I talk about language equity a lot in my work. Like, really a LOT.

And people often nod like they know what I’m talking about and agree with everything I’m saying, and then ask “but what IS it?” So I’m going to try to define it and explain how it fits into the realm of Language Science.

DEI is a big buzzword in education right now – as it should be! – and most people love it and a few people think it’s nonsense. Either way, they generally know what it is. But LANGUAGE equity???

What Language Equity Is NOT

John Baugh illustrates language INequity much better than I could ever explain it in his TEDx talk on linguistic profiling. Please watch it before you read further. I promise it will be a worthy use of the next 18 and a half minutes.

Now that you have some examples of language inequity for context, I’m going to define language equity, as I view it as a linguist and educator.

First, What is Educational Equity?

The National Equity Project says “Educational equity means that each child receives what they need to develop to their full academic and social potential.” In other words, in order to achieve equity – for every child to have an equal chance to succeed – every child needs to have an equal opportunity to get their academic needs met.

Now, there are certainly social, nutritional and healthcare needs that are beyond the purview of our education systems. These do impact learning, and it’s not fair to hold schools and teachers accountable for these disparities, even though people often do. What schools and teachers CAN influence is how we welcome students into our classrooms and meet them where they are by building relationships and choosing curriculum that supports an equal chance at success for children with diverse needs.

What is Language Equity?

On a societal level, language equity means including speakers from all language backgrounds equally in the civic, social and economic life of our communities, and removing language background, accent and home dialect as reasons to exclude people from access to resources and opportunities.

In the context of education, language equity has three additional elements – 1) that learners from diverse language backgrounds are all assumed to be successful learners and fluent speakers of their home dialects, with equal potential to master academic English if given the appropriate resources, 2) that all learners are provided with the opportunities and resources they need to learn the academic code of power – standardized academic English – fluently, and 3) that learners from all language backgrounds see their home languages and dialects represented and respected in the classroom.

Unfortunately, there are ideologies and entrenched practices in our education systems that work against language equity. As educators and language scientists, we can help promote language equity by examining how we think about and use language to foster relationships with our students and our community. Check out the rest of the posts in this series for ideas.

Next: Language Equity, Part 2: Celebrating Language Diversity as an Asset >>