The logics of policy privatisation in schooling, including decentralisation, school autonomy, and discretionary funding mechanisms, shift responsibility for particular types of students onto individual schools and their staff. Burch (2021) asks to what extent the most disadvantaged students in government schools are able to access services most…

While recent literacy research shows an increasing uptake in multimodal literacies, there remains a disjunction between multimodal literacy teaching and assessment. This paper offers a critical review of assessment in the context of teaching multimodal literacies and begins by reviewing the notion of literacy and reframing assessment in…

Despite a long historical French presence in Vietnam, only 0.5% of Vietnamese people speak French today. As in other countries of South East Asia, language instruction in Vietnam has mainly focused on English for several decades. This paper provides an overview of a project called "French bilingual classes". The main aim of the study is…

Discusses the historical perspective relating to current problems facing mother tongue instruction in Sierra Leone and examines post-independence policies to highlight the institutional bases of mother tongue education and to consider causes of inertia and negative attitudes towards it since independence. (Author/VWL)

Addresses the challenge of globalization with respect to English language teaching and particularly teaching English to speakers of foreign languages. Argues that some of the primary issues involved concern the increasing role of technology and communication in modern societies and the looming conflict between local communities and the…

Considers the role of native-speaker English language teachers in Hong Kong. First, the article examines the concept of native speaker and offers five criteria that determine whether a person can be classed as a native speaker or not. Second, it focuses on the use of native-speaker English teachers in Hong Kong, with particular reference to a…

Previous research suggests that young ESOL learners in mainstream English-medium classrooms are afforded limited opportunities to engage with curriculum content. This paper reports on a study of a five-year-old boy from Samoa who was just beginning to learn English in a mainstream New Zealand classroom. Interactions between the boy and his …

Addresses the question of mother-tongue education of children, especially in francophone countries of Africa. It seeks to contribute to the debate on the integration of local languages into educational systems in multilingual settings by stressing the opposing cultural messages carried by official and indigenous languages. (Author/JL)

After reviewing recent research on child language development under age five, this article discusses classroom discourse and identifies factors that may promote or inhibit pupils' mastery of the later phases of linguistic development. (30 references) (Author/LB)

Provides an overview of the field of literacy studies, describing the range of work that has been covered and identifying current unresolved issues as ways of suggesting future directions and showing ways that literacy can be seen as an integral part of language. (Author/VWL)

Discusses new areas of investigation for causes of underachievement in black children, drawing on pertinent work in the United States, recent British research, and several personal accounts by black teachers. The article concludes by highlighting the role of black educators in multiethnic schools and points to their dual position in relation to…