Sustaining Inclusive, Equitable, and Accessible Language Education in a COVID-19 Endemic World

IF 3.6 2区文学 Q1 LINGUISTICS

Relc Journal Pub Date : 2023-02-15 DOI:10.1177/00336882231157495

Joel C Meniado

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引用次数: 1

Abstract

In the last three years, major disruptions have affected our lives and to a certain extent influenced our perspectives and practices on diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) in language education. I remember it was this time in 2020 when most countries worldwide started closing their borders and schools began shutting their doors to contain the spread of the COVID-19 virus. It was also at this time in the same year when schools started adopting fully remote/online modes of teaching and assessment, where teachers had to transform their face-to-face lessons and assessments into various delivery modes (e.g., printed modules, radio/TV programs, SMS, online, etc.). At that time we could hear different stories of struggles – the struggles of teachers in designing, developing, and facilitating remote/online instruction and assessment using various technological tools, struggles of students in learning from home due to limited technology access and inconducive home learning environments, and struggles of parents in managing and supporting their children in their home-based learning. Then, last year, international conflicts occurred in some parts of the world, leading to major humanitarian catastrophes and economic disruptions. As a result, access to necessities and services, including language education, became less accessible to many, especially the economically disadvantaged. As we have witnessed in the last three years, the COVID-19 pandemic has caused massive learning loss despite the widespread adoption of remote/online instruction (UNESCO, The World Bank, and UNICEF, 2021). It has widened the inequality of learning opportunities, placed vulnerable minorities at a great disadvantage, and heightened socio-emotional and mental health issues among learners (World Bank, 2020). Similarly, international conflicts and economic disruption worldwide have also curtailed equal opportunities to access quality (language) education. In some places, language learners and teachers have lost their purpose and direction. Some learners have left schools

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在COVID-19流行的世界中维持包容、公平和无障碍的语言教育

在过去的三年里，重大的干扰影响了我们的生活，并在一定程度上影响了我们对语言教育的多样性、公平性、包容性和可及性(DEIA)的看法和实践。我记得正是在2020年的这个时候，世界上大多数国家开始关闭边境，学校开始关闭，以遏制COVID-19病毒的传播。也是在同一年的这个时候，学校开始采用完全远程/在线的教学和评估模式，教师必须将面对面的课程和评估转变为各种交付模式(例如，印刷模块，广播/电视节目，短信，在线等)。那时，我们可以听到不同的挣扎故事——教师在使用各种技术工具设计、开发和促进远程/在线教学和评估方面的挣扎;由于有限的技术访问和不利的家庭学习环境，学生在家庭学习方面的挣扎;以及父母在管理和支持孩子在家学习方面的挣扎。然后，去年，世界一些地区发生了国际冲突，导致重大人道主义灾难和经济中断。结果，许多人，特别是经济上处于不利地位的人，越来越难以获得必需品和服务，包括语言教育。正如我们在过去三年中所看到的那样，尽管广泛采用了远程/在线教学，但COVID-19大流行造成了巨大的学习损失(教科文组织、世界银行和联合国儿童基金会，2021年)。它扩大了学习机会的不平等，使弱势少数群体处于极大的不利地位，并加剧了学习者的社会情感和心理健康问题(世界银行，2020年)。同样，国际冲突和世界范围内的经济混乱也削弱了获得优质(语言)教育的平等机会。在一些地方，语言学习者和教师已经失去了目标和方向。一些学习者已经离开了学校

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来源期刊

Relc Journal LINGUISTICS-

CiteScore

8.10

自引率

10.00%

发文量

期刊介绍： The RELC Journal is a fully peer-reviewed international journal that publishes original research and review articles on language education. The aim of this Journal is to present information and ideas on theories, research, methods and materials related to language learning and teaching. Within this framework the Journal welcomes contributions in such areas of current enquiry as first and second language learning and teaching, language and culture, discourse analysis, language planning, language testing, multilingual education, stylistics, translation and information technology. The RELC Journal, therefore, is concerned with linguistics applied to education and contributions that have in mind the common professional concerns of both the practitioner and the researcher.