KINGSTON, RI – Oct. 24, 2024—The American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) has awarded Professor Mu, a professor of Chinese at URI, the Research Priority Award for her project, Understanding Students’ Development of Social Justice Awareness through a PBLL Project: A Mixed-Methods Approach.
Mu, alongside her collaborators Yufen Chang from the University of Minnesota and Yingling Bao from Indiana University, explores students’ development of social justice awareness through participation in a Project-Based Language Learning (PBLL) project designed to create a more inclusive and equitable environment for Chinese Americans.
“This conversation started because three mothers wanted to create something for our own kids,” Mu said. “We asked ourselves, ‘What can we design as a gift for them, and more broadly, for our community?’”
The study focuses on students’ development of social justice awareness through participation in a PBL designed to engage language learners investigating societal issues and creating products and presentations. Advanced-level Chinese learners are to be tasked with creating e-books featuring Chinese Americans as protagonists.
“I think language educators play a unique role in promoting social justice in today’s world,” said Mu. “A lot of the time, especially in our institution, we’re talking about improving students’ proficiency. Proficiency in this context is related to students’ practical skills in using the language, but this particular perspective towards language can somehow shadow the fact that language study itself is political.”
Engaging students with a curriculum centered on social justice not only enhances their language proficiency but also prepares them to become informed, active citizens capable of addressing social inequities.
Students are to be interviewed before and after the project begins to set a baseline of where their understanding of social justice lies. Professors Mu, Chang and Bao will collect data until December and analyze in the spring. Their manuscript is planned to be finalized in August 2025.
This event review was written by Erin Malinn, class of 2028.