Toward language education as a practice of relational justice

Abstract

This Coda synthesizes the contributions to the AILA Review Special Issue on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Sustainability (DEIS) in Language Education by reframing language education as a practice of relational justice. Across diverse geopolitical contexts, the articles demonstrate that language education is an inherently political and ethical site where struggles over legitimacy, identity, and knowledge are negotiated. Three cross-cutting themes emerge: (a) the pursuit of social justice through the interrogation of structural asymmetries; (b) tensions between global universality and local situatedness in advancing DEIS agendas; and (c) the centrality of teacher agency, voice, and language ownership in enacting transformative pedagogies. The Coda highlights counter-practices such as translanguaging, Indigenous language revitalization, and pluricentric orientations that redistribute epistemic authority. It concludes by proposing a relational vision of language education that foregrounds interdependence, plurality, and shared responsibility in the pursuit of more just and sustainable futures.