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SUMMARY:MuLtiE seminar: Valuing multilingual voices in a divisive landscap
 e: Pushing back against the populist narrative through diversity and criti
 cality - Reader/Associate Professor Martin Dewey\, King’s College London
DTSTART:20251124T050000Z
DTEND:20251124T063000Z
UID:TALK241075@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Dr. Phung Dao
DESCRIPTION:Abstract: The expansive function of English as a global lingua
  franca has prompted sustained critique of established practices in Englis
 h language teaching (ELT)\, particularly those grounded in monolingual ide
 ologies and normative conceptions of language that have so often marginali
 zed multilingual voices and perspectives. In our increasingly divisive geo
 political climate\, marked by populist rhetoric\, anti-immigration sentime
 nt\, and erosion of trust in diversity\, such critiques acquire renewed ur
 gency. In this paper I re-examine the impact of these critiques for langua
 ge teachers and teacher educators\, re-viewing where we are in relation to
  recent developments. The paper argues for a reorientation of ELT practice
 s and teacher education towards valuing linguistic diversity and promoting
  critical engagement with the sociopolitical forces that shape our classro
 oms. With reference to ongoing research projects conducted in HE settings 
 in the UK\, Spain and Türkiye I explore how teacher educators and practit
 ioners can resist the assimilating pressures of populist discourses by for
 egrounding multilingualism as both a pedagogical resource and a form of cu
 ltural agency. This entails: (1) promoting engagement with wider geopoliti
 cal trends and the impact of sociocultural change on our learning and teac
 hing spaces\; (2) exploring both the opportunities and challenges brought 
 about by developments in technology. By situating language education withi
 n broader debates about identity and power\, we can emphasize the transfor
 mative potential of criticality in teacher education. I argue that valuing
  multilingual voices is not only an educational imperative but also an act
  of resistance against the exclusionary tendencies of a populist narrative
 –a resistance against discourses that have created a hostile environment
 \, in which public opinion is manipulated against migration\, giving rise 
 to antagonism and suspicion towards diversity and “non-elite” multilin
 gualism. Added to this\, we have the rapid expansion of generative AI\, wh
 ich\, while offering fascinating potential for innovation\, also brings ad
 ditional pressures on recent moves to embrace diversity\, potentially undo
 ing recent gains. Ultimately\, my paper asks: How can educators cultivate 
 spaces where linguistic diversity is properly valued as a means of pushing
  back against a populist narrative\, reasserting the power of a critical\,
  inclusive dialogue?
LOCATION:Room: 1S3 DMB\, Faculty of Education\, University of Cambridge
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