This paper focuses on the future of Spanish in the United States and on the tensions and challenges that surround what Fishman (1964) referred to as "intergenerational continuity..It examines the teaching of language itself and the role of such instruction in the development and maintenance of Spanish/English multicompetence (Cook, 1996),…

Some recent studies have suggested a significant bottom-up or parental component to recent movements for autochthonous minority language-medium education (MLME). This study takes MLME as the outcome of interest and seeks to explain trends in Irish-medium education (IME) in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland since 1920--a unique…

Little empirical research has examined the cause of language shift or the factors related to the heritage language (HL) development of language minority groups. This study investigates the factors that facilitate or inhibit the HL development of second-generation Korean Americans, with a focus on adolescent HL learners, who go through phases in…

The language shift phenomenon in the Bajau Sama Kota Belud in Sabah is definite. The researchers surveyed the phenomenon in Kampung Taun Gusi 1, Kota Belud, Sabah. Based on the age cross-sectional method, 300 participants of 20-29 years (G20s), 30-39 years (G30s), 40-49 years (G40s), and 50-59 years (G50s) respectively were selected by stratified…

It has long been acknowledged that immigrant children who are originally exposed to home languages become rapidly socialized into using only English. Although many children ultimately develop receptive skills in their home language, they often become English dominant and rarely have the opportunity for literacy development. There is also a common…

Language is a contextual factor of an education system as it determines the Language of Learning and Teaching (LOLT). In order to provide for diversity in South Africa, the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996, makes provision for 11 official languages and the Language in Education Policy (LiEP) promotes respect for not only these…

The codeswitching pattern is different in rural Tanzania compared to urban agglomerations around the world. Even in very rural areas people in Tanzania are bilingual in Swahili, the national and local lingua franca, and their own first language. The result of this language contact is understudied and has only recently been focused on. This paper…

The tradition of leaving high school and finding full-time employment after grade 8 has put Low German-speaking (LGS) Mennonites in rural Southwestern Ontario in a vulnerable economic position. Consequently, alternative education programs have been developed by Ontario public school boards in areas containing high numbers of LGS Mennonites. The…

Despite the growing sophistication of digital technologies, it appears they are contributing to language extinction on a par with devastating losses in biodiversity. With language extinction comes loss of identity, inter-generational cohesion, culture, and a global wealth of knowledge to address future problems facing humanity. Linguists estimate…

Drawing on theories of family language policy and literacy environment, this inquiry explores and describes how family language policy is managed through literacy resources and literacy related activities in transnational families in the UK. A total of 66 families, each with at least one child between the age of 2 and 8, participated in this…

In the United States, 9.4% of public school students speak a language other than English; of those children, 77% speak Spanish (National Center for Education Statistics, 2017). While there is widespread concern for these children to learn English, maintaining the home language and encouraging bilingualism are given little regard (Ovando, 2003).…

Recording the home languages of schoolchildren has long been acknowledged as a useful way of mapping community multilingualism. However, the need to process large quantities of data on many different languages has meant that in order to assess the vitality of community languages, researchers have had to rely on schoolchildren's self-reported…

Building on the research on translanguaging practices in classrooms (e.g. García, 2009; Sayer, 2011) and immigrant families' literacy practices (e.g. Gregory et al., 2004; Li, 2006), this qualitative study explores the nature of translanguaging practices of four Korean bilingual children and their families in home literacy events. Participant…

This article critically examines bilingual, intercultural education policies and practices in El Salvador and Mexico. In the context of legacies of assimilation and neoliberal homogenization, certain kinds of citizenship become prioritized over others. This is visible where performances of local identity clash with state mandates about educational…

This article analyses how language laws favouring French improved the vitality of the Francophone majority relative to the declining Anglophone minority of Quebec. Part one provides a review of Canadian Government efforts to provide federal bilingual services to Francophones and Anglophones across Canada. Using the ethnolinguistic vitality…