Building a Community of Practice around Critical Language Awareness Pedagogy

Speaker: Shawna Shapiro, Associate Professor of Writing and Linguistics

Description: In this talk, I will first provide a short overview of Critical Language Awareness (CLA), an approach to writing/literacy that explores intersections of language, identity, power, and privilege. I will then share how I have worked with DLINQ to develop an online resource hub (https://cla.middcreate.net/) for teachers and researchers who are interested in this approach. Finally, I will discuss my long-term vision for the hub, and for CLA as a means of bridging geographic, institutional, and disciplinary contexts in the teaching of writing.

Shawna Shapiro is an associate professor of writing and linguistics at Middlebury College. Her research focuses on the transition to higher education for immigrant and refugee students, and on innovative approaches to working with multilingual/L2 writers. Her work has appeared in many peer-reviewed journals, including TESOL Quarterly, Research in the Teaching of English, TESOL Journal, and Journal of Language, Identity & Education. Her first co-authored book was entitled Fostering International Student Success in Higher Education (2014). Her second book, a co-edited collection entitled Educating Refugee-background Students: Critical Issues and Dynamic Contexts, was published in 2018, and was a finalist for the 2020 AAAL book award. Shawna has also written for public audiences, including pieces with Inside Higher Ed and The Conversation, and contributes regularly to initiatives aimed at improving educational equity for English Learners in her local school district. Online resources available here. Sponsored by midd.data.

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