Within the spirit of conspiration, this article brings together contributions from participants of the PhD-led UCL Reading and React Group 'Colonialism(s), Neoliberalism(s) and Language Teaching and Learning', which ran in 2019/20. Weaving together various perspectives, the article centres on the dialogic nature of the decolonial enterprise and…

The notion that language is not simply a politically neutral medium of communication, but a social practice that determines power relations and shapes subjectivity has become widely accepted in critical language and literacy studies. Within any socio-linguistic community, certain ways of using language are considered "proper,"…

A dialogue between two writing collaborators reveals the act of collaboration as "empowering, liberating, exhilarating, and almost magical." Community-oriented theories of empowerment suggest collaboration can also be about reclaiming political and personal determinacy because working in pairs or groups can enable writers to encourage…

Analyzes what counts as knowledge in social studies education and the power relations that structure discourse and discursive practices in this field. Argues that knowledge and power interpenetrate and act to produce and reproduce each other. Shows some of the ways this works in social studies education. (CMG)

Argues that Benesch's charge that pragmatism in English for academic purposes (EAP) indicates an accommodationist ideology and an endorsement of current power relations in academia and society is ideologically motivated. Benesch responds by arguing that those who ignore questions of power participate in maintaining the low status of EAP students…

Examines the role of English worldwide and introduces paradigms: a "diffusion-of-English paradigm" and an "ecology-of-language paradigm." Discussion of the two paradigms in light of recent tendencies within the European Union, the postcommunist states, and the international arena emphasizes the alliance between language…

Argues that in seeking a healthy fusion of power, applied linguistics is in a position to discover the appropriate response to the dilemma of injecting ethical responsibility into the profession while dealing with the competition for power between marginalized groups and the establishment. (15 references) (Author/CK)

Examines attempts of the foreign language teaching profession to implement reforms, focusing on the "Standards for Foreign Language Learning" (1996). (48 references) (Author/CK)

Focuses on the role of English and the evolution of a distinct variety of English in Hong Kong. Discusses this "emerging" Hong Kong English and examines how various political changes might affect a future Hong Kong identity, such that Hong Kong English might emerge into a public as well as academic reality. (23 references) (Author/CK)

Before teachers can decide how to teach writing to nonstandard dialect speakers, they should determine whether college students can in fact learn to command a second dialect (in this case, Standard English), as well as the most effective way to provide access to command of Standard English while educating the public about the values of nonstandard…

Presents details of the language shifts among the various sections of the Chinese-speaking population in Hong Kong and analyzes patterns of allegiance. Notes that complex social, economic, and political pressures will affect future language in Hong Kong and that, within the domains of family, work, and others, the use of Modern Standard Chinese is…

Notes that within certain spheres of international English language education, active student participation is seen as central to the "good" lesson and successful conference. Argues that this idea of participation is generated by a discourse of power belonging to a particular culture of professionalism and that it is ethnocentric and…