This talk reflects upon how language education that seeks to problematize human subjectivity and agency for social change/justice supporting different critical worldviews about systemic and structural economic and political causes can contribute to the development of individuals in the critical transformation process of their social realities.

Mini-bio

Adolfo Tanzi Neto has a Ph.D. in Applied Linguistics and Language Studies with doctoral training at Oxford University – Department of Education. He is head of the Department of Anglo-Germanic Languages, College of Languages and Arts, at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ). He is a researcher in the Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Applied Linguistics (PIPGLA-UFRJ) and leader of the Nucleus for Studies and Research of Vygotsky School in Applied Linguistics (NUVYLA/CNPq). His research interests are in the fields of discourse and social practices as for human constitution and development.

During the Covid-19 Pandemic, many schools around the world had to shift their focus from traditional teaching to virtual options. While there is no doubt this crisis limited opportunities for many learners, there was also a renewed focus by governments and education departments on providing access to digital opportunities. This forced shift into the digital world can also be seen as a catalyst that may now provide increased access to language learning and opportunities to apply target languages. From an online Bachelor degree program to Zoom-based English classes to launching podcasts and blogs, digital platforms are a foundation for the work of Dr. Jennifer McMahon and her colleagues. In 2021, Dr. McMahon designed and launched a Bachelor’s degree program for Cambodian educators focused on teaching and learning in limited resource communities. As part of this work, Dr. McMahon has focused on helping students build language and communication skills by sharing their knowledge through community engagement activities and presentations, Photo Voice research, development of online portfolios, blogs, and a newly launched bilingual podcast. The goal is to empower educators to apply their learning to their own contexts and then co-create new knowledge to share with the local and global community. Participants will also hear how they can use digital tools to provide a pathway to learning for their own students or within their own practice. Dr. McMahon will discuss the crowd-sourced Bachelor’s program, and the ways digital platforms are providing linguistic opportunities in this changing world.

Mini-bio

Jennifer McMahon received her Ed.D in K-12 School Leadership from the University of Rochester’s Warner School. Dr. McMahon is the Director of Learning at the Livonia Central School District and Program Director for the Bachelor of Education program for Cambodian educators through the University of Applied Research and Development in New Zealand. Students learn and co-create new knowledge about working in limited resource communities with the goal of sharing with the global community.