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EAP for Social Justice

@eap4sj.bsky.social

230 followers 680 following 41 posts

A special interest group focused on Social Justice within the British Association of Lecturers in English for Academic Purposes (BALEAP) ✊ #eap4sj 🌐 Our website: eap4sj.weebly.com ✉️ Our mailing list: https://shorturl.at/rvGHL

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EAP for Social Justice @eap4sj.bsky.social · Apr 14

📰 EAP for Social Justice quarterly newsletter for Jan-Mar 2025 is now out.

⚖️ Catch up on the wonderful events our team have made happen so far this year!

@wilhardman.bsky.social @alekspalanac.bsky.social @paulbreenauthor.bsky.social
#EAP4SJ #SocialJustice #EAP

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RefugEAP @refugeap.bsky.social · Jun 9

Pleased to share our first RefugEAP Programme impact report, detailing the impact that this free online trauma-informed academic English and skills programme for refugee-backround students across the UK has had over the past three years. Download here:

le.ac.uk/-/media/uol/...

@eap4sj.bsky.social

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EAP for Social Justice @eap4sj.bsky.social · May 29

"The Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, or I.C.E., has aggressively moved to detain some students whose visas or residency status have been canceled by Mr. Rubio."

tinyurl.com/2pbpm3w9

U.S. Will ‘Aggressively’ Revoke Visas of Many Chinese Students, Rubio Says

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the students who will have their visas canceled include people with ties to the Chinese Communist Party and those studying in “critical fields.”

tinyurl.com

EAP for Social Justice @eap4sj.bsky.social · May 28

@ucu.org.uk @teflunion.bsky.social

EAP for Social Justice @eap4sj.bsky.social · May 28

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Vijay Ramjattan @vijayramjattan.bsky.social · May 26

If you want a sneak preview of my book, Workable Accents, please click this link to read a decent chunk of the introductory chapter:

shorturl.at/MfGLQ

Please remember to ask your university or local library to order a copy and share this post widely! Thanks in advance!

Screenshot of book cover

Title: Workable Accents: How International Teaching Assistants Vocally Fashion and Contest Academic Labor

Author: Vijay A. Ramjattan

Image: A multi-coloured and patterned speech bubble being assembled by four hands of different skin tone; "Bloomsbury" is written beneath the bubble

Screenshot of one section of the book entitled, "Why Examine Workable Accents?"

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Deniz Ortactepe Hart @denizoh.bsky.social · May 26

Join us for our pre-symposium event on the 27th of May! @elinet-lsj.bsky.social

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Nelson Flores @nelsonlflores.bsky.social · May 24

Steven Pinker spent the last several years framing those of us who disagreed with views as a “woke mob” attacking his free speech, which laid the foundation for the fascist takeover of higher education he now laments.

Corey Atad @coreyatad.com · May 23

“I'll start with myself. During my decades at the university I've been an extraordinary bigot.”

I'll start with myself. During my decades at the university I've taught many controversial ideas, including the reality of sex differences, the heritability of intelligence and the evolutionary roots of violence (while inviting my students to disagree, as long as they provide reasons). I claim no courage: The result has been zero protests, several university honors and warm relations with every chair, dean and president.

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EAP for Social Justice @eap4sj.bsky.social · May 24

"Even as other symbols of the United States — Hollywood, for example, or iPhones — lost their cachet for many Chinese, American universities remained a source of aspiration, even veneration [...] Schools like Harvard were an exception."

www.nytimes.com/2025/05/23/w...

@harvard.edu

In Attacks on Harvard, Chinese See Yet Another Reason to Write Off the U.S.

www.nytimes.com

EAP for Social Justice @eap4sj.bsky.social · May 23

📢 Are you a UCU member or representative working in English for Academic Purposes?🎓

✉️ Join the UCU working group by emailing Angela Hulme: [email protected]

@ucu.org.uk @teflunion.bsky.social
#UCU #EAP #HigherEd

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Reposted by EAP for Social Justice

eraldo.bsky.social @eraldo.bsky.social · May 20

For lovers of podcasts and social justice:

My colleague @severyandyakonov.bsky.social has interviewed Canadian doctor Yipeng Ge, who went to Gaza on a humanitarian mission and was suspended from his university.

Public history at its best.

Please share!

creators.spotify.com/pod/profile/...

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EAP for Social Justice @eap4sj.bsky.social · May 19

👥 Seats still available for this public seminar on futures of linguistic justice 🗣️

@iancushing.bsky.social @goldsmithsuol.bsky.social

Ian Cushing @iancushing.bsky.social · Apr 10

am giving a talk at Goldsmith's on the 21 May on collaborating with teachers to design futures of linguistic justice in schools, it'll be fun and it's free 💜

www.gold.ac.uk/calendar/?id...

a picture of ian and the text 'Designing futures of linguistic justice'

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Brian Merchant @bcmerchant.bsky.social · May 2

This week, I spoke with one of the Duolingo contractors impacted by its 'new' AI strategy, and they clarified that

1) it's not new. Duolingo has *already* fired an estimated 100 writers and translators.

2) they worked for months training an AI system that still makes egregious mistakes.

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EAP for Social Justice @eap4sj.bsky.social · May 14

36% of lecturers describe themselves as frequent users of generative AI tools. Is this the beginning of the botification and self-alienation of academics?

Initial reflections on today's article by @kashhill.bsky.social from @biblioracle.bsky.social

John Warner @biblioracle.bsky.social · May 14

I've started explicitly addressing some of what's described in this article as I go on my merry way, institution to institution insisting that we can and must continue to teach writing. There's two main risks. Both are real. 🧵
www.nytimes.com/2025/05/14/t...

The Professors Are Using ChatGPT, and Some Students Aren’t Happy About It

www.nytimes.com

EAP for Social Justice @eap4sj.bsky.social · May 14

"Universities are bureaucratic messes sometimes and struggle to provide equitable access. But they were our messes—governed by scholars, accountable to professional standards, not political agendas. It was what made the university worth defending."
@nelsonlflores.bsky.social
www.bit.ly/4kg9yU3

This Is How a Democracy Dies—One University at a Time

During the presidential campaign, Donald Trump didn’t exactly hide what he was planning. He said he’d take control of higher education—and in the 100+ days since his second inauguration, he’s been …

www.bit.ly

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EAP for Social Justice @eap4sj.bsky.social · May 13

“Top five AI uses for students were writing-centered:
–starting papers and projects (49%);
–summarizing long texts (48%);
–brainstorming creative projects (45%);
–exploring new topics (44%);
–and revising writing (44%)”

UMassLinguistics @umasslinguistics.bsky.social · May 13

🧐 AI isn’t replacing student writing – but it is reshaping it theconversation.com/...

AI isn’t replacing student writing – but it is reshaping it

If AI allows students to automate routine cognitive tasks, it doesn’t mean they’re thinking less. It means their thinking is changing.

theconversation.com

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EAP for Social Justice @eap4sj.bsky.social · May 13

🤖 "AI models produce a monolithic version of English that erases variation, excludes minoritised and regional voices, and reinforces unequal power dynamics[...] The AI ecosystem is multilingual in theory, but monolingual in practice." 🇺🇸

theconversation.com/ai-systems-a...

@celesterl.bsky.social

AI systems are built on English – but not the kind most of the world speaks

AI models too often produce a monolithic version of English that erases variation.

theconversation.com

EAP for Social Justice @eap4sj.bsky.social · May 11

"Foreign students who have studied for degrees in the UK will face tighter rules over their right to remain after finishing university."

"Dependants will be expected to pass the more advanced English A2 test."

www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...

English test among range of Labour measures to control immigration

Keir Starmer says system ‘will be tightened up’ in all areas, following sharp rise in support for Reform UK in elections

www.theguardian.com

EAP for Social Justice @eap4sj.bsky.social · May 9

✂️ Concerned about the cuts, redundancies and 'restructuring' facing our sector? You're not alone! Colleagues at BALEAP are collating resources on this Padlet 📚

padlet.com/alhulme1/ide...

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EAP for Social Justice @eap4sj.bsky.social · May 9

BALEAP has expressed dismay by recent news of increasing threats to centres and lecturers in English for Academic Purposes across the UK ✂️ See below for full statement and commitments from their executive commitee 📣

@teflunion.bsky.social

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EAP for Social Justice @eap4sj.bsky.social · May 9

Special issue on 'Education, Antiracism & Decoloniality' from ESC ✊ Multilingual and open-access with some very relevant reflexions for EAP practitioners 👇
www.up.pt/journals/ind...

@ces-uc.bsky.social l @sumingkhoo.bsky.social

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Citizen.Coping @propcazhpm.bsky.social · Sep 24

In between bites of al pastor tacos and sips of a margarita, Duolingo billionaire Luis von Ahn talks about how AI will make some jobs disappear.

“It’s a tough situation that'll affect the poor, the less educated. And not just in the U.S., but in poor countries.”

Free: archive.ph/2024.09.24-1...

Duolingo’s Billionaire Founder Is All In On AI

Duolingo’s Guatemalan Immigrant Founder Luis von Ahn Is Now A Billionaire

www.forbes.com

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Language on the Move @languageonthemove.bsky.social · Apr 27

New on the Language on the Move @newbooksnetwork.bsky.social: why its important to find better ways to work with atypical language users and to train interpreters to work with atypical language users

www.languageonthemove.com/the-case-for...

The case for ASL Instruction for Hearing Heritage Signers

In this episode of the Language on the Move Podcast, Emily Pacheco speaks with Associate Professor Su Kyong Isakson (Community College of Baltimore County, USA) about her 2018 paper, The Case for H…

www.languageonthemove.com

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Postdigital Science and Education @pdse.bsky.social · Apr 28

More amazing work on postdigital classrooms! link.springer.com/article/10.1...

Alternative Futures in the Postdigital Classrooms of the Global South - Postdigital Science and Education

When planning a learning event, teachers will carefully craft learning tasks, while choosing specific social arrangements and selecting material and digital tools for their students. Each learning eve...

link.springer.com

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Research with International Students (RIS) @risnetwork.bsky.social · Apr 28

Join our upcoming event: "Language as power: The role of linguistic gatekeeping in research with international students" led by Akanksha Dochania (University of Delhi)

23 May 2025
13:00 – 14:00 IST / 8:30 – 9:30 am GMT
Online via Zoom

Register at: zoom.us/meeting/regi...

This webinar critically examines the impact of English-language dominance in global academia on Indian international students, focusing on the intersecting challenges of caste, race, and geographic marginalization from rural areas or Tier 3-4 cities. As English remains the dominant medium of scholarly communication, Indian students from these backgrounds face amplified barriers in publishing and collaboration due to linguistic gatekeeping. These challenges, rooted in systemic inequities, marginalize voices already sidelined by caste hierarchies, racialized perceptions abroad, and limited access to quality education in rural or smaller urban centers. Through an intersectional lens, this webinar explores how these dynamics shape their academic experiences, highlighting their unique struggles and innovative strategies to resist exclusion. By fostering dialogue among researchers, educators, and students, the session aims to propose equitable solutions tailored to the Indian context, contributing to a more inclusive global academic landscape.

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