Language and Society

Language is central to people’s personal, social, political and professional lives, and a powerful resource for communicating, learning and building knowledge. Committed to the values of equality, diversity and inclusion, our research takes language as a social practice as its point of departure, more specifically linguistic practices in contexts of exclusion, marginalisation and disparities in access.

Our approach is interdisciplinary, critical and reflexive, grounded in the theoretical and methodological expertise of a wide range of disciplines in the social sciences and humanities. We are interested in questions such as:

How do we communicate across linguistic and cultural boundaries under conditions of rapid social change worldwide?
How can we account for social biases and discrimination in discourses and communication relating to race, gender, and class?
How are linguistic practices intertwined with technologies?
How can educational technologies contribute to addressing inequalities and help promote social justice in teaching and learning?

Projects

English-Medium Education in Low and Middle Income Contexts: Enabler or Barrier to Gender Equality? (EMEGEN)
This British Council/Open University partnership explored the role of English as an enabler or a barrier to gender equality in low and middle-income countries.

International and intercultural online learning experiences for all students through Virtual Exchange (VE)
Through a Four Nations UK approach, this project aims to achieve systematic integration of Critical Virtual Exchange (CVE) into UK HE curricula to address unequal student access to international and intercultural learning experiences and – as a result – pathways to employment.

Precarious lives in motion. Ambulant vending in three Global South cities
This study explores the livelihood strategies of a group of workers that contribute to the popular economy: ambulant vendors (AVs) in the city centre of three Global South capitals.

Learn more about CSGD projects here.