Conclusion

This concluding chapter provides a reflection on what has been learnt and achieved from the preceding sections of the book. Drawing on key themes which emerge from the contributing chapters of the book, emphasis is placed on the idea that there are many different forms of social justice action and activism in language education, and these include educating and researching. To this end, I consider the notion of ‘research-activism’ within the context of language education as a means of progressing social justice. There is acknowledgement of how risk, vulnerability and discomfort (Badwan, 2021; Cunningham et al, 2021) are inevitably key elements of research-activism. With this in mind (and in line with other authors in the field of language and social justice), I argue that future developments in language education and social justice action need to be communal and collegiate, rather than individualised. And this communal social justice work involves examining how dimensions of injustice intersect and overlap, and often emerge from the same systems of oppression. I discuss this with particular reference to how patriarchal structures and systems do not just produce gender-based injustices – they also produce racism, disability-based injustice, homophobia, transphobia and other forms of oppression. Finally, I consider how a future development of the field needs to involve an enjoining of social and environmental justice in relation to language education, as well as in other domains of social justice work. I draw on Bendell’s (2020; 2018) concept of environmental ‘deep adaptation’ and consider how this might provide a useful lens for thinking about language education and social justice in the long term.