Spirituality, Social Justice and Language Learning

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.

David I. Smith started his career teaching French, German and Russian in secondary schools in England before moving into higher education. He currently serves both as Director of Graduate Studies in Education and as Director of the Kuyers Institute for Christian Teaching and Learning at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He has published extensively in the field of Christian educational theory and travels widely to speak at educational conferences and work with groups of teachers in both higher and K-12 education. He is editor of the International Journal of Christianity and Education, and has been involved with a variety of curriculum projects.