This book includes six studies on the acquisition of single Mesoamerican indigenous languages, (Huichol, Zapotec, and the Mayan languages Ch'ol, Tzeltal, K'iche', and Yukatek); and a crosslinguistic study of five Mayan languages (K'anjob'al, K'iche', Tzeltal, Tzotzil, and Yukatek). Three topics are theoretically and methodologically discussed and empirically demonstrated: with respect to ergativity, the ergative-absolutive cross-referencing pattern on the morphological level, noun-verb distinction and the acquisition of body-part locatives in the early lexicon, and the role of semantic properties and cultural context in language acquisition and socialization. This book makes important claims regarding the methodology of cross-linguistic studies as well as the results of these studies and the comparative method used in the book (structural and discursive factors in language acquisition, cross-linguistic relationships and variation).

Spanning Indigenous settings in Africa, the Americas, Aotearoa/New Zealand, Australia, Central Asia and the Nordic countries, this book examines the multifaceted language reclamation work underway by Indigenous peoples throughout the world. Exploring political, historical, ideological, and pedagogical issues, the book foregrounds the decolonizing aims of contemporary Indigenous language movements inside and outside of schools. Many authors explore language reclamation in their own communities. Together, the authors call for expanded discourses on language planning and policy that embrace Indigenous ways of knowing and forefront grassroots language reclamation efforts as a force for Indigenous sovereignty, social justice, and self-determination. This volume will be of interest to scholars, educators and students in applied linguistics, Ethnic/Indigenous Studies, education, second language acquisition, and comparative-international education, and to a broader audience of language educators, revitalizers and policymakers.

This handbook provides broad coverage of the languages indigenous to North America, with special focus on typologically interesting features and areal characteristics, surveys of current work, and topics of particular importance to communities. The volume is divided into two major parts: subfields of linguistics and family sketches. The subfields include those that are customarily addressed in discussions of North American languages (sounds and sound structure, words, sentences), as well as many that have received somewhat less attention until recently (tone, prosody, sociolinguistic variation, directives, information structure, discourse, meaning, language over space and time, conversation structure, evidentiality, pragmatics, verbal art, first and second language acquisition, archives, evolving notions of fieldwork). Family sketches cover major language families and isolates and highlight topics of special value to communities engaged in work on language maintenance, documentation, and revitalization.

Focusing on the Americas – home to 40 to 50 million Indigenous people – this book explores the history and current state of Indigenous language revitalization across this vast region. Complementary chapters on the USA and Canada, and Latin America and the Caribbean, offer a panoramic view while tracing nuanced trajectories of "top down" (official) and "bottom up" (grass roots) language planning and policy initiatives. Authored by leading Indigenous and non-Indigenous scholars, the book is organized around seven overarching themes: Policy and Politics; Processes of Language Shift and Revitalization; The Home-School-Community Interface; Local and Global Perspectives; Linguistic Human Rights; Revitalization Programs and Impacts; New Domains for Indigenous Languages Providing a comprehensive, hemisphere-wide scholarly and practical source, this singular collection simultaneously fills a gap in the language revitalization literature and contributes to Indigenous language revitalization efforts.

This volume offers a close look at four cases of indigenous language revitalization: Maori in Aotearoa/New Zealand, Saami in Scandinavia, Hñähñö in Mexico and Quechua and other indigenous languages in Latin America. Essays by experts from each case are in turn discussed in international perspective by four counterpart experts.

This volume analyses the policymaking, expectations, implementation, progress, and outcomes of early language learning in various education policy contexts worldwide. The contributors to the volume are international researchers specialising in language policy and early language learning and their contributions aim to advance scholarship on early language learning policies and inform policymaking at the global level. The languages considered include learning English as a second language in primary schools in Japan, Mexico, Serbia, Argentina, and Tanzania; Spanish language education in the US and Australia; Arabic as a second language in Israel and Bangladesh; Chinese in South America and Oceania; and finally, early German teaching and learning in France and the UK.

"With articles on Spanglish and Spanish loan words in English as well as Southeast Asian refugees and World Englishes, this encyclopedia has a broad scope that will make it useful in academic and large public libraries serving those involved in teaching and learning in multiple languages. Also available as an ebook." — Booklist The simplest definition of bilingual education is the use of two languages in the teaching of curriculum content in K–12 schools. There is an important difference to keep in mind between bilingual education and the study of foreign languages as school subjects: In bilingual education, two languages are used for instruction, and the goal is academic success in and through the two languages. The traditional model of foreign-language study places the emphasis on the acquisition of the languages themselves. The field of bilingual education is dynamic and even controversial. The two volumes of this comprehensive, first-stop reference work collect and synthesize the knowledge base that has been well researched and accepted in the United States and abroad while also taking note of how this topic affects schools, research centers, legislative bodies, advocacy organizations, and families. The Encyclopedia of Bilingual Education is embedded in several disciplines, including applied linguistics, politics, civil rights, historical events, and of course, classroom instruction. This work is a compendium of information on bilingual education and related topics in the United States with select international contributors providing global insight onto the field. Key Features Explores in a comprehensive, non-technical way the intricacies of this subject from multiple perspectives: its history, policy, classroom practice, instructional design, and research bases Shows connections between bilingual education and related subjects, such as linguistics, education equity issues, socio-cultural diversity, and the nature of demographic change in the United States Documents the history of bilingual education in the last half of the 20th century and summarizes its roots in earlier periods Discusses important legislation and litigation documents Key Themes · Family, Community, and Society · History · Instructional Design · Languages and Linguistics · People and Organizations · Policy Evolution · Social Science Perspectives · Teaching and Learning The Encyclopedia of Bilingual Education is a valuable resource for those who wish to understand the polemics associated with this field as well as its technical details. This will be an excellent addition to any academic library.

Developing Teaching and Learning in Africa is a collection of chapters that carry on the topical discussions on indigenous knowledges and western epistemologies. African societies still aspire towards knowledge that is liberatory, enhance critical thinking and decentre Eurocentrism. The contributors explore these decolonial debates as they navigate ways of moving towards epistemic freedom and cognitive justice.

Digital Media and the Preservation of Indigenous Languages in Africa: Toward a Digitalized and Sustainable Society presents cutting-edge epistemological debates, academic case studies, and empirical research from African scholars on the intersection of digital media technologies, artificial intelligence, and the preservation of Indigenous languages in the continent. This edited collection provides a methodology for African researchers, practitioners, and marginalized communities to integrate digital technologies into their lives to foster innovation, advance the documentation and preservation of underrepresented languages, and promote African-centered epistemologies. Contributors to this edited volume argue that African societies should acknowledge and embrace digital media platforms. Despite these platforms’ potential as sites of epistemic colonialism, they are essential for promoting ways of life that reflect the diversity and importance of Indigenous cultures. For Indigenous languages and local epistemologies to flourish in this rapidly evolving technological era, African communities must employ a variety of contemporary practices and strategies to document, protect, and preserve ways of being that have formerly been relegated to the periphery.

Winner of the Outstanding Publication Award - Book by AECT's Culture, Learning, and Technology Division! ICT and International Learning Ecologies addresses new ways to explore international, comparative, and cultural issues in education and technology. As today’s development orthodoxies push societies around the world to adopt imported information communication tools, new approaches are needed that integrate cultural responsiveness, autonomy, and sustainability into technology-enhanced learning. This edited collection conceptually and methodologically reframes the complexities of teaching and learning in historically marginalized communities around the world, where inequities are often exacerbated by one-size-fits-all programs. Graduate students and researchers of educational technology, international/comparative education, and sustainability education will be better prepared to lead information and communication technologies (ICT) implementation across a range of contexts and learner identities.