Spirituality, Social Justice and Language Learning

Edited by:
David I. Smith, Calvin College
Terry Osborn, University of South Florida

A volume in the series: Contemporary Language Education. Editor(s): Terry Osborn, University of South Florida.

Published 2007

This book sets out to explore the intersections between matters not frequently yoked in academic discussions: spirituality, social justice, and the learning of world languages. The contributing authors contend not only that these intersections exist, but that they are the site of issues and realities that require the attention of language educators and point to avenues of growth for the language teaching profession. The essays included seek to indicate the possibilities of a neglected area of inquiry, not only in terms of theory but also in terms of the practices of language education. Given this aim of opening up fresh questions, the book is arranged so as to show the relevance of the nexus of spirituality and social justice to teacher education (chapters 3 and 4), language classroom practices (chapters 5 and 6), and the theoretical sources that inform scholarly discussion of language education (chapters 7 and 8). The opening chapters place these explorations in a larger context by showing how they fit into existing social contexts and academic discussions.

CONTENTS
PART I: CONTEXTUAL CONSIDERATIONS. Confronting the Zeitgeist: Social Justice, the Spirit of the People, and Language Education, Terry A. Osborn. Spirituality and Language Pedagogy: A Survey of Recent Developments, David I. Smith. PART II: TEACHER EDUCATION. Moral Agency, Spirituality, and the Language Classroom, David I. Smith. Foreign Language Educators for the Common Good: Historical and Contemporary Traditions in Teacher Formation, John L. Watzke. PART III: CLASSROOM PRACTICES. Legal and Illegal Immigration: Complex Ethical Issues for the Language Classroom, Marilyn R. Bierling. Of Log Cabins, Fallen Bishops and Tenacious Parents: (Auto)biographical Narrative and the Spirituality of Language Learning, David I. Smith, Sarah L. De Young, and Kate Landau. PART IV: THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVES. The Word in the World: So to Speak (A Freirean Legacy), Carolyn Kristjánsson. Dialogue, Spirituality, and Voice: Verburg and Bakhtin on Speaking and Hearing, David I. Smith. Epilogue. About the Authors.

REVIEWS
"This volume continues a project that has been close to the hearts of the editors for many years, namely to disclose the important educational potential of foreign/second language education." Kevin Williams