Chapter 6: Grenzenlos Deutsch: Increasing Social Justice Through Open Educational Resources and Practices

In work on innovations in language pedagogies, Levine and Phipps (2012), Macedo (2019), Kramsch (2019), Criser and Malakaj (2020), Abel et al. (2020) and Swanson and Levine (2020) address power dynamics in the teaching and learning of languages that, informed by theoretical work on social justice, decolonizing curricula, and postcolonialism, are positioned to promote social justice in language programs and departments, recognizing that intercultural knowledge and competence and proficiencies in languages are not merely or primarily monetizable commodities on the job market, but can be significant contributors to positive social change. To promote this change, contexts for teaching and learning need to be improved. Mindful of inequalities in how basic human needs are met for learners in our education system, especially of the ways poverty and racism deplete the mental capacities of marginalized and racialized groups, sociologist Verschelden (2017) employs the technology metaphor of bandwidth to reference the limited amount of our mental capacity. She illustrates how, if large portions of bandwidth are taken up by concerns about basic human needs, such as shelter, food, and transportation, fewer mental resources are available for academic engagements. Integrating the wealth of research in sociology and psychology on how the bandwidth of BIPoC (Black, Indigenous, Persons of Color) and other marginalized groups is diminished by inequalities, Verschelden alerts us to the severe losses our society suffers as a consequence and offers a range of interventions. Among educational inequalities, Anya and Randolph (2019) address the urgency of diversifying language educators and learners emphasizing the importance of addressing race and including critical pedagogies.