Abstract
This article approaches social transformation through a Freirean liberating perspective to address the challenges faced by language educators in our digital age. We are currently confronted with the adverse effects of neoliberal capitalism, misinformation, violence, human rights violations and environmental degradation. A critical, politically engaged (language) education seems increasingly necessary for fostering solidarity, global responsibility and radically transformative, distributed and affective agency. I also argue that, in these challenging times, such liberating premises are powerful for nurturing social change from a decolonial, southing or Southern standpoint. These premises lead us to the central question for this discussion: How can a critical and politically engaged Southern perspective nurture a liberating language education? To explore this complex question, transformative language education is linked to a decolonial perspective and a translingual enactive-performative viewpoint. Additionally, the basic principles of Freirean educational philosophy are outlined. To contextualise this discussion, a didactic project related to deaf education will be addressed. The proposed debate highlights that a critical and liberatory language education, experienced from a decolonial and translingual perspective, can provide a foundation for responsible and transformative praxis in our time.
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Research ethics: The local Institutional Review Board deemed the study exempt from review.
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Informed consent: Not applicable.
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Author contributions: All authors have accepted responsibility for the entire content of this manuscript and approved its submission.
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Conflict of interest: Authors state no conflict of interest.
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Research funding: CNPq/Brazil – National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (Research Productivity Scholarship).
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© 2025 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Editorial
- Introduction: critical multimodal literacy. Advancing educational linguistics in teacher education
- Research Articles
- Engaging the stuff of words: language materiality and symbolic power
- Overview of the emergence of an academic register in non-written languages: the case of sign languages
- Social transformation and liberating language education in challenging times: Southern voices and perspectives
- Pedagogical translanguaging in digital environments. Teaching and learning with tablets in a multilingual Norwegian classroom
- English language teaching in the digital age: narrative across the media, multiliteracies, and blogs
- Use of a robot in an imaginary space. Robot-assisted language learning with a friendship booklet (carnet d’amitié)
- Regular Article
- English tutors’ emotions, agency, and identity development in the aftermath of China’s Double Reduction policy
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Editorial
- Introduction: critical multimodal literacy. Advancing educational linguistics in teacher education
- Research Articles
- Engaging the stuff of words: language materiality and symbolic power
- Overview of the emergence of an academic register in non-written languages: the case of sign languages
- Social transformation and liberating language education in challenging times: Southern voices and perspectives
- Pedagogical translanguaging in digital environments. Teaching and learning with tablets in a multilingual Norwegian classroom
- English language teaching in the digital age: narrative across the media, multiliteracies, and blogs
- Use of a robot in an imaginary space. Robot-assisted language learning with a friendship booklet (carnet d’amitié)
- Regular Article
- English tutors’ emotions, agency, and identity development in the aftermath of China’s Double Reduction policy