The Power of Language in Changing Social Relations - Literature review Example

Name: Tutor: Title: The ways in which classrooms and communities can structure language learning responses for students of diverse needs: The power of language in changing social relations. Course: Date: Introduction Due to global migrations, classrooms are becoming increasingly diverse. This raises great concern about performance of students of color, living in poverty, minority language speakers as well as those who are immigrants and refugees. These groups of learners are considered marginalized, and thus not given equal access to the needed social and material resources that can enable them acquire the language and literary skills expected of them to actively participate in classrooms and communities (Hawkins & Norton 2009). Supporters of critical approaches to language teaching focus more on the relationships between the language learning and social change. In this regard, language is not merely perceived as a means of expression or communication, but as a practice which constructs and constructed by the manner in which language learners see themselves, understand their social surroundings. This helps the learners to develop critical perspectives on various aspects of language education from globally diverse interests and practices. Generally, scholars are interested in understanding the ways in which social relationships are built in language. In addition, they aim to investigate how the issues of power even though often incomprehensible in a language research as well as in educational practice, they are centrally crucial in achieving critical language pedagogies (Norton & Toohey 2004). The context for this study is to investigate the ways in which classrooms and communities can structure language learning responses for students of diverse needs. Basically, the study will involve analyzing the general perception of the concept of ‘critical’ and its relationship to power. The concepts of critical pedagogy, language awareness, critical literacy and critical multiculturalism and how they relate to issues of language and power will be discussed in detail. Additionally, the study will examine the ways that critical pedagogical practices such as critical language, literacy and pedagogy responses can be helpful to the learners based on questions of language and power. Finally, an overview of how the instances show issues of language and power will be generally analyzed. The possible outcomes for this study is to affirm that the concept of critical literacy supports the idea that education can promote social justice by enabling students to understand the power of language in changing social relations. Therefore, the study aims at encouraging the learners to develop critical literacy skills that can help them to examine or question the power relations that they find inherent in language use. This would enable students or learners to understand that language cannot be neutral so that they can skillfully confront their own perceptions on the creation and reception of a language. The general perception of the concept of ‘critical’ and its relationship to power Critical literacy is perceived as the ability of a person to read texts in an active and reflective manner so as to effectively understand issues of power, inequality and injustices to assess human relationships. In this context, therefore, text is considered as a vehicle through which people communicate with each other based on the codes and conventions of their societies. This means that individuals who develop critical literacy skills are able to interpret different messages conveyed in the modern world from the perspective of critical lens. Thus, they can challenge the power relations associated with such messages (Coffey 2010). It should be noted that teachers who encourage their students to develop critical literacy expects them to appropriately question societal issues and institutions such as family, equity and equality, poverty and education with the objective to critique the structures that are used as norms. As a result, it becomes easy to understand how the norms are not equally experienced among members of society (Coffey 2010). Based on its broadest sense, the concept of critical literacy means the efforts that go beyond the literal understanding of a text by at least applying the questions of who, why, what and how it was created and interpreted. Taking into consideration the ideas and pedagogical approaches undertaken by those who use it, critical literacy can be understood in different ways based on its actual practice. A good example could be that individuals, who are aware that language use is never considered neutral, perceive critical literacy as a means through which the relationships between language and power are examined (Lohrey 1998). People who perceive that language and text are purposely used to persuade, justify or entertain, for them critical literacy means understanding the objective of the writer or speaker and using the language for personal gains. However, for theorists who base their concept of critical literacy on Freire-a Brazilian educator who discovered that education and knowledge can be considered to have power only if they enable the learners to liberate or free themselves from their oppressive social situations. In such a case, critical literacy is considered as a means in which the learners find the opportunity to decipher the various issues that dominate society, empower themselves as well as take social action (Peyton & Crandall 1995). Understanding of critical pedagogy, language awareness, critical literacy and critical multiculturalism through issues of language and power Critical pedagogy is perceived as an approach to the teaching and learning of a language which focuses on transforming the relations of power in particular, oppressive power which leads to the oppression of other people. Therefore, this educational approach is intended to humanize and empower the learners (Kincheloe 2005). Critical theory emphasizes on the principles of a just society in which individuals have cultural, economic and political control over their own lives. Therefore, supporters of critical theory strongly believe that such goals can be achieved only through liberating oppressed people so as to empower them to transform their life situations. This is the beginning of critical pedagogy because its major concern is to criticize the administration of schools within the capitalist societies. It can be argued that critical pedagogy are aimed at raising awareness and controlling issues of violation and discrimination against other people specifically in educational settings (Gor 2005). It can be argued that critical pedagogies are crucial to engaging with experiences of marginalized learners. Supporters of critical pedagogy believe that when teachers teach, often they are expected to make complex decisions regarding justice and democracy as well as competing ethical issues. Although they are required to make their own individual decisions about the necessary steps to be taken in those particular circumstances, the teachers must concurrently address the issues raised within their surrounding institutional morality (Kincheloe 2005). One major principle of critical pedagogy emphasizes that the classroom, curricular and school structures that teachers adopt should not be regarded as neutral areas waiting to be shaped and managed by educational professionals. It is notable that such educational contexts are similarly shaped as language and knowledge are constructed in the same way historical power is applied to influence certain practices to appear occurring naturally as if they were constructed in a different way. This implies that education is inherently political, and thus all pedagogical practices should be accomplished taking into consideration this condition. Therefore, a social and educational perception of issues justice and equality need to ground all education because issues related to class, gender, race and sexuality, religion as well as physical ability are entirely significant domains through which oppression and risky anti-hegemonic actions emanate (Kincheloe 2005). From the socio-cultural understanding of language, critical literacy education basically involves teaching learners to develop a clear view of the relationship between language and power in a particular educational context. It is important to note that different understanding of critical literacy work with different perceptions of the relationship by presenting access, design, diversity or domination of a language as the main theme of discussion. However, it has been noted that such different orientations are crucially interdependent in understanding critical literacy education (Janks 2010). Similarly, Simon (1992) argues in support that critical literacy involves examining ways through which meaning systems have been implicated to show domination. Therefore, critical literacy provides access to dominant languages, literal works and genres while at the same presenting diversity as a significant aspect for redesigning the social futures as well as shifting the horizon of possibilities. Critical language awareness significantly emphasizes that different texts are constructed. This implies that all texts that have been constructed, they can as well be de-constructed. Therefore, this critical process of unmaking text increases the reader’s awareness of the different choices that a writer or speaker has decided to use. It means that every choice made by the writer or speaker reveals what was selected while hides or backgrounds what he or she did not select. In this case, awareness of such important aspects of language use helps the reader to develop critical questions such as, why the writer or speaker decided to make the choices? Who are the audiences or interests such choices serve? Who is empowered or discouraged by that particular language used? (Janks 1993, p.3). Generally, traditional systems of education position the teacher in the classroom as the person with the power to possess and transmit knowledge to students who simply sit to learn or acquire information (Freire 1970). It has been observed that reading the world often comes first before reading the word, and thus reading the word means continually understanding the world. Alternatively, it can be noted that reading the word is not only preceded by understanding the world, but also involves applying a certain form of writing to it or basically re-writing it. Therefore, reading the word means transforming it into ways of conscious and practical work. This dynamic movement has been considered crucial to the literacy process (Freire & Macedo 1987, p.35). Ryuko Kubota (2004) engages her discussion to the global issues of cultural and linguistic disempowerment that can help to rethink the idea of multiculturalism. Basing her experience in North American setting, Kubota argues that although professional teachers in the area of language learning show interest understanding cultural and linguistic diversities that exist among their students. It is important that they should recognize the rate at which power is used to reinforce issues of inequalities not only at classroom levels but also in communities. Therefore, critical multiculturalism should broadly address issues of class, gender and race as Kubota maintains that it is “intellectually allied” with critical pedagogy which raises the student or learner’s consciousness about issues of unjust social practices. This helps them to develop into active agents or advocates for social change (Kubota 2004). Ways that critical pedagogical practices-critical language, literacy and pedagogy responses can be advantageous and disadvantageous to the learners based on questions of language and power Based on the relationship between critical pedagogy and the role played by teacher and student, Giroux (1997) argues that by providing appropriate conditions for the learners, teachers nurtures them to become cultural producers who can effectively rewrite their own experiences and views. Furthermore, teachers enable students to share their perceptions and learn from each other as well as theorize and plan how to interrogate the existing authoritarian power of their classrooms. Classroom experiences supported by teachers should be regarded as situations for encouraging students to act as active agents within their own educational environment. In so doing, teachers help students to develop some critical consciousness that enable them to understand and evaluate the authority, fairness and validity in their respective educational and living situations. It has been argued that “teaching that is not based on the experience of learning is not learned by anybody” (Freire 1973). In practice, becoming critically literate implies that the learners or students have developed the ability to read and appropriately critique messages within texts with the purpose of understanding whose knowledge was actually privileged. Therefore, teachers who focus on using critical pedagogy teach and encourage the learners to evaluate the critical function of language in the construction of the self (Coffey 2010). Fostering the development of critical pedagogical responses facilitates the evaluation and reform of social situations, and thus exposing students to issues of unfairness and the hidden meanings in texts. This suggests that for one to be recognized as critically literate, he or she must be competent enough to read in a more reflective manner. In this context, reading would mean getting sense out of the messages of all kinds rather than simply viewing and comprehending the meanings of words. It has been noted that instructions that promotes critical literacy development are implemented as a responses to the marginalization of the many American students who exist as not the really members of a culturally dominant group of the white community and the middle-class youths (Simpson 1996). Critical literacy looks at the potential of a written language in being used as a tool for the scholars to analyze how power is exercised and resources divided in their social settings to help them transform the discriminatory structures (Blackledge 2000). In general, classroom literacy practices that encourage students to read supplementary texts, multiple texts and from a resistant perspective as well as produce counter-texts makes students to recognize that text is given meaning rather than to containing meaning. Thus, such practices help students to understand that reading and writing are basically interpretive events (Behrman 2006, p, 497). However, classroom literacy practices that encourage students to undertake student-choice research projects and take social actions potentially represent the role of reading and writing as means of existing in the world (Gee 2003). This implies that reading and writing should not be seen as mere communicative acts, but rather as behaviors, customs and habits through which social relations can be shaped. Taking social action or engaging in social action projects that can improve their lives or other people’s lives is one way through which the learners can apply their literacy skills in order to challenge the power structures. This significantly shows that critical literacy instruction works beyond the normal fostering of personalized re-conceptualizations or evaluation of language, power and texts. It is relevant to point out that while the student-choice research responses help the students to understand important real-life issues within the school setting, social action shift the students’ real-life concerns outside their classroom walls (Behrman 2003). Reading supplementary texts, for instance, about the changing media and technology gives the learners opportunity to make connections with existing literature or content under investigation. As a result, students will be able to confront social issues that are adequately investigated through canonical works. Thus, students can this as an opportunity to critique different themes or issues that are also represented in traditional texts as well as other mediums. Other than allowing them to read traditional texts, students can be encouraged to read multiple texts such as reviewing appropriate online resources, advertisements, songs and televisions programs that discusses similar literary themes so as to critique the voices and values advocated for (Morrell 2009). Morgan and Ramanathan (2005) examine that although a person may argue that such concerns are not useful for professionals in applied linguistics and language education because they are not very important in actual reading and writing, practitioners involved in critical literacy would emphasize that multiple texts, modalities and technologies are highly needed at literacy settings. This is because the responsibility held upon educators partially involves developing a public that is can ably negotiate as well as critically engage with various texts, modalities and technologies that learners come across. It is worth mentioning that today, both the learners and educators collectively occupy such globalized and interconnected spaces that increasingly call for critical engagement by all people across the world (p.152). However, the limitations of critical literacy are that even though it provides significant insights and call to action in learning and teaching, translating the pedagogical practices can be difficult particularly in negotiating for a number of reasons. For example, the structural, bureaucratic and policy constraints as these pedagogies do not support generic definition because they are only used in specific circumstances and cultural knowledge in transformative curriculum is based on. Thus, this can work against the teacher trainings that are often not directed towards preparing the educators to focus on critical pedagogical realms (Baglieri & Knof 2004). Engaging in critical literacy, critical pedagogical, language awareness and critical multiculturalism activities creates very complex and difficult issues that raise questions or concerns within institutions or communities of learning. For example, when teachers and students engage in the activities of critical literacy and pedagogy, they will often develop complicated questions regarding issues of language and power in particular, about people and lifestyles, issues of morality and ethics, who is benefited or marginalized by the manner in which social policies are implemented (Comber & Simpson 2001, p.271). An overview of how the instances show issues of language and power In regard to the relationship between critical pedagogy and the role played by teacher and student, it can be noted that providing appropriate conditions for the learners, teachers nurtures them to become cultural producers who can effectively rewrite their own experiences and views. Furthermore, teachers enable students to share their perceptions and learn from each other as well as theorize and plan how to interrogate the existing authoritarian power of their classrooms. Classroom experiences supported by teachers should be regarded as situations for encouraging students to act as active agents within their own educational environment. In so doing, teachers help students to develop some critical consciousness that enable them to understand and evaluate the authority, fairness and validity in their respective educational and living situations. Therefore, reading multiple texts is a significant practice because it challenges the argument that meaning is fixed, and thus encourages students to rely on evidence so as to appropriately support their interpretation of a language. Educators who encourage their students to develop critical literacy expects them to appropriately question societal issues and institutions such as family, equity and equality, poverty and education with the objective to critique the structures that are used as norms. Taking social action or engaging in social action projects that can improve their lives or other people’s lives is one way through which the learners can apply their literacy skills in order to challenge the power structures. By becoming critically literate implies that the learners or students have developed the ability to read and appropriately critique messages within texts with the purpose of understanding whose knowledge was actually privileged. Therefore, teachers who focus on using critical pedagogy teach and encourage the learners to evaluate the critical function of language in the construction of the self. Fostering the development of critical pedagogical responses facilitates the evaluation and reform of social situations, and thus exposing students to issues of unfairness and the hidden meanings in texts. Critical literacy supports the idea that education can promote social justice by enabling students to understand the power of language in changing social relations. Therefore, learners can develop critical literacy skills that help them to examine or question the power relations that they find inherent in language use. This would enable students or learners to understand that language is not neutral so that they can skillfully confront their own perceptions on the creation and reception of a language. For theorists who base their concept of critical literacy on Freire-a Brazilian educator who discovered that education and knowledge can be considered to have power only if they enable the learners to liberate or free themselves from their oppressive social situations. In such a case, critical literacy is considered as a means in which the learners find the opportunity to decipher the various issues that dominate society, empower themselves as well as take social action. Conclusion Based on the ideas and pedagogical approaches undertaken by those who use it, critical literacy can be understood in different ways based on its actual practice. Critical multiculturalism is crucial in addressing issues of class, gender and race because it is intellectually allied with critical pedagogy which raises the student or learner’s consciousness about issues of unjust social practices. Classroom literacy practices that encourage students to read supplementary texts, multiple texts as well as from a resistant perspective and generate counter-texts, helps students to recognize that text is given meaning but not containing meaning. A person can be recognized as critically literate only if he or she is competent enough to read in a more reflective manner because reading in this case means getting sense out of the messages. Critical pedagogies are fundamental to engaging with experiences of marginalized learners. Therefore, there is power in acquiring the knowledge of a language. Bibliography Baglieri, S & Knopf, J.H., 2004, “Normalizing difference in inclusive teaching”, Journal of Learning Disabilities, Vol.37, No.5, p.525-529. Behrman, E., 2006, "Teaching about language, power, and text: A review of classroom practices that support critical literacy," Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, Vol.49, No.6, pp.490-98. Blackledge, A., 2000, Literacy, power and social justice, Trentham Books, p. 18, Staffordshire, England. Comber, B & Simpson, A., (Eds.), 2001, Negotiating critical literacy in classrooms, Lawrence Erlbaum, Mahwah. Coffey, 2010, Heather, Critical literacy, retrieved November 13, 2013 from, Freire, P & Donaldo, M., 1987, Literacy: Reading the Word and the World. South Hadley, MA: Bergin & Garvey, pp.50-51. Freire, P., 1970, ‘Pedagogy of the Oppressed. New York: Continuum’, In P. Freire & D. Macedo (Eds.), Literacy: Reading the word and the world, pp. 1-29. Freire, P., 1973, Education for Critical Consciousness, Seabury Press, New York. Gee, J., 2003, ‘The new literacy studies: Socio-cultural approaches to language and literacy’, In: Social linguistics and literacy: Ideology in discourses. Chapter 3, pp. 22-45. NY: Routledge Falmer. Giroux, H., 1997, Pedagogy and the Politics of Hope: Theory, Culture and Schooling, a Critical Reader, Westview Press, Boulder. Gor, H., 2005, Critical Pedagogy, Pedagogy for Human Rights Education, Kibbutzim college of Education. Hawkins, M., & Norton, B., 2009, ‘Critical language teacher education’, In A. Burns & J.Richards (Eds.), Cambridge guide to second language teacher education. (pp.30-39), Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. Janks, H. (Ed.), 1993, Critical Language Awareness Series, Hodder and Stoughton and Wits University Press, Johannesburg. Kincheloe. J., 2005, Critical Pedagogy Primer, Peter Lang Publishing. Kubota, R., 2004, “The politics of cultural difference in second language education”, Critical inquiry in Language Studies, Vol.1, No.1, pp.21-39. Morrell, E., 2009, “Critical research and the future of literacy education”, Journal of adolescent and adult literacy, Vol.53, No.2, pp.96-104. Lohrey, A., 1998, Critical literacy: A professional development resource, Language Australia, Melbourne, Australia. Morgan, B & Ramanathan, V., 2005, “Critical literacy and language education: Global and local perspectives”, Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 25, 151-169. Norton, B & Toohey, K. (eds). 2004, Critical Pedagogies and Language Learning. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 311-326. Peyton, J.K & Crandall, J.A., 1995, Philosophies and approaches in adult ESL instruction. ERIC Digest, National Center for ESL Literacy Education, Washington, DC. Simpson, A., 1996, "Critical questions: Whose questions?" The reading teacher [Online], Vol.50, No.2, pp.118-127. Simon, R., 1992, “Empowerment as pedagogy of possibility”, Language Arts, Vol.64, No.4, pp.370-382. Read More

This would enable students or learners to understand that language cannot be neutral so that they can skillfully confront their own perceptions on the creation and reception of a language. The general perception of the concept of ‘critical’ and its relationship to power Critical literacy is perceived as the ability of a person to read texts in an active and reflective manner so as to effectively understand issues of power, inequality and injustices to assess human relationships. In this context, therefore, text is considered as a vehicle through which people communicate with each other based on the codes and conventions of their societies.

This means that individuals who develop critical literacy skills are able to interpret different messages conveyed in the modern world from the perspective of critical lens. Thus, they can challenge the power relations associated with such messages (Coffey 2010). It should be noted that teachers who encourage their students to develop critical literacy expects them to appropriately question societal issues and institutions such as family, equity and equality, poverty and education with the objective to critique the structures that are used as norms.

As a result, it becomes easy to understand how the norms are not equally experienced among members of society (Coffey 2010). Based on its broadest sense, the concept of critical literacy means the efforts that go beyond the literal understanding of a text by at least applying the questions of who, why, what and how it was created and interpreted. Taking into consideration the ideas and pedagogical approaches undertaken by those who use it, critical literacy can be understood in different ways based on its actual practice.

A good example could be that individuals, who are aware that language use is never considered neutral, perceive critical literacy as a means through which the relationships between language and power are examined (Lohrey 1998). People who perceive that language and text are purposely used to persuade, justify or entertain, for them critical literacy means understanding the objective of the writer or speaker and using the language for personal gains. However, for theorists who base their concept of critical literacy on Freire-a Brazilian educator who discovered that education and knowledge can be considered to have power only if they enable the learners to liberate or free themselves from their oppressive social situations.

In such a case, critical literacy is considered as a means in which the learners find the opportunity to decipher the various issues that dominate society, empower themselves as well as take social action (Peyton & Crandall 1995). Understanding of critical pedagogy, language awareness, critical literacy and critical multiculturalism through issues of language and power Critical pedagogy is perceived as an approach to the teaching and learning of a language which focuses on transforming the relations of power in particular, oppressive power which leads to the oppression of other people.

Therefore, this educational approach is intended to humanize and empower the learners (Kincheloe 2005). Critical theory emphasizes on the principles of a just society in which individuals have cultural, economic and political control over their own lives. Therefore, supporters of critical theory strongly believe that such goals can be achieved only through liberating oppressed people so as to empower them to transform their life situations. This is the beginning of critical pedagogy because its major concern is to criticize the administration of schools within the capitalist societies.

It can be argued that critical pedagogy are aimed at raising awareness and controlling issues of violation and discrimination against other people specifically in educational settings (Gor 2005). It can be argued that critical pedagogies are crucial to engaging with experiences of marginalized learners. Supporters of critical pedagogy believe that when teachers teach, often they are expected to make complex decisions regarding justice and democracy as well as competing ethical issues.

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