Social justice in the language classroom: a roadmap for lower-division Spanish curricula

Abstract

ABSTRACT This study investigates 70 university participants’ selection of topic and acceptability relating to the explicit inclusion of social justice topics in intermediate language courses in universities in the United States. This study draws from the Critical Pedagogy and Task-Based Language Teaching as frameworks in the second language (L2) classroom. Participants enrolled in intermediate-level Spanish courses completed a series of projects in which tasks centered on social justice topics of their choosing. Qualitative data analysis revealed that language learners perceived the projects as opportunities to use real world, authentic language with the purpose of communicating in the target language. Learners reported that the incorporation of social justice in the L2 classroom provided new, meaningful learning while they developed greater awareness of issues affecting the world and acquired vocabulary and speaking skills. As a result of this study, findings support inclusion of social justice topics, even in lower-division courses.