The current article applies interactional sociolinguistic discourse analysis to interviews with three parents of Ukrainian families living in New Zealand to further complexify what we know about Family Language Policy (FLP) and language transmission. More specifically, this article theorizes what we call "Aspirational FLP"--when the…

The study of language maintenance and shift (LMS) has attracted a large body of empirical work in language policy and planning (LPP) contexts, including allochthonous (immigrant) and autochthonous (indigenous) languages. However, some critical ontological questions that relate to the scope and terminology of language maintenance studies remain…

This paper presents a framework for what we consider are essential elements for realising the linguistic rights of Indigenous children in the twenty-first century. The global impacts of colonisation on various Indigenous communities have resulted in loss of cultural practices, knowledge and loss of languages. This framework points to ways forward…

Strong teacher-family partnerships are vital for children's educational success. Educational policies influence how teachers perceive and engage in these significant relationships. Critical policy analysis focuses on the language, and underlying meanings and beliefs that reify certain understandings and positions in policy. We trace changes in…

The present study investigates immigrant parents' family language policies in regards to their children's heritage language development and maintenance by utilizing Spolsky's theoretical model on which research on family language policy (FLP) considerably draw. Following the three core components of the FLP model, Iranian parents' beliefs,…

This article considers the circuitous route of knowledge exchange from South (New Zealand)-to North (Finland)-to regional South (Estonia) by examining the development of Võro language nests ("keelepesä") in Estonia. Language nests reflect the global nature of educational knowledge exchange as well as the importance of networks of…

This article explores the extent to which task-based language teaching (TBLT) as an emerging but increasingly popular language teaching approach can be used successfully for teaching te reo Maori as a minority and endangered language in Aotearoa/New Zealand. The article presents the experiences and perspectives of one beginning teacher of te reo…

Parents and prospective parents who speak a language other than English in New Zealand are in something of an information desert when it comes to how and why they might go about raising their children bilingually. While the official languages, Te Reo Maori and New Zealand Sign Language, have special status among the languages of New Zealand, other…

New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL) became an official language (NZSL Act 2006) when its vitality was already under pressure. Even though its institutional status has improved recently, the traditional community domains of NZSL use and transmission are apparently shrinking inasmuch as most of the deaf children who have cochlear implants are acquiring…

Since the second half of the twentieth century, post-colonial governments have commonly sought to revitalize the indigenous languages their imperialist predecessors hoped to eradicate. Although the impetus to revitalize is shared, the question of excluding or including the non-indigenous majority in the revitalization process, and encouraging them…

Inspired by Joshua Fishman's lifetime dedication to the revitalisation of minority languages, especially Yiddish, this paper presents my personal story of the loss of the Maori language in my family in New Zealand/Aotearoa and our attempts to reverse this decline over several generations. The paper includes a description of several policy reforms…

This article makes a case for the existence of a minority language hierarchy in New Zealand. Based on an analysis of language ideologies expressed in recent policy documents and interviews with policymakers and representatives of minority language communities, it presents the arguments forwarded in support of the promotion of different types of…

Within the last two decades, there has been increased interest in how technology supports Indigenous language revitalization and reclamation efforts. This paper considers the effect technology has on Indigenous language learning and teaching, while conceptualizing how language educators, speakers, learners, and technology users holistically…

Despite some gains in the regeneration of te reo Maori, the indigenous language of Aotearoa New Zealand, its long-term survival remains threatened. One avenue for regeneration seldom considered is the English-medium secondary school. This article reports on a case study where students in one such school chose te reo Maori as an option and, and,…

New Zealand's two main government Maori language planning agencies, the Maori Language Commission and the Ministry of Maori Development, have engaged for some time in language planning targeting the attitudes and behaviours of non-Maori New Zealanders towards the Maori language. This activity is undertaken on the basis that the attitudes and…