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From https://www.actfl.org/news/press-releases/actfl-releases-statement-diversity-and-inclusion

 

ACTFL's Board of Directors has approved the release of a new Statement on Diversity and Inclusion in World Language Teaching and Learning.

 

The statement is the result of a collaborative effort by members of ACTFL’s Diversity and Inclusion (D+I) Taskforce, which is charged with exploring the various ways in which advancing issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion in the language education community is crucial to the long-term sustainability of the profession. The taskforce was established in 2018 by a vote of the ACTFL Board.

 

"The language teaching profession is one that enjoys a richness of diversity that should be recognized and celebrated. While this statement is just one step in a long process, we are confident that it demonstrates ACTFL’s commitment to providing the leadership and resources necessary to foster contexts that are inclusive of diverse backgrounds and perspectives", said Howie Berman, Executive Director of ACTFL.

 

From the statement, the four ways in which ACTFL will seek to foster such contexts are by:

 

• Leveraging and maintaining meaningful connections with diverse communities, both within the language community and among relevant non-language education stakeholders.

• Creating professional learning opportunities that reflect diverse perspectives, are highly valued and widely accessible to all language educators.

• Drawing on its diversity to build teacher capacity—and recruiting and retaining a language teacher workforce more closely aligned with the ever-changing demographics of our student bodies.

• Demonstrating the positive role diversity plays in language education through processes, practices, and outcomes supported by evidence-based research.

 

ACTFL President Lisa Ritter added, "I applaud the work of the Diversity and Inclusion Task Force in crafting such a thoughtful and poignant statement on the role that diversity and inclusion play in language education, and how we as educators can ensure that all learners have equal access to world language study. I look forward to seeing the results of their continued efforts in the coming months."

 

The D+I Task Force meets virtually each quarter. The next step in its work includes the development of a crosswalk document that links ACTFL’s Strategic Plan with issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion in the profession.

 

Read the statement at https://www.actfl.org/news/position-statements/diversity-and-inclusion-world-language-teaching-learning