CU Linguistics Teaching Associate Professor and TESOL Director Dr. Rai Farrelly gave a keynote address at the听, at Soka University in Tokyo in early May 2024.
Dr. Farrelly's address, titled "Transgressive Teaching to Promote Equity in TESOL," is described in her abstract as follows:听
"Renowned author and educator bell hooks proclaimed that 鈥淚 celebrate teaching that enables transgressions 鈥� a movement against and beyond boundaries. It is that movement which makes education the practice of freedom鈥� (1994, p. 12). This talk will explore the idea of transgressive and transformational teaching enacted by brave teachers taking bold directions. On a daily basis, English language teachers make choices related to curriculum design, lesson delivery, classroom management, assessment, and so on. Teachers who are willing to transgress embrace the opportunity to challenge learners to think critically, question assumptions, identify inequities and act with confidence as global citizens committed to making the world better. By choosing to be both vulnerable and brave, to take risks and push limits, we can model for learners what it means to advance diversity, equity, inclusion, and access. This talk will consider educational frameworks that support instructors in making choices that value learners鈥� complex lives and the global issues that concern them. It will explore the power and potential of teacher decision-making as both a transformative act and a commitment to do more and do better when it comes to promoting equity in our classes and the TESOL field."
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