Lecturer in Critical Applied Linguistics at MMU (p/t; fixed term). Deadline August 16. The role would suit people with interests and expertise in issues concerning critical language pedagogies, language and social justice, and educational linguistics. manmetjobs.mmu.ac.uk/jobs/vacancy...

Just came across this amazing documentary. Expect some more clips today!

Ouch. The curriculum review oracy focus made no reference to multilingual abilities if pupils. Only deficit in English. www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

An oracy framework for England’s schools: linguistic justice edition

It is September 2028. All schools in England have just started teaching the new national curriculum. As part of this, they are adhering to guidance contained within a new oracy framework, named as ...

tandfonline.com

Follow the Word Gap: The Social Life of a Deficit Concept - Cushing - 2025 - Reading Research Quarterly - Wiley Online Library ila.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

<em>Reading Research Quarterly</em> | ILA Literacy Journal | Wiley Online Library

This article uses a ‘follow the thing’ methodology to trace the trajectory of the so-called word gap from its original conception in 1990s US academic knowledge production through to a teacher educat...

ila.onlinelibrary.wiley.com

In an article for Reading Research Quarterly, Manchester Metropolitan University Reader in Critical Applied Linguistics Ian Cushing follows the “word gap” across time, policy, and classrooms—exposing how deficit ideologies stigmatize families and constrain teachers: buff.ly/cXdttbR

"In education systems such as England, which are characterized by an increasing level of state power and surveillance, it becomes urgently important to challenge word gap ideologies which exacerbate social inequality under seemingly benevolent guises of empowerment and social justice." --Ian Cushing

"Word gap ideologies operate on the myth that the language practices of white, able-bodied, middle-upper class communities are objectively higher quality than those of racialized, disabled and low-income communities. " --- Ian Cushing www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Word rich or word poor? Deficit discourses, raciolinguistic ideologies and the resurgence of the ‘word gap’ in England’s education policy

Educational linguists across England and the USA have long critiqued deficit-based language ideologies in schools, yet since the early 2010s, these have enjoyed a marked resurgence in England’s edu...

tandfonline.com

our framework offers an alternative to oracy initiatives which reproduce deficit thinking about language, treat oracy as a depoliticised entity, overlook multilingual abilities, reproduce ableist ideologies about communication, and frame oracy as a language-based solution to structural problems.

Ian Cushing@iancushing.bsky.social · last mo.

www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.... An oracy framework for England’s schools: linguistic justice edition Open access and out now in Educational Review

In the latest episode of the Language-on-the-Move podcast @newbooksnetwork.bsky.social, @brynnquick.bsky.social chats with @nelsonlflores.bsky.social about bilingual education in the US, and why it's not the path to reducing disadvantage it is cracked up to be languageonthemove.com/genealogy-of...

Genealogy of Bilingual Education in the US

In this episode of the Language on the Move Podcast, Brynn Quick sits down with Dr. Nelson Flores to discuss his 2024 book entitled Becoming the System: A Raciolinguistic Genealogy of Bilingual Edu…

languageonthemove.com

our linguistic justice oracy framework intervenes prior to the publication of the ‘official’ DfE framework. it offers a vision for an anti-racist and anti-ableist oracy which sustains the linguistic dexterity that all children bring to school with them. www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

An oracy framework for England’s schools: linguistic justice edition

It is September 2028. All schools in England have just started teaching the new national curriculum. As part of this, they are adhering to guidance contained within a new oracy framework, named as ...

tandfonline.com

Ian Cushing@iancushing.bsky.social · last mo.

www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.... An oracy framework for England’s schools: linguistic justice edition Open access and out now in Educational Review

Fascinating piece by @iancushing.bsky.social + Sabah Choudrey that challenges the deficit thinking informing lots of current work about oracy www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

An oracy framework for England’s schools: linguistic justice edition

It is September 2028. All schools in England have just started teaching the new national curriculum. As part of this, they are adhering to guidance contained within a new oracy framework, named as ...

tandfonline.com

There's much to think about & act on here for those designing the oracy framework.

Ian Cushing@iancushing.bsky.social · last mo.

www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.... An oracy framework for England’s schools: linguistic justice edition Open access and out now in Educational Review

www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.... An oracy framework for England’s schools: linguistic justice edition Open access and out now in Educational Review

Have a read! We include 2 case studies of linguistic justice efforts with teachers and students.

Ian Cushing@iancushing.bsky.social · 2mo ago

it was fun to collaborate with @clarefeeneyuk.bsky.social on this position paper on linguistic in/justice for the @englishassociation.bsky.social, where we point to the need to conceptualise linguistic in/justice in structural and intersectional ways 🌸 englishassociation.ac.uk/position-pap...

This! Have a read of our most recent Position Paper, ( they provide brief overviews of key issues in English Studies). This time the focus is on #linguisticjustice #injustice With huge thanks to our esteemed members : @iancushing.bsky.social and @clarefeeneyuk.bsky.social 💫

Ian Cushing@iancushing.bsky.social · 2mo ago

it was fun to collaborate with @clarefeeneyuk.bsky.social on this position paper on linguistic in/justice for the @englishassociation.bsky.social, where we point to the need to conceptualise linguistic in/justice in structural and intersectional ways 🌸 englishassociation.ac.uk/position-pap...

april baker-bell and davena jackson are in Manchester next week and we are delighted to host them at MMU for a seminar 'Resisting anti-Black linguistic racism and building linguistic justice'. in-person or online - details here! www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/resisting-...

Resisting anti-Black linguistic racism and building linguistic justice

Seminar: 'Resisting anti-Black linguistic racism and building futures of linguistic justice in schools', April Baker-Bell and Davena Jackson

eventbrite.co.uk

it was fun to collaborate with @clarefeeneyuk.bsky.social on this position paper on linguistic in/justice for the @englishassociation.bsky.social, where we point to the need to conceptualise linguistic in/justice in structural and intersectional ways 🌸 englishassociation.ac.uk/position-pap...

"These findings demonstrated that LLMs not only differ linguistically from human experts but also appear to compress and simplify the rhetorical space through which scientific uncertainty is conventionally expressed." www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Modeling scientific uncertainty in language: Applied linguistic insights from human and artificial intelligence texts

As generative AI systems increasingly function as substitutes for traditional information-seeking tools, concerns have emerged about how these systems…

sciencedirect.com

i am in beautiful Detroit for collaborations and writing with April Baker-Bell and teachers on global linguistic justice and it is 🌸

“Rowling has made it abundantly clear that she thinks attacking transgender people via the legal system is a worthwhile cause and a good use of her vast personal fortune…there’s no way to watch this show without supporting Rowling’s bigotry and the structural violence she’s inflicting…”

The Verge@theverge.com · 4mo ago

There is no ethical consumption of HBO’s Harry Potter series

So happy to say our book is now published! Working with the amazing editorial team has been a privilege, including @abihackett.bsky.social, @davidbenshannon.bsky.social, Vishnu Kkn, Christina MacRae, Rachel Holmes, @khawlabadwan.bsky.social, Rosie Flewitt and @wardasworld.bsky.social. Thanks all! 🌸

Many describe Trump as acting like a child. This assume children are inherently less developed than adults. But children often have a much more developed sense of empathy & justice than adults. Trump is not acting like a child. He is acting like an imperialist. US leaders have always acted this way.

📝 NEW BLOG POST One million suspensions: How English school policy is failing our most vulnerable children By Sade Ajose, Swansea University Read here: https://www.bera.ac.uk/blog/one-million-suspensions-how-english-school-policy-is-failing-our-most-vulnerable-children

Gorton and Denton by-election result: GRN: 40.7% (+27.5) REF: 28.7% (+14.7) LAB: 25.4% (-25.3) CON: 1.9% (-6.0) LDEM: 1.8% (-2.1) Green GAIN from Labour.

The Trust’s February Newsletter is out now! Read about the hidden value of bat guano, linguistic justice efforts in secondary schools, professional mobility at the time of the Crusades,1099–1291, and much more: leverhulme.ac.uk/newsletter

good morning, it’s day 4 of strikes at the University of Essex to save 400 jobs across all departments, the Southend campus and our Foundation programme — many members are worried about making ends meet. if you can, please donate to our strike fund: gofund.me/059af6be8

Donate to Stop the cuts at the University of Essex, organized by Billy Woods

The University of Essex senior management team have announced their plans to make… Billy Woods needs your support for Stop the cuts at the University of Essex

gofund.me

solidarity with Jairo and all colleagues who use their voice to challenge colonial logics and legacies in the very universities that we work and teach in. Jairo's case reminds us that job offers and tenure decisions are not objective assessments but political decisions.

Jairo I. Fúnez-Flores@insurgentthought.bsky.social · 6mo ago

I was denied tenure.

For most second language speakers, their foreign accent is a source of anxiety. Some turn to accent modification training. In the latest Language-on-the-Move post, Andrea Pešková provides a fascinating glimpse into the world of accent coaching. languageonthemove.com/how-i-worked...

How I worked as a foreign accent coach

Human voice – between sound and identity I have always been fascinated by the human voice. When you speak on the phone with a stranger, it can reveal so much about them. You can often tell whether …

languageonthemove.com

A court has ruled that the government's authoritarian ban on Palestine Action was unlawful. Time to stop criminalising the people protesting a genocide - and start ending the UK's complicity.

in this blog i outline the theory of change for linguistic justice in schools that i am working with and hoping to develop as part of my Leverhulme Trust @leverhulme.ac.uk project, beginning in the autumn 💜

National Association for the Teaching of English@natecommunity.bsky.social · 6mo ago

With a Philip Leverhulme Prize, @iancushing.bsky.social is leading a three-year project on linguistic justice in schools. The research aims to drive systemic change, challenge deficit views of language, and build more just educational futures. www.nate.org.uk/2026/02/11/d... #NATE