We compare language policing in two educational contexts in England: mainstream schools and complementary schools. We draw on a varied dataset (policy documents, in-class observations, interviews) collected from mainstream schools and Greek complementary schools in London. We find similarities in how the two types of schools control, regulate,…

This article provides a critical review of English medium instruction (EMI) policy/practices in the K-12 multilingual schools in South Asia, especially in Nepal, India, and Pakistan. Employing Bourdieu's (1993) lens of 'linguistic capital' and 'linguistic marketplace,' the article takes stock of (a) the development of EMI and its ideological and…

The National Policy on Education (NPE) in Nigeria stipulates that every child should be taught in the language of its immediate environment in the first three years of elementary education. This paper examines the NPE as it affects elementary schools in Ogu-speaking communities in Southwestern Nigeria. Using the research instruments of interviews…

Public education policies governing language revitalization and the teaching of indigenous languages have been in place for more than 20 years in Chile. In this journey, there has been considerable progress nationwide in the education of a generation of children in an intercultural socio-educational environment. However, there still exist…

This paper revisits the notion of 'legitimate language' [e.g. Bourdieu 1977. "The Economics of Linguistic Exchange." "Social Science Information" 16 (6): 645-668] as it relates to multilingualism in educational contexts. Since Heller [1996. "Legitimate Language in a Multilingual School." "Linguistics and…

In the wake of the enactment of Sweden's Language Act in 2009 and in the face of the growing presence of English, Swedish universities have been called upon by the Swedish Higher Education Authority to craft their own language policy documents. This study focuses on the discursive negotiation of institutional bilingualism by a language policy…

Drawing from an ethnographic study of how one school community negotiates English-only policy in Arizona, we investigated how a bilingual community of practice was established at one school. Integral to establishing this bilingual community was the mobilization of Spanish-speaking families in the school's daily life and operation. This…

Singapore's bilingual policy legitimises English not only as the language of governmental administration and interethnic communication, but also as the medium of instruction in all schools on all levels and across all subjects except mother tongues (MTs). As a result of these politics of language recognition, a visible shift has occurred in all…

The education policies of 1988-2003 and 2004-2015 in The Gambia make provisions for the use of the L1 or area languages to serve as the media of instruction from Grades 1 to 3 and as school subjects from Grade 4 onwards. However, the policy on the use of L1 for teaching has not been implemented and what is practised instead is the use of English…

This article reports on a study of two contrasting secondary schools, serving the same "community" in south-west Wales; a bilingual school (Welsh and English) and an English-medium school (English only). Data were gathered using ethnographic methods, with this study focusing primarily on data elicited through "ethnographic…

This issue includes eight studies on different aspects of language policy, pedagogical practices, and teacher training in school contexts where a foreign language is used to teach curricular content (CLIL). This is a very welcome contribution because it provides additional perspectives to former studies that had focused on the linguistic outcomes…

This paper presents results from an ethnography of language policy which examined language policy appropriation for bilingual learners in a large urban US school district. The purpose of this article is to explore the space left by current US language policy for developmental bilingual education and, specifically, the focus is on how a group of…

This quantitative study examines current practice and challenges of Chinese-English bilingual education in Chinese tertiary institutions and presents a case study of a bilingual course by investigating learners' attitudes toward this educational and language policy. Using a convenience sampling strategy with an instrument modified from a…

This article reports on an ethnographic study which investigated the implementation of the Kenyan language-in-education policy in a school in rural Western Kenya. The study reveals the complexity of policy implementation in a multilingual and multiethnic context where language shift and civil unrest are occurring, and where there is pressure to…

A growing body of research documents how educational policies and accountability systems can open or close "ideological and implementational spaces" for bilingual education, shaping the language planning efforts of Indigenous communities. Using collaborative research, Indigenous and non-Indigenous researchers investigated the…