought both risks and opportunities to the sustainability of diverse language communities and has fostered new and increasingly dynamic linguistic identities. Global languages have emerged as a means of international communication. Alongside this comes the subsequent threat to many indigenous and minority languages, and the uneven distribution of power across different language groups. This article attempts to reflect on how learning about this politicization of language can be embedded into curriculum in the Australian university context. It argues that there is a need for teaching to go beyond understandings of language as a cultural artifact and communication tool and into the broader social and political consequences of language policy, practice and power. It further suggests that pedagogical engagement with language politics is especially significant in Australia’s tertiary environment, which is ostensibly dedicated to the internationalization of curriculum yet persistently resistant to deep engagement with language difference. Drawing on the author’s own experiences in teaching language politics in an Australian university as a case study, the study uses processes of pedagogical observation and reflection to provide some suggestions for other educators hoping to integrate sociopolitical issues into their LOTE curriculums or into other programs. It finds that collaborative learning approaches can be highly effective in facilitating a deep exploration of the global-local intersections of language difference and language change.