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Part of
Ethical Issues in Applied Linguistics Scholarship
Edited by Peter I. De Costa, Amr Rabie-Ahmed and Carlo Cinaglia
[Research Methods in Applied Linguistics 7] 2024
► pp. 266–284

Chapter 15
Challenges of justice and equity for ethical English as an additional language in school education

 | King’s College London
The ethical issues raised in this discussion are set against the backdrop of the English as an Additional Language (EAL) curriculum and teaching provision for school students from ethnolingusitic minority communities in England. At present over 19% of the school population is categorized as EAL users/learners. I will first provide a background description of the educational policy response to ethnolinguistic diversity in the past fifty years. The second part the discussion will focus on the educational consequences of the overwhelmingly monolingual English-language curriculum environment (except for foreign modern languages such as French). It will be shown that policy rhetoric and real-world consequences have not lined up coherently. After that I will examine the principles of equality and entitlement with reference to the works of Rawls, Taylor and others as they relate to the ‘mainstreaming’ approach to education provision in the context of ethnolinguistic diversity. I will conclude with some observations on the possible curricular and pedagogic provision that would begin to recognise minoritized EAL students’ language education needs. While the focus of this discussion is on EAL in England, it is hoped that some of the arguments for equity for all would resonate with the considerations for minoritized students on grounds of language, disabilities, gender and other issues in public education in other world locations.
Article outline
  • Introduction
  • English an additional language in school education in England
  • EAL — ethnolinguistic diversity and social justice
  • Reflections and looking ahead: EAL as an equitable
    and fair educational provision
    • Inclusive education ethos that recognizes difference
    • Pedagogic language models for linguistic diversity
    • Difference-oriented teacher professionalism
  • Concluding remarks
  • References
Published online: 21 November 2024
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/rmal.7.17leu
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