A Right to Our Voice: Linguistic Human Rights and Peace Education

A Right to Our Voice:Linguistic Human Rights & Peace Education

Cheryl Woelk

International CRE Summit 2015Arlington, VA, USA

Two Frameworks for Education

Language Education• Language

acquisition• Linguistics• Methodologies• Assessments• Language planning

& policy• Multilingualism• Translation• Etc

Peace Education• Conflict resolution

skills• Mediation &

negotiation• Trauma healing• Restorative justice• Nonviolence• International

development• Organizational

change• Etc


Language Education Peace Education• Global issues

• Intercultural communication• Coaching & facilitation skills• Community & relationships• Value-based teacher education• Identity transformation• Narratives & social discourse• Etc


Language Education Peace Education

Mutual Learning

Focus Question…

As you listen to the descriptions of linguistic human rights and what happens in the absence of these rights…. notice any local or global situations

that come to mind, use spaces on handout for notes if

you wish.

Linguistic Human Rights (LHR) = Basic human rights

•To be recognised as a member of a language community•To the use of one's own language both in private and in public•To the use of one's own name•To associate with other members of one's language community of origin

Individual

Individual

•For their own language and culture to be taught•Access to cultural services•An equitable presence of their language in the media•Attention in their own language from government and socio-economic relations

Colle

ctiv

eC

olle

ctive

Linguistic Discrimination

• “Linguicism”•Accents, dialects•World Englishes•Access issues•Social capital•Monolingual schooling•Monolingual social norms

+-

•Language policies•Colonial legacies•Educational policies•Globalized economies•Endangered languages•Identity lossLa

ngua

ge Los

s & L

ingu

icid

e

+-

•Active oppression•Language ladder inertia•English-only movements•Language conflicts / wars•Struggle for voice•Power dynamics on micro and macro levels

Lang

uage

Opp

ress

ion

& Dom

inan

ce

+-

•Gatekeeper to knowledge•Structures privilege certain languages •Agency through language•Nuances of privilege in institutions, classrooms, relationships and surrounding society

Linguistic Privilege

+-

Valuing multilingual

& multicultural

voices

Applying peace

linguistics and

sociolinguistics knowledge

Promoting healthy

communication skills in multiple

languages

Leveraging use of

dominant languages for justice

and peacemakin

g

Bridging language

communities

Gathering peace

wisdom from various

linguistic & cultural

heritages

“In the unique settings of our ESL classrooms...

we have seen the immense power of narrative to illuminate issues of war and peace,

and to reveal and forge connections among stories and peoples

even when it appears that the historic political and religious barriers among them

are nearly insurmountable…

…the kinds of learning that go on in these unique sites,

where students from vastly different backgrounds learn to understand each other,

can contribute to the field of peace and justice studies.”

(Morgan & Vandrick, 2009)

“Action Plan”

What aspects of linguistic human rights relate to your context(s)? Analyze your educational setting in

light of individual and collective LHR. Consider both negative rights and

positive rights. Ask yourself if there is any evidence

of absence of linguistic rights.

“Action Plan”

Choose one or more of the opportunities peace education presents for addressing LHR in your context.

Design a lesson plan outline for a class, or other specific plan suitable for your setting.

What next?

Continue the conversation at: www.language4peace.org

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Contact Information

Cheryl [email protected]

www.language4peace.org

mailto:[email protected]