AAAL 2025: Invited Colloquium

(En)countering linguistic discrimination in higher education

Convener:

Colloquium Abstract

The growing diversification of student and faculty profiles in English language dominant higher education (HE) has led to an increasing focus in HE policies on equity, diversity, and inclusion issues, especially in relation to race, ethnicity, gender, and sexuality. And yet, despite being widespread, linguistic discrimination is often overlooked as a key HE equity issue (Clements & Petray, 2021; May & Caldas, 2023; Wolfram et al., 2023). Monoglossic English language institutional teaching, assessment, research and publication processes are the norm, privileging first language English speakers and often disadvantaging those faculty and students who are bi/multilingual (Dovchin, 2020; Dobinson & Mercieca, 2020; Kubota et al., 2023). The majority of research on linguistic discrimination in HE to date has focused on US English dialectal variation and the role of accent prejudice (e.g., Baugh, 2018; Dunstan, 2013; Smitherman, 2022; Wolfram & Dunstan, 2021). Little scholarly attention has been paid as yet to the linguistic discrimination experienced by bi/multilingual faculty and students in English-language dominant HE contexts internationally.

Given this, this colloquium explores examples of linguistic discrimination experienced in everyday interactions at five English language-dominant universities internationally, with a particular though not exclusive focus on bi/multilingual faculty and students. The colloquium draws on five major current empirical studies at five different universities in the US, Canada, and New Zealand.

The colloquium adopts an interdisciplinary focus that foregrounds the links between linguistic (super)diversity, ethnicity, racism, and bi/multilingualism, drawing on related theoretical frameworks of linguistic racism, critical race theory, language ideologies, and raciolinguistics. The aim of the colloquium is to promote an empirical understanding of the language resources and discrimination issues in these various HE contexts – including their commonalities and differences – through comparative analysis, while also advancing the theoretical parameters of the field.

Whose language counts: Student perceptions of linguistic diversity in higher education

John Hellermann, Portland State University

Abstract: Monolingual ideologies and implicit language bias are infrequently acknowledged as part of structural barriers in higher education, despite recent moves toward translanguaging perspectives (Mazak & Carroll, 2017) and research reporting bias against non-standard varieties and minoritized and Indigenous languages (King, 2020; May, 2023). While U.S. universities prominently display messaging about diversity, equity, and inclusion, recognizing categories of race, ethnicity, gender, and sexual orientation, explicit appreciation and protection of multilingualism, dialectal variation, and linguistic diversity is often missing.

Numerous studies discuss the hegemony of English in university settings as monolingual English spaces (Zhang-Wu, 2022), including English’s continuing dominance in scholarly publications (Absher & Desilets, 2024). Unexpressed expectations for competence in English academic discourse using the so-called standard variety (Bourdieu, 1991) can result in discrimination and marginalization of students and those who do not conform to linguistic expectations (Rosa & Flores, 2023). The omission of official statements regarding linguistic diversity is particularly concerning in higher education, given the importance of language for learning (Sfard, 2008). 

Inspired by Wolfram and Dunstan (2021), we initiated a multidisciplinary investigation to understand and address language diversity/bias at an urban U.S. university. Data include a campus-wide survey (n=2229), follow-up interviews (n=50), and panel discussions with faculty, staff, and students. Survey results show over 60% of student respondents use multiple languages, encouraging us to explore in interview and panel discussions how students report their experiences as multilingual and multidialectal speakers. Preliminary results indicate that students recognize the power of Standard English, the specific expectations for language use by modality, and connections among language, identity and belonging.

This project illuminates the disconnect between sanctioned linguistic practices on campus and the reality that multiple languages/varieties of English are central to the identities of many students on campus. We conclude the presentation with implications for university policies and practices.

From linguistic discrimination to linguistic justice: Unveiling the voices of transnational plurilinguals in higher education

Angelica Galante, McGill University

Abstract: Canada has witnessed a significant surge in its international student population, with a notable 200% increase over the past 10 years (Canadian Bureau for International Education, 2023). Most of these students express a desire to settle permanently in the country (IRCC, 2021). Despite Canada's official bilingualism and multicultural policies, there is a gap in acknowledging the linguistic and cultural practices of transnational plurilingual individuals, particularly those who have attained high proficiency in English, French, or both official languages. 

Inspired by my experiences as an international graduate student from Brazil residing in Canada and speaker of English and French as additional languages, this study was conducted to investigate the experiences of transnational plurilinguals (N = 23, Mage = 37) across various regions in Canada. Following a mixed methods approach, data from demographic questionnaires, the Plurilingual and Pluricultural Competence scale (Galante, 2020), and ethnographic interviews were analyzed to explore participants' lived experiences with discrimination and strategies for empowerment through plurilingualism. 

Findings show that while participants demonstrated high levels of plurilingual and pluricultural competence, they often encountered instances of linguistic discrimination within educational settings, from subtle microaggressions to the imposition of allophone identities and prohibitions on the use of non-official languages. These experiences often resulted in lingering mental health issues such as depression and linguistic paranoia among participants. Nevertheless, participants shared various resilience strategies to combat discrimination and enhance their empowerment as plurilingual individuals: decolonizing mindsets, fostering strength within ethnocultural communities, reclaiming languages, and asserting language choice.

These findings underscore the need for higher education to embrace inclusive approaches towards plurilingual users, thereby countering deficit-oriented discourses surrounding language diversity. This study contributes valuable insights into enhancing the mental well-being and educational experiences of plurilingual individuals navigating Canadian higher education and society, advocating for the realization of linguistic justice in diverse linguistic contexts.

Untold stories: Multilingual experiences and language discrimination at a U.S. university

Joy Janzen, Stony Brook University

Abstract: This study focuses on a public institution in the U.S. with 26,000 students; almost two-thirds of the student population identify as non-White. Despite the ethnic diversity and the audible presence of multiple languages, the number of multilingual speakers is unknown, as are their experiences with their languages on campus. This opaqueness is consistent with entwined ideologies that privilege English in academic settings (Clements, 2021) and do not include language in discussions of campus diversity (Wolfram, 2023).  

In our current research project focused on multilingualism, to capture the broadest possible picture of multilingual speakers, two types of data are being collected: interviews and a language survey. Over 250 interviews have been recorded with multilinguals, mostly students; the language survey has received 1448 responses, all from students. The interviews and the survey address similar topics:  languages and language varieties spoken as well as participant experiences, but they focus on different types of self-report. The interview questions ask for connections between language and identity, gender, and physical presentation, while the survey asks for judgments of the participants’ language proficiencies, how others perceive their English, and the linguistic support they receive at the university.  

Preliminary analysis of the survey data and of a subset of the interviews shows an overlapping and nuanced picture. In the surveys, for example, 298 (20.5%) of the participants reported experiences of language-based discrimination on campus. In the interviews, students also report incidents of discrimination but focus more on language insecurity and loss. At the same time, they express pride in their multilingualism as a window to understanding and connection.   

This work functions as an important part of the process of advocating for language justice. The two forms of data enrich the analysis of each; listening to and reflecting on multilingual experiences impacts the perspectives of participants and researchers alike. 

Linguistic justice, collaborations, and systemic change in higher education

Cristina Sanchez-Martin, University of Washington

Abstract: The pursuit of linguistic justice extends beyond solely making visible and contesting overt linguistic discrimination to include more systemic efforts, for instance creating conditions in which plurilingualism, language dynamism, hybridity, and translingualism can flourish, participating in opening up spaces for local community language practices and epistemologies, and developing coalitions of advocates pursuing common linguistic justice goals.

The two presenters describe their efforts to support systemic change at their large, publicly funded university in the Pacific Northwest of the United States as they scaffold their work by building together a website that effectively gathers together a campus-wide linguistic justice community. Campus members included in the community have organized individual efforts to develop a wide variety of projects, including a storytelling digital humanities project in collaboration with local literacy nonprofits, an Indigenous language revitalization program that has reintroduced Southern Lushootseed to the curriculum of this and neighboring higher education institutions, a Linguistic Justice Walking Tour inspired by a similar project at the University of Hawaii (Higgins, 2023) and Portland State University’s LAMP project, a sociolinguistics lab project that works to uncover racial bias in speech recognition software, a large-scale survey of multilingual students, and the production of a series of videos and workshops describing the interconnectedness of linguistic features and race, class, ability, sexuality, geography, and other identity markers, among other projects.

Presenters will outline their community-building processes and describe the role of their digital activities in supporting the development of their ideals. They will then offer brief descriptions of each of the projects included on the Linguistic Justice website and how these projects are shaping research, teaching, and advocacy in the local and regional context, the university, and beyond. They will end by sharing what they learned for other scholars seeking to build similar collaborations. 
 

(En)countering linguistic discrimination: Addressing Indigenous language revitalization and linguistic superdiversity in higher education

Stephen May, University of Auckland

Abstract: Higher education (HE) equity policies have tended to focus on race, ethnicity, gender, and sexuality, neglecting linguistic discrimination. And yet, linguistic discrimination – including linguistic racism – is widespread in English language dominant HE (Clements & Petray, 2021; Wolfram et al., 2023). Linguistic racism constitutes “racist and racializing acts and/or projects that use linguistic resources as a means of discrimination and subordination” (Kroskrity, 2020, p. 68). More broadly, linguistic discrimination, including racialized discourses of language (use), is situated within sociohistorical and sociopolitical contexts, grounded in colonialism, that privilege dominant national and international languages, public monolingualism, and native-speaker competence in those languages (May, 2012, 2016; Rosa & Flores, 2017, 2020).

Research undertaken on linguistic discrimination in HE has primarily explored the role of accent prejudice and has been predominantly US focused (Baugh, 2018; Smitherman, 2022; Wolfram & Dunstan, 2021). In this presentation, we will draw on a broader theoretical framework, encompassing sociolinguistic superdiversity, linguistic racism, language ideologies, and raciolinguistics, to explore linguistic discrimination within racialized HE institutional and everyday discursive practices (May, 2023a,b). We will also internationalize linguistic discrimination research by reporting on our initial survey findings from a two-year mixed-methods research project of the linguistic discrimination experienced in everyday interactions, particularly by Indigenous and other bi/multilingual academic faculty and students, at a large ethnically and linguistically diverse university in New Zealand. 

In discussing our findings, we will focus on 1) participants’ (bi/multilingual) language backgrounds, exploring their language knowledge and use, 2) their experiences of linguistic discrimination, and 3) their attitudes toward the recognition and promotion of bi/multilingualism in HE, including the interconnections between Indigenous language revitalization (Māori in the New Zealand context) and increasing linguistic superdiversity. We end by discussing the wider implications for supporting Indigenous and other minoritized (bi/multilingual) language speakers in English language dominant HE contexts internationally.  

Associated plenary: Stephen May

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