Critical Language Awareness in a Time of Dramatic Change        

Maintaining continuity in a time of rapid societal change can be challenging for educators working with multilingual learners. In this keynote, I discuss how Critical Language Awareness (CLA) can benefit teachers and, in turn, empower their multilingual students. CLA refers to the ability to analyze how language both shapes and is shaped by identity and power. Through the lens of CLA, I examine language ideologies commonly held in education and explore how these can—both negatively and positively—exercise a profound effect on multilingual students’ engagement and thereby their ultimate social and academic success.

Keynote Speaker Biography

This year’s keynote speaker is Dr. Christa de Kleine. Dr. de Kleine is Professor of Linguistics in the School of Education at Notre Dame of Maryland University in Baltimore, Maryland. Originally from the Netherlands, Dr. de Kleine teaches courses on language acquisition and multilingualism in education at the M.A. and Ph.D. levels. She also serves as the coordinator of the university’s M.A. in TESOL program. Her research encompasses various strands, with recent work focusing on language ideologies and their impact on multilingual students in K-12 and post-secondary settings. An engaging speaker with a wealth of research expertise and practical TESOL applications, Dr. de Kleine will start the conference off in delightfully informative fashion.