The ideological role of English, beyond its instrumental value, is reported to be immense. British colonial rule deployed English as an ideological tool which facilitated colonial subjugation and religious conversion. Connections between English and evangelism have widened in the postcolonial and globalising world, leading to labelling English as…

This article examines Language Policy documents within higher education institutions in Sweden. Its main focus is on how national language policies and policies for internationalization of the higher education are reinterpreted as local language policy. The analysis of ideologies surrounding the prescribed language(s) in meetings of decision…

Many nations have attempted to create different language-in-education policies that would cater not only to the needs of learners but also to the demands of preserving a country's native languages. The emergence of multilingual education has led to a proliferation of research that shows the benefits of using a learner's first language. These…

In some settings, medium of instruction (MOI) policies in multilingual education break out into public debates in mass media involving politicians, business leaders, government officials, parents, and school children. These public discussions of MOI often index struggles over the distribution of political power and economic resources, and issues…

Factors responsible for the language policy of the Catholic Church include the need for uniformity and integrity of doctrine and the need for the worshipping community to have access to the meaning of the words of the liturgy. At times, liturgical theology and political needs of the church have promoted the need for uniformity over the need for…

An analysis of the institutional context of law suggests that, if legislation is to be both stable and flexible, institutional communicative strategies are required to organize linguistic means to these sociolinguistic ends. The nature of an Act of Parliament is used to illustrate the institutional context of law. (Author/CB)

Language planners assert that languages are tools that can be transformed into resources and managed by states through elaboration of language policies to be carried out through language planning. Language planning is explored from the Afrocentric point of view, considering it as part of pro-Western propaganda. (SLD)

This is one in a series of eight discussion pamphlets produced by the Writing Across the Curriculum Project dealing with some of the issues connected with writing in the schools and their relation to learning. This pamphlet is concerned with various aspects of the Bullock Committee Report. The first section maps the various ways in which teachers…

Contains citations of 29 books, reports, articles, and essays on the role of English as a Second Language in Europe and its component countries. Although most are in English, others are in French, German, and Italian. The items cited span the period 1940-96, but most are from the 1990s. (MSE)

This article examines the language games played by superintendents as they work with school boards and community activists to craft school policy. We begin by examining the role of language in problem definition and the agenda-setting process. We then examine how political culture and the media affect problem definition. We argue that school…

This book presents a discussion paper of policy alternatives for bilingual-bicultural education. It also includes two critiques of the paper. Since the enactment of the Bilingual Education Act, the U.S. Office of Education has sponsored programs to help low achieving students with little or no command of English by teaching reading, math, and…

Modern Ethiopia has made progress that has altered the status and functions of its various languages. With modernization, the reasons for and means of interethnic contact have multiplied, creating the need for a common language. Amharic, once confined to a rather small area, has spread geographically and grown in status in the last thousand years,…

Starting from the perspective that bilingualism is an asset, the book describes approaches and strategies for schools to adopt that support and develop the skills of bilingual learners. A theoretical framework and research on which it is based are outlined, and suggestions are made for classroom strategies and procedures. The first chapter…

Although the development of Kiswahili in Tanzania has had a number of stumbling blocks, it is slowly developing into a language of modern technology. Individual institutions have contributed greatly to its spread and promotion. More books are now published in Kiswahili than ever before, and scientific and technical terminology has been developed.…

The extent to which the language planning that has been pursued in many localities and in many periods has been guided by nationalism, that is, by "...the social movements, attitudes, and ideologies which characterize the behavior of nationalities engaged in the struggle to achieve, maintain or enhance their position in the world" (Wirth 1936) is…