Framed within the theory and practice of social justice in English language teacher education (ELTE), the aim of this study was to foster pre-service teachers' awareness of social justice principles, issues and practices by taking part in a service learning experience during their higher education studies in a non-governmental organisation located…

In an increasingly competitive market, the onerous is on departments to ensure that students build targeted skills. Nevertheless, in an ever more polarized and politicized world, it is unwise to trade off engaging in social justice for a checklist of abilities. Community-based and service-learning offer the unique opportunity for students to hone…

The most effective way to address the critical social and political issues confronting students today is to promote intercultural competence with empathy at the core of language instruction. Language has the ability to shape our thoughts and to alter our consciousness. As students view the world through the prism of cultural openness, they are…

The neoliberal system in Chile has caused socio-educational inequities which have been evidenced by the poor academic results of public school students in national and international standardized tests in Math, Language, Science, and English. These inequities and academic results call for preparing teachers to help diminish disparities in the…

Dramatically changing demographics of students learning English as another language across the world and in the United States pose a significant challenge for today's school systems. For example, an estimated 1.5 billion students are learning English in the world (British Council, 2014). Recent research on service-learning and TESOL (Al Barwani,…

Concerns about inclusion and social responsibility as conduit for social justice on university campuses offer a platform for interdisciplinary initiatives. Here we focus on one such initiative, which seeks to build community between University of Richmond students and local Latino and Hispanic populations using the University of Richmond Museum…

In recent times, researchers of second language learning have suggested that second language learning is not simply a cognitive or linguistic issue, but is also a social, political, and cultural one (e.g., Atkinson, 2002; Firth & Wagner, 1997; Larsen-Freeman, 2007). Research on student teachers' identity (e.g., Atkinson, 2004; Day &…

This paper provides examples of activities that can be carried out by Spanish-speaking professors who are willing to step outside of the classroom walls with their students and participate in community projects--to help democratize the various forms of cultural capital as well as promote social justice and political awareness by working hand in…

This article presents research findings from a pilot study of the use of service-learning in an intermediate-high class ("Spanish Language and Culture for Heritage Speakers") in the fall semesters of 2010 and 2011. Students reported gains in the areas of communication skills, dispositional learning, language, identity formation, and…

In contrast with the field of second language acquisition (SLA), where until recently sociocultural concerns were largely unaddressed (Block, 2007), identity has always been at the core of heritage language (HL) education. The present article highlights this often overlooked history and presents action research centering on a Spanish critical…

For the forty-third time, the Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT) is sponsoring the publication of these Proceedings. Papers published in this volume were presented online during the annual AECT Convention. Volume 1 contains 37 papers dealing primarily with research and development topics. Papers dealing with the…

Critical service-learning is often defined in opposition to a more traditional, "charity" approach that does not necessarily seek fundamental changes. Service-learning courses, however, may not quite follow this dichotomy. In an intercultural communication course, students engaged in service-learning that included some elements of both…

This case study explores community service learning, disciplinary literacy, and social justice. Participants were seven Mexican American preservice secondary teachers in science, math, and language arts who tutored and gardened with children in a South Texas after-school tutorial agency as part of an ESL literacy methods course. Data gathering…

A significant number of community service-learning projects in higher education involve the teaching or tutoring of immigrants in English. As in related service-learning scholarship, these projects are commonly informed by perspectives on cultural difference, social justice, and power relations in U.S. society. Yet while faculty pair their…

We are delighted to welcome you to the International Conference on Education and New Developments 2015-END 2015, taking place in Porto, Portugal, from 27 to 29 of June. Education, in our contemporary world, is a right since we are born. Every experience has a formative effect on the constitution of the human being, in the way one thinks, feels and…