This case study investigates how a cohort of Myanmar ethnic minority students' language ideologies shape their Putonghua learning and educational trajectories at government schools and Chinese supplementary schools in the borderland next to China. The data were collected through semi-structured interviews and from the participants' autobiographies…

The research on language dynamics in the context of migration and integration has been dominated by applied linguists and educators, who described and measured native language attrition and emerging bilingualism among immigrants and their children. In parallel, sociolinguists discussed the role of language ideology/policy of the host society and…

Nuosu script, a unique character-based script with a long history, permeates the public spaces of Xichang, the capital of the Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture in southwest China. Using interviews, photos, observations, and documents, this qualitative study discovers the uses and meanings of Nuosu script in the linguistic landscape (LL). The…

Recent developments in multilingualism and multilingual education in minority-dominated regions in China highlight the importance of policy studies to support the national goals of achieving multilingualism [Feng, A. W., and B. Adamson, eds. 2015. "Trilingualism in Education in China: Models and Challenges." Dordrecht: Springer],…

In mainland China, most ethnic minority students today face the challenge of learning three languages in schools, namely, their home language (L1), Mandarin Chinese (L2) and a foreign language, usually English (L3). Research into trilingual education for minority groups has been most active since the turn of the twenty-first century. This paper…

Xinjiang has witnessed constant state attempts to reinforce the status of Mandarin Chinese as 'the Common Language' and to make local Turkic languages -- mainly Uyghur and Kazak -- more 'suitable' to the modern world. Official efforts to transform the linguistic landscape of Xinjiang have engaged in a complex interplay with Turkic speakers' own…

Uganda has been developing and revising its curricula since the time of British colonial rule. The latest revision of the primary education curriculum led to the introduction of the Thematic Curriculum in 2007. This curriculum requires the use of pupils' mother tongues as languages of instruction from Primary One to Three and then English from…

In order to distinguish between language-related ideologies, Ruiz (1984) proposed three language orientations, namely 'language-as-problem', 'language-as-right' and 'language-as-resource'. Although this typology has been applied to various countries and regions around the globe, relevant research in China, a multi-ethnolinguistic country, remains…

The Republic of Cyprus is a country characterised by a long-term conflict which resulted in the geopolitical division of the island. Greek-Cypriots and Turkish-Cypriots have lived in separation for more than 30 years until the border re-opened in 2003, allowing people to cross and visit 'the other side'. One of the crossing points is located in…

This study reports on an investigation into the perspectives of different stakeholders (e.g. administrators, teachers, students, and parents) towards motivations for introducing English as a medium of instruction (EMI) policy in low-resourced public schools, serving minoritized students, and language ideologies that form its practices. Framed…

The Shiwiar are an indigenous nation of Ecuador and Peru, and they are one of five ethnic groups collectively known as the Jivaroan people. In stark contrast to the other Jivaroan groups, the Shiwiar have largely been overlooked by local governments until recently and are still popularly considered to be an offshoot of their closely related…

Naming places is theorised as an activity in heritage whereby a name will index a people's narrative and history. In postcolonial societies where the colonised and the colonisers share spaces, individual locations can host different sides of history and different cultural significance. To this end, the New Zealand government has pursued bilingual…

Educational issues in relation to ethnicity and language education policies have been underexplored in Asian contexts. In particular, issues related to ethnic and linguistic minority students have not received much attention in the post-colonial context of Hong Kong. This paper highlights challenges and tensions faced by Nepali ethnic minority…

The paper considers whether bilingualism has an economic value in Slovenia's two ethnically mixed regions, or whether its value is more related to identity, and restricted primarily to the personal, educational and cultural spheres. Specifically, it asks whether bilingualism is rewarded on the labour market and what local people think about this…

The Hakka people, the largest ethno-linguistic minority group in Taiwan, have found their ethnic language retention diminishing. Using the data collected by the Taiwan Education Panel Survey and Beyond in 2010, we are the first to study its reason for decrease. Results indicate that out-marriage amongst Hakka people and losing ethnic concentration…