Toward language education as a practice of relational justice

Anita Lie
Universitas Katolik Widya Mandala Surabaya

This Coda synthesizes the contributions to the AILA Review Special Issue on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Sustainability (DEIS) in Language Education by reframing language education as a practice of relational justice. Across diverse geopolitical contexts, the articles demonstrate that language education is an inherently political and ethical site where struggles over legitimacy, identity, and knowledge are negotiated. Three cross-cutting themes emerge: (a) the pursuit of social justice through the interrogation of structural asymmetries; (b) tensions between global universality and local situatedness in advancing DEIS agendas; and (c) the centrality of teacher agency, voice, and language ownership in enacting transformative pedagogies. The Coda highlights counter-practices such as translanguaging, Indigenous language revitalization, and pluricentric orientations that redistribute epistemic authority. It concludes by proposing a relational vision of language education that foregrounds interdependence, plurality, and shared responsibility in the pursuit of more just and sustainable futures.

Publication history

Date received: 22 February 2026

Date accepted: 25 February 2026

Published online: 19 October 2026

Table of contents

The articles assembled in this Special Issue compel a rethinking of language education not as a neutral pedagogical enterprise, but as a deeply political, ethical, and relational practice. Across diverse geopolitical contexts — Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Brazil, Australia, North America, Mexico, Serbia, and Colombia — language education emerges as a critical site where struggles over diversity, equity, inclusion, sustainability, and legitimacy are continuously negotiated. While the articles reveal a diversity of languages, learners, and institutional settings, they convey a shared recognition: language education is never merely about language (Córdova-Hernández et al., 2026; Díaz, 2026; Filipović & Jovanović, 2026; Li & Lin, 2026; Zein, 2026). It is about whose knowledge counts, whose voices are heard, whose identities are legitimized, and whose futures are supported (Freire, 2000). The eight articles in this Special Issue convey three major themes: Language Education for Social Justice, Universality versus Situatedness, and Agency and Voice in Language Education.

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