In this paper, I first refer to the center-periphery dichotomy in terms of scientific output, placing emphasis upon the relation that exists between science and technology development, on the one hand, and social and economic development, on the other. I then analyze the main problems faced by most peripheral journals and the role nation states…

This commentary was written after the May Day of 2006, which hundreds of thousands of Latino immigrants in the United States used to protest against their predicament. As a largely "illegal," hence invisible and unrecognized minority, they find themselves in extremely vulnerable positions in the labour, housing, and political markets,…

This article takes stock of the complex scenario of the European education space in its past, present and future developments, which highlights the priorities of the modernisation, improvement and convergence of the goals for education and training systems in the knowledge and learning society. The critical case of teacher education is then…

In his latest survey of the prospects for English language teaching in the next 50 years, David Graddol claims that over half the world's international students are taught in English and that universities are increasingly offering courses in English. This seems to be a necessary condition for achieving excellence and prestige. At the same time,…

This study reports on the impact of 11 West European first languages on the acquisition of Dutch. Using data from nearly 6,000 second-language learners, it was found that the mother tongue had a rather large impact on two language skills--namely, oral and written proficiency--as measured by the scores received by these learners on the State…

As the number of immigrants and refugees grows in the United States, the linguistic and cultural diversity that comprises the middle grades classroom continues to increase. Given the need for resources and specific attention to linguistic and cultural strategies for these populations, this three-year ethnographic study examined the schooling…

This paper provides an analysis of language shift from African languages to English (and Afrikaans) in South Africa, using home language data from the South African population census (1996 and 2001). Although census data have been criticised for its "essentialist" construction of language, they nevertheless provide sociolinguists with a…

Originally, European schools were established for children of European Union (EU) staff members to enable them while they were abroad to send their children to schools where they could be taught by teachers from their home country. Each country has its own language department with its own teaching staff. This ensures that the pupils will not feel…

In this timely volume, international scholars examine how multilingual schooling is handled in schools across the world with a series of case studies from South Africa, Nigeria, Germany, Colombia, Slovakia, New Zealand, and Taiwan. Presenting new contributions arising from the varied contexts of multilingualism today, this collection urges…

This article discusses the potential value of developing pupils' intercomprehension skills at elementary school. This development construes Europe as a plurilingual and intercultural space in which the linguistic and cultural identity of each community finds its place. However, the construction of Europe also faces the challenges of assuring…

This paper discusses the connection between language ideologies and educational migration. South Korea is experiencing a boom in short-term migration among pre-university students, a phenomenon known as "jogi yuhak." This trend is driven in part by ideologies that link valorized forms of English with specific geographical locations; but…

This study analyzes the ways in which raced consciousness inflects developing understandings of cultural responsiveness among preservice teachers whose preparation included responses to imaginative engagement with literary texts, interactions in an underresourced school, and exploration of key concepts of culturally responsive pedagogy. The…

This paper is about the language attitudes that bilingual youth in Singapore have towards their Mother Tongue and English, and towards codeswitching between the two. The language attitudes of 443 primary school students were investigated using a variation of the matched-guise technique. Status and solidarity dimensions of attitudes, with ethnicity…

Few would argue that the abilities to communicate with others around the world and to understand their cultures are essential skills for students. In fact, almost any list of 21st century skills and core subjects includes foreign languages. The United States is no longer isolated geographically, economically, or politically from the rest of the…

This paper explores tensions in translating multilingual language policy to classroom linguistic practice, and especially the paradoxical role of and demand for English as a tool of decolonization for multilingual populations seeking equitable access to a globalizing economy. We take an ecological and sociolinguistic approach, depicting tensions…