The instrumental motivations of learners of English as a foreign language (EFL) have been examined in detail, but there is a lack of studies exploring how they compare to those of learners of other languages (LOTEs). To address this gap, this study draws on a questionnaire (N = 312) and on semi-structured interviews (n = 20) and focuses on…

Informed by Bourdieu's conceptualisation of habitus and its relation with social class, this study explores the construction and negotiation of middle-class identity among a group of urban overseas returnees in China. Using ethnographic interviews and online observational data, the study found that participants built a compliant identity…

Within California, there are high numbers of Multilingual Language Learners (MLLs) that populate California public schools that require special programs and services to ensure their academic, language, and social success. According to the Public Policy Institute of California (2023), nearly 25 percent or 1.4 million of the students in California…

Much of social research in language learning in the past twenty years has been devoted to explore issues of identity construction and its sociological implications in terms of mobility and inclusiveness. There are a large number of studies on the areas of culture and identity, and how they relate to the investment and empowerment of language…

This dissertation employs a multiple case study approach to explore the views and expectations of Latino-Hispanic parents of ELLs regarding their children's school English language acquisition programs (ELAP). The central research question investigates the perceived effectiveness of these programs and their alignment with parents' aspirations for…

As one of the solutions to the economic stratification of English education opportunities and resulting in inequalities, there is a newly emerging global trend of bilingual parenting in Korea called 'maternal English education ("Eommapyo yeong-eo")'. The purpose of this study is to examine challenges of Korean parents in practicing…

The number of international schools such as the recently founded French-Israeli school in Israel is growing continuously around the world. International schooling, seen as a means to accumulate international cultural capital is increasingly viewed as a strategy of families' social mobility. It is through international education that schools…

This article aims to complexify the linguistic dimension of international schooling in light of the increasing diversification of the field but also as a result of the 'banalisation' of English and the growing 'added' value of multilingual competence in the knowledge economy. Drawing on data from focus groups with mobile families and institutional…

The historical Hindi-Urdu language strife intensified after the Indian 'Mutiny' in 1857 played a pivotal role in shaping the two-nation theory, culminating in the partition of the Indian subcontinent in 1947. Under English colonial rule, English language education became synonymous with power and job opportunities, creating divisions within the…

The paper explores how the discourse of nationalist and neoliberal agendas have shaped the conceptions of literacy education in Nepal, the ramifications for social stratification. As the review shows, the ruling elites tactfully imposed their language, culture, and knowledge in literacy curricula in the name of national unity, but to maintain…

This article examines international English-medium students' language aspirations in relation to social mobility as they are studying in a (Mandarin) Chinese-dominant context. It focuses specifically on Vietnamese students in Taiwan and their perspectives on how English and Chinese are related to their present and future life opportunities. Data…

Despite suspicions concerning the global expansion of Chinese as a Foreign Language (CFL) education, the teaching of Chinese is often a mainstay within global citizenship and elite education. With this paradox in mind, the paper draws on theories of classed selfhood and learner identities to explore the possibilities of CFL to influence the…

Families today are using culturally relevant pedagogy (CRP)--a social justice pedagogy that incorporates marginalized cultural practices into the classroom--to cultivate their children into future cosmopolitan professionals. Asian American, black, and Latinx families rationalize that CRP helps their children learn "a little bit of…

With the awareness of globalization, multilingual abilities have been encouraged, and parents seek bilingual education to provide their children with social prestige and economic advancement. However, in Korea, bilingual education reproduces and reinforces privileges of social status, prestige, and power. This research explores the ideologies of…

In this article we describe evolving educational aspirations and practices of female high school students and their families in the context of rapidly changing education and employment markets in Kolkata. We interviewed 35 families of girls attending two government high schools. The families are from lower middle-class and lower income…