Call for Papers

Integrating Critical Anti-Racist Pedagogies into
Language Teacher Education

An Online Conference

June 12 & 13, 2025

Keynotes

Prof. Dr. Ryuko Kubota (University of British Columbia)
Prof. Dr. L. J. Randolph Jr. (University of Wisconsin-Madison)

Critical anti-racist perspectives are a crucial objective in both foreign language teaching and language teacher education, as it not only aspires to provide inclusive and equitable learning environments but also prepares students to navigate a world shaped by structures of inequality. Language education inherently involves exchange and understanding, making it a powerful tool to challenge and dismantle racist ideologies. By integrating anti-racist practices, educators can foster critical thinking, empathy, and (inter)cultural competence among students. Additionally, language teachers who developed a critical anti-racist perspective are better prepared to address and counteract discrimination in their classrooms, contributing to a more just society while at the same time questioning their own involvement in racist practices. Recognizing the importance of this endeavor, our upcoming online conference will focus on critical anti-racism in language teaching. We invite educators, researchers, practitioners, and students to join us in exploring approaches, sharing experiences – including challenges encountered –, and collaborating on strategies to embed anti-racist pedagogies in language education. In order to include the perspective of all involved in teacher education, we also invite students from the University of Wuppertal to talk about what critical antiracism means to them.

In order to shed more light on this research field in teacher education, we would like to invite colleagues to propose papers and provide insights on the following issues or that address one or severals of the following questions (among others):

1. How can foreign/second/additional language teacher education contribute to students’ understanding of systemic racism and their role in promoting social justice?
2. What are approaches for foreign/second/additional language teacher education to address and counteract racism and discrimination in the language classroom?
3. How can foreign/second/additional language teacher education develop a critical anti-racist awareness that may have an impact on the later practices in a language classroom?
4. To what extent are language teacher identities and agency relevant constructs when designing (and researching) language teacher education that aims towards an anti-racist awareness?
5. In what ways can foreign/second/additional teachers be trained to evaluate and adapt language learning materials (textbooks, multimedia resources, etc.) to ensure they reflect (otherwise) marginalized perspectives and challenge racism (and other forms of discrimination)?
6. What are the challenges and opportunities in implementing anti-racist practices into language teaching and language teacher education (or professional development) across different educational contexts (e.g., primary, secondary, higher education)?
7. What are challenges of researching critical anti-racist pedagogies in language teacher education (or professional development) in university or school contexts?

Conference structure & abstract submission

We are planning to host the online conference with 30-minute slots, with about 20 minutes for presentations and a maximum of 10 minutes for discussion afterwards. Together with interested colleagues, we would like to develop ways of translating the conference results into publication(s).

Abstracts should include the name(s) of the presenter(s) and institution(s), the title of the talk, a summary of the expected presentation, references, and the email address. Abstracts should not exceed 250 words (excl. references) and can be submitted via email to
antiracism2025[at]uni-wuppertal.de.

Timeline

• Deadline for paper submission: January 31, 2025
• Notification of acceptance: February 28, 2025
• Publication of conference programme: March 21, 2025
• Online Conference: June 12 & 13, 2025

Conference organisation

• Natalie Güllü (University of Wuppertal)
• Prof. David Gerlach (University of Wuppertal)
• Dr. Darío Banegas (University of Edinburgh)
• Members of the TILTED research group