The paradox of our time and role of applied linguists in it

by Kyria Rebeca Finardi

December 6th, 9 a.m. – 10 a.m. CEST

Inspired by the words of a text entitled ‘The paradox of our time’ commonly attributed to George Carlin, this talk reflects on the role of science and technology in the advancement of society and promotion of a better life. More specifically, this talk invites applied linguists to reflect about issues of equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) focusing in particular on unequal relations of power manifested in language ideologies and practices in diverse educational and social contexts. Using a decolonial lens, the talk questions the hegemony of English in education, science and society as well as in academic knowledge production. It also highlights the increased focus on language diversity problematising notions of multilingualism in relation to linguistic rights and ecology of languages and knowledges produced in multiple languages.

The role of researchers, applied linguists and language educators in promoting a more critically informed, plural, and culturally rich environment for knowledge production and language teaching, learning and use towards a more peaceful existence is also discussed. The talk is also inspired by AILA ReN ‘English as a Medium of Education, Multilingualism and the SDGs: Equity, Diversity and Inclusion’ which draws on AILA’s endorsed principles of good practices and ethics inAL, the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and Open Science and the Iberoamerica Association of Applied Linguistics (AIALA) as the first ‘regional’ association of AILA which is linguistically rather than geographically bound aiming to highlight other languages (besides English) and epistemologies (such as decolonial perspectives) towards more social justice through the work of applied linguistics.