The history of language planning in Brazil, the only Portuguese speaking country in South America, is shown to have been decisively influenced at every critical moment by prevailing geopolitical interests. Sharing borders with nine out of the 11 countries that, together with it, make up the continent, Brazil has always been attentive to perceived…

Discusses the political import of a controversial bill currently being debated in the upper house of Brazil's legislature that seeks to curb the use of English in all but a handful of situations. Examines the ambivalence toward the language and suggest it has to do with the difficult geopolitics of the region and the contradictions in has…

Discusses the use of critical pedagogy in an English-as-a-foreign-language (EFL) context. In many EFL contexts, the teaching of English is far from a neutral enterprise. The EFL classroom can serve as the ideal arena for students to voice their concerns about the role of English. Critical pedagogy has shown that many issues outside the purview of…

Responds to comments by Canagarajah, which were written in response to an article that suggested that the role of English in endangering regional languages and cultures no longer holds true. (Author/VWL)

Discusses the view that the spread of English is endangering many regional languages and their corresponding cultures. Suggests that this view is based on premises that no longer hold true in a world marked by cultural intermixing and growing multilingualism. Implications for the English-as-a-Second-Language teacher are highlighted. (Author/VWL)

This paper is an attempt to take stock of the politics of language as it has been playing out in Latin America, ever since the countries in this region were colonized by European powers, mainly Spain and Portugal. Linguistic imperialism is by no means a new phenomenon in this part of the world. In more recent times, the relentless advance of…