Language Tensions Podcast

Send us Fan Mail In this reflective episode of Season 1, Clara and Ian talk about what they have taken away from the first season of Language Tensions. They also discuss next steps for the future of the podcast and conversations about the messiness of language. Join us as we reflect about what we learned. What have you learned? What conversations about language (and its tensions) would you like to...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Bianca, Jack, Taylor, and Olivia, pre-service teacher students, interview Mrs. Rugolo, an ENL teacher in Freeport Schools, about her classroom practices, beliefs about language learning, and the realities of teaching multilingual learners. The conversation explores translanguaging, assessment limitations, instructional strategies, and the importance of understandi...

Send us Fan Mail This episode of Language Tensions explores disability, neurodiversity, and identity through an intersectional lens, connecting personal experiences with broader educational and societal systems. This podcast season was generously sponsored by the Spencer Foundation in partnership with the Adelphi Faculty Center of Professional Excellence.

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Dr. Constant Leung and Dr. Wayne Au critically examine standardized testing and assessment systems, focusing on their historical roots and ongoing role in reinforcing inequalities related to race, class, and language in England and the US. This podcast season was generously sponsored by the Spencer Foundation in partnership with the Adelphi Faculty Center of Profe...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Dr. Tasha Austin and Dr. JPB Gerald explore how raciolinguistic perspectives reveal links between language, race, and identity. It examines linguistic pushout, colonial power, and barriers shaped by race and class. The hosts question who counts as a “legitimate” speaker and urge educators to challenge deficit narratives, disrupt hierarchies, and center students’ l...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to Language Tensions - Where the messiness of language meets a good conversation! In this introductory episode, Ian and Clara chat about what motivated the creation of Language Tensions by discussing the aims of the podcast conversations, what "language tensions" are for us and what they are not, what we expect listeners to gain from the podcast, and some of the...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Prof. Li Wei and Dr. Rebecca Curinga contrast human languaging, which is embodied, social, and multilingual, with AI language, which is patterned and disembodied. It highlights translanguaging, creativity, and identity, while raising concerns about bias and standardized norms. Educators are urged to build critical AI literacy, use AI as support, and sustain multil...