This paper examines the relationship between communities of practice and literacy as a pedagogical focus in secondary schools in New Zealand in the light of Corson's arguments about critical conditions for effective language policy development in schools. It is also positioned within the current international emphasis (at least in English-speaking…

This article focuses on how attitudes toward HLLs [heritage language learners] have changed, both with regard to program development and in learning and teaching. First, the ambiguity towards heritage language preservation is illustrated by examining historical aspects of heritage languages in the United States. Secondly, a closer look at two…

This dissertation is a study of diverse linguistic resources and contentious identity politics among indigenous Amazonian Kichwas in the city of Tena, Ecuador. Tena is a rapidly developing Amazonian provincial capital city with a long history of interethnic and interlinguistic contact. In recent decades, the course of indigenous Kichwa identity…

This paper is concerned with a specific case of L3 acquisition: the starting position for English vowel acquisition by infant German-Italian bilinguals will be investigated in light of prototype theory. The chosen example of triple language contact is characterised by consecutive bilingualism as the basis of L3 acquisition, where the learners' L2…

This paper analyses the rationale for the creation of multimedia texts, in the context of learning English in an economically and socially depressed context. Issues of implementation of macro-level language policies in a local context are particularly stringent when the macro-level approach is rendered impracticable for some reason (e.g. cost,…

While teaching and learning English as an international language is flourishing throughout the world, it seems that this process has encountered breakdowns in Iran. Despite the fact that there is a strong relationship between age and language learning, this has escaped notice in practice in our country. The aim of this paper is to demonstrate two…

The European Language Portfolio (ELP) was developed and piloted by the Language Policy Division of the Council of Europe, Strasbourg, from 1998 to 2000. It was launched on a pan-European level during the European Year of Languages as a tool to support the development of plurilingualism and pluriculturalism…

This paper investigates the foreign language management strategies of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Lazio, Italy. Based on empirical data from a questionnaire survey and ethnographic interviews, it also aims to validate the hypothesis that macro-level language planning (on a national scale) may not reflect language problems…

This paper discusses particular uses of language in a specific social location in the Philippines drawn from the 15-volume ethnographic study of functional literacy in 14 marginal communities in the Philippines by Doronila (e.g. 1996). These are uses of language by people whose internal capacity to generate change is strong yet many of whom are…

This paper stresses the importance of enacting positive transformation in language policy and planning in the United States as delineated by the idea of radical localism and supported by a critical pedagogy of place. Initially, I ask the following questions: Does NCLB impact opportunities for English language learners to take part in their…

The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the sociolinguistic situation in Estonia. The paper opens with a historic overview, followed by an overview of the current demographic situation and of post-Soviet language and education policies and practices. It is argued that Estonia represents a success story in terms of language policy,…

This paper reviews developments and future challenges in language policy, planning and assessment in Finland, where several important changes in legislation, curricula and assessment systems have recently taken place. Language proficiency requirement of immigrants and civil servants have been redefined, school curricula have been revised and new…

This paper argues that the challenge of intercultural communication has often been overlooked in discussions of indigenous language literacy in Africa. The omission continues despite the fact that literacy practices in Africa have often served as a means of intercultural communication, especially among highly educated Africans. Proposals for the…

Discusses the origins of Soviet sociolinguistics and suggests that the historical significance of the reception and reinterpretation of these ideas is considerable, leading to a reconsideration of the origins of sociolinguistics and the relationship between Marxism and the language sciences in the early years of the Soviet Union. (Author/VWL)

Examines why language planners in the Philippines argue the way they do concerning critical language issues in the country. Suggests discursive "strategies of forgetting" are employed across complex structures of relations shaped by decades of colonialization, Filipino elite collaboration, and current neocolonial and global conditions.…