Chasing Encounters

Raul Mora questions how language and literacies are taught in the current sociopolitical contexts around the world. Raul posits that we should be critical about engaging in discussions about what it means to be multilingual or plurilingual in different contexts in Africa, Latin America or North America. We problematize the reasons why English has become “the second language” by default in research and education without recognizing Indigenous languages as well as sign languages as part of the repertoire of language diversity. We also talked about how the school can become a site that either challenges or supports the learning of languages while there are other multimodal ways of engaging in literacy, therefore the notion of literacy must be flexible, fluid and context based (letramento, literacidad, alfabetización). Bio Dr. Raúl Alberto Mora is an Associate Professor of English Education and Literacy Studies at Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana (UPB) in Medellín, Colombia. He also serves as a faculty af

Latinx immigration to Canada has increased over the past years, and its demographics have shifted according to socio-political events in the region. Diana recounts her/story about navigating the education system in Canada as a recent immigrant, and how her rebeldía kept her going. She argues that the legacy of racism and colonialism permeates through Canadian multiculturalism. For racialized and Indigenous students to collectively succeed within the education system, schools and other educational institutions have to take responsibility for recognizing the ways in which racism and colonialism operate as part of their policies and practices. We conclude with the importance of knowing about colonial histories as we create new futures that don’t perpetuate inequalities. Bio: Diana M. Barrero Jaramillo (@Barrero_Di) is a doctoral student in the Department of Curriculum, Teaching and Learning at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education of the University of Toronto. Her master’s research focused on how educ

An insightful thinker, an incredible teacher and respected researcher, Wales Wong shares her interest in storytelling and translanguaging as important aspects of meaning-making in our daily lives. From California to Hong Kong and now Toronto she brings tons of diverse experiences while using her Cantonese and English languages both academically and personally. We problematize the assumptions people make when it comes to race and language whether you are in the USA or elsewhere, there are labels that still stigmatize peoples and sometimes marginalize them. We question how we value other people’s linguistic repertoires and how they use them at different times for the purposes of communication. Therefore, it is important to welcome and celebrate linguistic diversity and support students to amplify their voices by using written storytelling as a device to describe their cultural traditions and connect with the larger community. Suggested citation of this podcast (APA): Ortega, Y. (Producer). (2019, March 26).

What happens when two personal and academic journeys collide? Marlon Valencia discusses his early research and educational influences. He helps us understand how inspiring others to make changes in the community so we can move forward in today’s society is not only an intricate task but a hard-labouring one. Marlon’s experiences from high school, undergrad and graduate studies in relation to language learning are key to his work on imagination and possibilities to forge a future. We discuss current sociopolitical situations in Colombia, Venezuela and Canada and how there has been a progressive erosion of democracy in times of far-right tactics to isolate us from the other. We, finally, question our role as researchers and language educators and how our practices would look in today’s classrooms. Cite this podcast (APA): Ortega, Y. (Producer). (2019, March 19). Chasing Encounters - Episode – 7 – Imagination possibilities and realities [Audio podcast]. Retrieved from https://soundcloud.com/chasingencounters/c

Teachers’ self-directed learning within the frame of International Women’s Day is the focus of this week ‘s Chasing Encounters episode, titled “Exploring Digital Networks.” Anna Bartosik, teacher-researcher, joins us to talk about digital landscapes, where a number of language teachers explore their learning. We discuss whether International Women’s Day is still relevant in academia (Savigny, 2014), Twitter as a digital landscape of practice (Wenger-Trayner & Wenger-Trayner, 2014), and how virtual and other self-directed learning have the ability to shape teacher knowledge and positionality as transformative intellectuals (Kumaravadivelu, 2003). Anna offers some tips on reaching a wider network on Twitter, suggests some female academics to follow, and explains her interest in researching digital landscapes with a posthuman lens (Snaza et al, 2014). “ my learner journey has happened in these places (social media and others), not on those top-down mandated places of PD” Anna Bartosik Cite this podcast (AP

In this episode, Dahlia Benedikt discusses Jewish youth movements and community movements as spaces to experience culture, support and resilience among intergenerational peoples. Dahlia explains how we understand educators as not just teachers or councillors but people who can contribute to our growth learning process as role models. She also discusses the importance of youth creating pedagogies directed to critical thinking, exploring ourselves and exploring the world. We unpack how capitalism and technologies have affected today’s youth and what is necessary to survive in this evolving world. Cite this podcast (APA): Ortega, Y. (Producer). (2019, March 5). Chasing Encounters - Episode - 5 – Cooperative Work and Youth Advocacy [Audio podcast]. Retrieved from https://soundcloud.com/chasingencounters/cooperative-work-and-youth-advocacy Sources: http://www.consciousmindscamp.org/ https://www.consciousmindscoop.ca/ Ibrahim, A., & Steinberg, S. R. (2014). Critical Youth Studies Reader. Peter Lang Publis

In this episode, Zehra and Yecid question what we mean by being a Canadian immigrant or a Canadian citizen. We wonder what Canadian values are and how we are supposed to integrate into the system. Zehra’s research look at Turkish and Kurdish immigrants in Canada by using a photovoice approach to understand their experiences and ultimately to question what we are all doing for immigrants Cite this podcast (APA): Ortega, Y. (Producer). (2019, February 18). Chasing Encounters - Episode - 4 – Immigration and Identity [Audio podcast]. Retrieved from https://soundcloud.com/chasingencounters/immigration-and-identity Sources: The Canadian Council for Refugees https://ccrweb.ca/ Canadian Association for Refugee and Forced Migration Studies http://carfms.org/ About Alevi https://irb-cisr.gc.ca/en/country-information/rir/Pages/index.aspx?doc=444446 Readings: Giroux, H. A. (1992). Border Crossings: Cultural Workers and the Politics of Education. Psychology Press. Karakaya-Stump, A. (2017). The AKP,

In this episode, Yecid and Pushpa from Nepal talk about languages, education and cultures. We delve into personal connections with the communities and the role of languages and English in everyday life as well as the importance of preserving home languages. Sources: Giri, R. A. (2010). Cultural anarchism: the consequences of privileging languages in Nepal. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 31(1), 87–100. https://doi.org/10.1080/01434630903398103 Issa, T., & Hatt, A. (2013). Language, Culture and Identity in the Early Years. A&C Black. Nepal Information: https://www.ethnologue.com/country/NP Renata Flores (Peru): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQUrV_v7OK8 Cite this podcast (APA): Ortega, Y. (Producer). (2019, February 11). Chasing Encounters - Episode - 3 – Discovering Nepal [Audio podcast]. Retrieved from https://soundcloud.com/chasingencounters/chasing-encounters-episode-3-discovering-nepal

This conversation between Yecid and Mama discusses their ideas about community and family and how we have supported them personally and academically. Concepts of communities of practice(Lave & Wenger, 1991; Wenger, 1999), (de)colonization (Fanon, 1963, 2008; Rivera Cusicanqui, 2010) and knowledge creation (Santos, 2008) are being discussed to how we relate to the world we live today as we move away from isolation and hermit practices. Cite this podcast (APA): Ortega, Y. (Producer). (2019, February 4). Chasing Encounters - Episode - 2 - Our community [Audio podcast]. Retrieved from https://soundcloud.com/chasingencounters/episode-2-our-community

This conversation between Yecid and Claudio explores their own visions on ideology, capitalism, identity and language in today’s world. As a point of entry, we deploy our ideas based in the concept of investment (Norton, 2013; Peirce, 1995) as a form of identity navigation in our lived experiences as language educators and researchers in different contexts. Cite this podcast (APA): Ortega, Y. (Producer). (2019, January 21). Chasing Encounters - Episode - 1 - Our Linguistic And Cultural Journeys [Audio podcast]. Retrieved from https://soundcloud.com/chasingencounters/chasing-encounters-our-linguistic-and-cultural-journeys