Ian Cushing

@iancushing.bsky.social

2404 Followers 835 Following

Reader in Critical Applied Linguistics, Manchester Metropolitan University. Documenting and dismantling linguistic injustice in schools. Editor, Critical Studies in Education. Leverhulme Prize 2025. https://www.mmu.ac.uk/staff/profile/dr-ian-cushing

front cover of Rethinking Schools
april baker-bell and ian cushing stood in front of a screen, talking.
a slide that says linguistic justice: a summer school for teachers, led by Ian Cushing, April Baker-Bell and Cerys Wrigley
Oracy, deficit thinking, and linguistic in/justice Dr Ian Cushing et al Senior Lecturer in Critical Applied Linguistics Manchester Metropolitan University MMU logo
Slide saying Linguistic justice: a summer school for teachers with MMU logos
people looking at a screen in a room in Manchester Met University
New Beacon Books shop front
5 year old boy sat on the edge of a small swimming pool in the colourful interior courtyard of a riad in Marrakech
Velda cycling a cargo bike, Ian squashed in the passenger compartment
Poster : de/standardisation in language and usage
moomin shop
screenshot of the title page of 'social in/justice and the deficit foundations of oracy' by ian cushing in the oxford review of education
a picture of ian and the text 'Designing futures of linguistic justice'
A formal register is impersonal and often follows a prescriptive format. The speaker uses complete sentences, and avoids slang. (School #16) We always display the ‘habits of excellence’ in lessons: ✓ Full sentences ✓ Standard English ✓ Presentation voice (School #14) Pupils should not refer to other pupils using slang terms. Pupils should be encouraged to use their presentation voice when answering a question. (School #23) The academy will [. . .] ask that all students answer questions in full sentences and use formal, academic English (not slang) when at school. (School #4)
a large circle with the word 'misbehaviour' in it. around the circle are the following phrase: non-standard grammar; slang; informal language; basic vocabulary; inarticulate; absence of politeness markers; mumbles; interrupts; not silent; does not retain eye contact; deviates from scripts; non-academic language; incomplete sentences; loud
statue of a man in front of posh Parisian building
a large circle with the word 'misbehaviour' in it. around the edges of the circle are the following: slang, informal language, absence of politeness markers, basic vocabulary, incomplete sentences, non-standard grammar, interrupts, inarticulate, loud, mumbles, not silent, does not retain eye contact
front cover of 'How the West Indian Child is Made Educationally Sub-normal in the British School System' by Bernard Coard
Blog post Part of series: 10 years of the BERA Blog Documenting and dismantling language ideologies in education Ian Cushing, Senior Lecturer in Critical Applied Linguistics at Manchester Metropolitan University 3 Mar 2025 Picture of Ian
a group of people with interlocking arms hold up protest signs with images and text related to linguistic justice on them
a large white hand holds a pin which it uses to puncture a speech bubble coming out the mouth of a young brown girl
a young person has two speech bubbles coming out of their mouth with a question mark over their head. one speech bubble says 'correct english', the other says 'broken english'.
a large white hand squashes a speech bubble coming out the mouth of a young boy with brown skin
a white man with the text EDUCATION POLICY MAKERS looking longingly in the direction of a white woman with the text WORD GAP whilst another white woman with the text STRUCTURAL INEQUALITY looks angrily at the white man
Ofsted and educational in/justice 10 June 2025, Manchester Metropolitan University Keynote speakers: Claire Neaves, Dr Annabel Wilson, and Professor Arathi Sriprakash (University of Oxford) Professor Jane Perryman (University College London) Professor Alice Bradbury (University College London) Free attendance; more details to follow MMU logo
three people with interlocking arms holding up protest placards. one says 'linguistic justice!'.
a child’s drawing of 4 people. each person has two arms and two legs which are coming out of their heads.
Linguistic justice in schools: deficit thinking and anti-deficit resistance Deficit thinking is a victim-blaming ideology which frames marginalised communities as deficient and in need of corrective interventions –especially about language, and especially in schools. It locates alleged faults within the language marginalised communities and deflects attention away from broader socioeconomic structures of injustice. Whilst deficit thinking about language is pervasive in schools, it has always been met with anti-deficit resistance which has pushed for linguistic justice. In this keynote I document the long histories of deficit thinking about language in England’s schools, and counter this with anti-deficit efforts which have put issues of language stigma in dialogue with social justice struggles more broadly. Using these efforts and extensive fieldwork with teachers as inspiration, I conceptualise a theory of linguistic justice which seeks to dismantle oppressive ideologies about ‘standard’ languages and abolish inherently unjust systems.
Screenshot of https://academic.oup.com/applij/advance-article/doi/10.1093/applin/amae079/7905782
Abstract for The knowledge-rich project, coloniality, and the preservation of whiteness in schools: a raciolinguistic perspective (https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/eduling-2022-0018/html?lang=en&srsltid=AfmBOoprcu87IZoq6rERKPcmQCm72gEeANFj0_1jWfk8XGUfK9LAHExW)
Cover of ‘raised to obey’ by Agustina Paglayan
Brooks Building MMU
Teachers Challenging Language Discrimination in England’s Schools: A Typology of Resistance. Abstract and title (https://doi.org/10.1080/15348458.2024.2354478)
Tents and banners on support of Palestine