This article takes stock of the current trends in research, policy and practice regarding the role of language in the dialogic classroom. The article uses the policies of two different educational jurisdictions as counterpoints to highlight the different ways that oral language can be positioned within primary curricula. It reflects on current and…

Indigenous education increasingly seeks to reclaim the institutions of state assimilation as spaces for the dissemination and support of localized forms of knowledge and language use and the valorization of alternative citizenship identities. In this study, I compare two schools in Ecuador to show how divergent ways of teaching Kichwa promote or…

This paper investigates the production of space and language policy in Ras Al Khaimah, a city in the United Arab Emirates. The paper builds on recent work in socio- and applied linguistics that has made use of sociospatial concepts from human geography. It argues that researchers should not only investigate space as a factor structuring language…

A decade ago, Hornberger & Johnson proposed that the ethnography of language planning and policy (ELPP) offers a useful way to understand how people create, interpret, and at times resist language policy and planning (LPP). They envisioned ethnographic investigation of layered LPP ideological and implementational spaces, taking up Hornberger's…

Research focused on learning mathematics in a 2nd language is generally located in individual 2nd-language contexts. In this ethnographic study, I investigated mathematics learning in 4 different second-language contexts: a mainstream classroom, a sheltered classroom for Indigenous students, a welcome class for new immigrants, and a…

Language policy and Linguistic Landscapes (LL) are a highly contested area in South Africa. Due to Apartheid, the education system constitutes the core of such contestation. In Post-Apartheid South Africa the new Constitution of 1996, the South African Schools Act (SASA) and recent political initiatives such as the Use of Official Languages Act of…

Translanguaging has gained prominence as a way to understand multilingual practices and draw on these in additional language teaching, but questions remain regarding its application in various educational contexts. This study investigates the significance of translanguaging across instructional settings by comparing discourses of markedness in…

We argue that 'academic language' should not be understood as technical components associated with a 'register', and that instead we must attend to its enregisterment. Enregisterment relies upon language ideologies and models of personhood, requiring attention to social components of 'academic language' beyond lexico-grammar. We draw on…

This comparative case study explores the use of Spanish, Arabic, and English in two elementary classrooms where instruction is delivered primarily in English and teachers and students do not share proficiencies in students' home languages. Using methods derived from ethnography of communication, the study examines how languages other than English…

Despite scant empirical support, Arizona's restrictive language policy (Proposition 203, 2000) sustains as a result of the veneer of democracy (a political strategy that projects equitable inclinations while shielding inequitable ideologies). This article compares findings from an ethnographic study of one linguistically diverse Arizona high…

Contrary to earlier studies dealing with the cultural identity development of diasporic minorities, this paper assesses the impact of homogeneity on intra-group cohesion and ethnic orientation. To this end, Oromo-Americans, an ethnic group originally located within the national borders of Ethiopia, will be compared to Armenian-Americans,…

This article explores the institutional policies and practices concerning multilingualism in small claims courts in New York City. Building on prior work that has investigated the language use of court interpreters and of the litigants for whom they translate, this study focuses on the analysis of institutional interactions in which all…

Although study abroad is viewed as an ideal environment for interaction in the target language, research in this area has relied mostly upon self-reported data, which pose challenges regarding recall bias and participant commitment. This article shows how Facebook data can be used to analyze naturally occurring learner interactions during study…

This thematic collection of four papers explores a number of perspectives on companies in which multiple languages are used. The "organisational" perspective concerns the question of how the presence of or demand for multiple languages in the company is managed--how companies are guided by national and other policies in regard to the use…

This paper presents profiles of eight multilinguals and examines the circumstances that determine their continued use, in addition to English, of at least two of their "home" languages. I attempt to identify in which domains this occurs, whether there are established patterns of domain-specific language use and whether these patterns are…