How do language policies in education serve the interests of dominant groups within societies? How do policies marginalize some students while granting privilege to others? How do language policies in schools create inequalities among learners? How can schools further the educational, social, and economic interests of linguistic minorities? These questions--the focus of the chapters in this book-- are at the heart of fundamental debates about the role of schools in society; the links between language policies and inequalities of class, region, and ethnicity/nationality; and conflicts between linguistic minorities and "mainstream" populations. The connections between language policies and inequality are examined, as well as successful efforts to use language policies in education to assert the social and linguistic rights of language minorities. *All of the chapters are original and substantial contributions to the study of language policy and exemplify major theories and research methods in the field. *The case studies are international in scope, including cutting-edge analyses of important language policy debates in North America, Australia, Eastern Europe, Africa, East Asia, South Asia, and the Pacific. *The multiple meanings of criticallanguage policy study are highlighted. First, the term refers to the field of critical linguistics. Second, the book seeks to develop readers' ability to critically "read" language policies--that is, to understand the social and political implications of particular policies adopted in specific historical contexts. Third, it features chapters that are critical of traditional analyses that fail to capture the full social and political context of language policies and too often accept uncritically the claims of policy. *Sections are included on theoretical issues in language policies; the use of language policy for governance; the role of language policy in managing ethnic conflict; the link between language and globalization; and the impact of critical pedagogy on social change. This volume is intended for scholars and other specialists in language policy, education, applied linguistics, critical linguistics, and language teaching. It is designed for use as a textbook in graduate and advanced undergraduate courses on language policy and language education.

Drawing on sociocultural theories of learning, this book examines how the everyday language practices and cultural funds of knowledge of youth from non-dominant or minoritized groups can be used as centerpoints for classroom learning in ways that help all students both to sustain and expand their cultural and linguistic repertoires while developing skills that are valued in formal schooling. Bringing together a group of ethnographically grounded scholars working in diverse local contexts, this volume identifies how these language practices and cultural funds of knowledge can be used as generative points of continuity and productively expanded on in schools for successful and inclusive learning. Ideal for students and researchers in teaching, learning, language education, literacy, and multicultural education, as well as teachers at all stages of their career, this book contributes to research on culturally and linguistically sustaining practices by offering original teaching methods and a range of ways of connecting cultural competencies to learning across subject matters and disciplines.

"There is widespread concern in all English speaking countries at the rapid decline in study of languages. The promise of 'languages for all' in the UK and North America in the 1970s marked a shift from languages as ľite subjects for the privileged few, but this promise has not been fulfilled. This book explores the reasons for and solutions to this decline. More importantly, it looks at how these trends have been reversed in successful school programs and the implications of this for language education policy makers. The study draws on an analysis of data from 600 primary, secondary and community languages schools over six years and from detailed case studies in a representative sample of 45 successful schools. The book proposes a range of strategies to address the decline: from engaging classroom learning, assessment outcomes and embedding languages as central in school curriculum on the one level, to a mix of incentives and mandation for language study, especially at upper secondary school level. The authors explore the impact of learning languages on the thinking, educational experiences and outcomes of young people across a range of ethnic backgrounds and socioeconomic statuses. They show the importance of having equal access to languages study in a world where young people will have increasingly more diverse working lives and argue that the gap in languages between policy and uptake is really a gap in the thinking of policy makers and government."--

The role of language is central in education – but there is much debate about the exact relation between children’s language and their educational success. The author provides a clear guide to the basic issues in the debates over language deficit, standard English and classroom language, and in this edition he shows how work in sociolinguistics can give a better understanding of the place of language in education and society.

This book challenges the reader to consider issues of language and linguistic discrimination as they impact world language education. Using the nexus of race, language, and education as a lens through which one can better understand the role of the world language education classroom as both a setting of oppression and as a potential setting for transformation, Democracy and World Language Education: Toward a Transformation offers insights into a number of important topics. Among the issues that are addressed in this timely book are linguicism, the ideology of linguistic legitimacy, raciolinguistics, and critical epistemology. Specific cases and case studies that are explored in detail include the contact language Spanglish, African American English, and American Sign Language. The book also includes critical examinations of the less commonly taught languages, the teaching of classical languages (primarily Latin and Greek), and the paradoxical learning and speaking of “critical languages” that are supported primarily for purposes of national security (Arabic, Chinese, Farsi, Russian, etc.).

In its exploration of four themes, this book shows how researchers, teachers and pupils for whom English is an additional language can develop together. The first theme is research - of a kind that is of direct benefit to teachers - done by teacher and teacher educators, with and for teachers. The second is professional development and shows how the research contributes to becoming a better teacher. The third theme is collaboration - of learners with teachers, teachers with teachers and teachers with teacher educators. Finally, the studies are set within different language education contexts, seeking commonalties where the terms 'foreign', 'second' and 'modern' have generally been divisive. The issues covered include the role of language across the curriculum, the links between oracy and literacy in bilingual learning, the relationship between communicative teachering and communicative testing, teacher development through distance learning programmes, and the appropriacy to context of educational philosophies and technologies. Illustrating how colleagues in schools and higher education institutions can work together effectively for the benefit of all learners, it will be invaluable to educators searching for examples of practitioner research to further their own development. -- from back cover.

Teaching and Learning in a Multilingual School: Choices, Risks, and Dilemmas is for teachers and teacher educators working in communities that educate children who do not speak English as a first language. At the center of the book are findings from a four-year critical ethnographic case study of a Canadian high school with a large number of emigrant students from Hong Kong and rich descriptions of the multitude of ways teachers and students thought about, responded to, and negotiated the issues and dilemmas that arose. The solutions and insights they derived from their experiences of working across linguistic, cultural, and racial differences will be extremely valuable to educators in other locales that have become home to large numbers of immigrant families. The book is designed to help readers think about how the issues and dilemmas in the case study manifest themselves in their own communities and how to apply the insights they gain to their own teaching and learning contexts: * Each chapter includes four components: an excerpt from the ethnographic study; an analytic commentary on the ethnographic text drawn from a variety of theoretical perspectives and academic disciplines (including interactionist sociolinguistics, language minority education, English as a Second Language education, critical literacy, anti-racist education, and critical teacher education); a pedagogical discussion; and suggestions for further reflection and discussion. * The book features the use of ethnographic play writing to engage readers with the issues that arise in multicultural/multilingual schools. The author's play Hong Kong, Canada is included in its entirety and is used to stimulate further discussion of the issues raised in each of the chapters. * Although it is organized around two different kinds of schooling dilemmas--dilemmas of speech and silence, and dilemmas of discrimination--everyday dilemmas of curriculum and assessment are also discussed throughout the book. * A methodological discussion of the choices the author made while designing, conducting, and writing up the critical ethnographic case study makes the book useful in qualitative research methodology courses. * A set of strategies and activities is provided for helping students develop English oral presentation skills.

Arguably the whole point of education is to effect change in what people know and are able to do. Globalization has contributed to a common perception worldwide of the need to introduce changes to the teaching and learning of languages. The success of many attempts to do so has been limited by insufficient consideration of implementation contexts. Understanding Language Classroom Contexts explores and illustrates how what happens in any (language) classroom is influenced by (and can be an influence on) the contexts in which it is situated. A clear understanding of these influences is thus the starting point for planning effective change. The book considers many visible and invisible features of the multiple layers of any context, and provides a framework for understanding the types of factors that may influence whether changes (planned by a teacher or externally initiated) are likely to be successful. The book will help teachers (and educational managers or change planners outside the classroom) to understand why their classrooms are as they are and so to make informed decisions about what can or cannot (or not easily) be changed, and suggests how any changes might be appropriately managed.

This volume offers insights on English language education policies in Middle Eastern and North African countries, through state-of-the-art reports giving clear assessments of current policies and future trends, each expertly drafted by a specialist. Each chapter contains a general description of English education polices in the respective countries, and then expands on how the local English education policies play out in practice in the education system at all levels, in the curriculum, in teaching, and in teacher training. Essays cover issues such as the balance between English and the acquisition of the national language or the Arabic language, as well as political, cultural, economic and technical elements that strengthen or weaken the learning of English. This volume is essential reading for researchers, policy makers, and teacher trainers for its invaluable insights in the role of each of the stakeholders in the implementation of policies.