August 16, 2002

The Department of Language Education welcomes you to what we hope will be a productive and enjoyable semester. We recognize the University of Georgia’s contributions to the nation’s intellectual, cultural, linguistic, and environmental heritage.

We share the College of Education’s stated mission to (1) recognize, respect, and affirm differences among peoples; and (2) challenge oppression and structural and procedural inequities that exist in society, generally, and in local educational settings, specifically. These inequities arise from social, historical, economic, and political structures that influence and are influenced by culture, race, religion, language, ethnicity, age, gender, educational and socioeconomic status, disability status, sexual orientation, world-view, and community. Through our programs and courses the Department of Language Education is engaged in a process of continual reflection and evaluation to work toward an equitable democratic society.

We value your participation in this process. If you feel that our department program or courses fall short of this commitment, we encourage dialogue with your instructor.

Enjoy your learning this semester!

JoBeth Allen, Melisa Cahnmann, Tom Cooper, Linda DeGroff, Mark Faust, Peg Graham, Joan Kelly Hall, Linda Harklau, Yolanda Majors, Paul Matthews, Sally Hudson-Ross, Don Rubin, Betsy Rymes, Peter Smagorinsky, Bettie St. Pierre, and Joel Taxel