Elana Shohamy

Bio: Elana Shohamy is an academic researcher from Tel Aviv University. The author has contributed to research in topics: Language assessment & Language policy. The author has an hindex of 37, co-authored 77 publications receiving 8270 citations.

Language Policy Hidden Agendas and New Approaches

Abstract: Policies concerning language use are increasingly tested in an age of frequent migration and cultural synthesis. With conflicting factors and changing political climates influencing the policy-makers, Elana Shohamy considers the effects that these policies have on the real people involved. Using examples from the US and UK, she shows how language policies are promoted and imposed, overtly and covertly, across different countries and in different contexts. Concluding with arguments for a more democratic and open approach to language policy and planning, the final note is one of optimism, suggesting strategies for resistance to language attrition and ways to protect the linguistic rights of groups and individuals.

Second language research methods

Abstract: CHAPTER 1: WHAT IS RESEARCH? CHAPTER 2: A PARADIGM FOR SECOND LANGUAGE RESEARCH CHAPTER 3: THE PREPARATORY STAGES OF RESEARCH CHAPTER 4: CONTEXTUALIZATION OF RESEARCH CHAPTER 5: THE COMPONENTS OF RESEARCH CHAPTER 6: RESEARCH DESIGN: QUALITATIVE AND DESCRIPTIVE RESEARCH CHAPTER 7: RESEARCH DESIGN: EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH CHAPTER 8: DATA AND DATA COLLECTION PROCEDURES CHAPTER 9: ANALYZING THE DATA CHAPTER 10: PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER

Linguistic Landscape as Symbolic Construction of the Public Space: The Case of Israel.

Abstract: Linguistic landscape (LL) refers to linguistic objects that mark the public space. This paper compares patterns of LL in a variety of homogeneous and mixed Israeli cities, and in East Jerusalem. The groups studied were Israeli Jews, Palestinian Israelis and non-Israeli Palestinians from East Jerusalem, of whom most are not Israeli citizens. The study focused on the degree of visibility on private and public signs of the three major languages of Israel-Hebrew, Arabic and English. This study reveals essentially different LL patterns in Israel's various communities: Hebrew–English signs prevail in Jewish communities; Arabic Hebrew in Israeli–Palestinian communities; Arabic–English in East Jerusalem. Further analyses also evince significant – and different – discrepancies between public and private signs in the localities investigated. All in all, LL items are not faithfully representative of the linguistic repertoire typical of Israel's ethnolinguistic diversity, but rather of those linguistic resources that...

The Power of Tests: A Critical Perspective on the Uses of Language Tests

Abstract: Language in Social Life is a major series which highlights the importance of language to an understanding of issues of social and professional concern. It will be of practical relevance to all those wanting to understand how the ways we communicate both influence and are influenced by the structures and forces of contemporary social institutions.In all modern societies individuals are subject to tests, whether to enter educational programs, to pass from one level to the next or to grant certificates to practice. Yet, tests are powerful tools which are often introduced in undemocratic and unethical ways as disciplinary tools for carrying out various policy agendas. Tests can be detrimental to people's lives as they are capable of affecting and defining the knowledge and behaviour of those who are being tested. The Power of Tests applies a critical perspective of language tests by examining their uses and consequences in education and society and by viewing tests not as isolated events but rather as embedded in social, educational and political contexts. The book is divided into four parts: the first part establishes the power of tests through echoing the voices of test takers, describing the features of the power of tests, and the temptations that tests offer to bureaucrats who use them for power and control. The second part reports on studies that provide empirical evidence about intentions and effects of a number of large scale language tests. The third part interprets the results by examining their consequences on education and society, arriving at a model of tests' use. The final section of the book offers strategies for controlling and minimising the misuses of tests by introducing the notion of Critical Language Testing which calls for the examination of the consequences and misuses of tests, monitoring of power and pointing to their unethical uses. It also provides a comprehensive discussion of the responsibilities of language testers, including a new Code of Ethics, as well as strategies for guarding and protecting the rights of test takers.

The Production of Space

Abstract: ‘The Production of Space’, in: Frans Jacobi, Imagine, Space Poetry, Copenhagen, 1996, unpaginated.

Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: learning, teaching, assessment

Abstract: The CEFR Companion volume broadens the scope of language education. It reflects academic and societal developments since the publication of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) and updates the 2001 version. It owes much to the contributions of members of the language teaching profession across Europe and beyond. This volume contains: ? an explanation of the key aspects of the CEFR for teaching and learning; ? a complete set of updated CEFR descriptors that replaces the 2001 set with: modality-inclusive and gender-neutral descriptors; added detail on listening and reading; a new Pre–A1 level, plus enriched description at A1 and C levels; a replacement scale for phonological competence; new scales for mediation, online interaction and plurilingual/pluricultural competence; new scales for sign language competence; ? a short report on the four-year development, validation and consultation processes. The CEFR Companion volume represents another step in a process of engagement with language education that has been pursued by the Council of Europe since 1971 and which seeks to: ? promote and support the learning and teaching of modern languages; ? enhance intercultural dialogue, and thus mutual understanding, social cohesion and democracy; ? protect linguistic and cultural diversity in Europe; and ? promote the right to quality education for all.

Testing for language teachers

Abstract: This book provides an accessible guide to concepts in language testing and the testing of specific skills and systems. It combines theory and practical recommendations to help teachers understand the principles of testing and how they can be applied, supporting them to write better tests. The third edition has been extensively revised and updated to reflect recent developments in the field, while retaining the straightforward approach that made the earlier editions essential reading for trainee and experienced teachers alike. It features new content on technology, including computer adaptive testing and the use of automated scoring for all skills. It also includes an extended discussion of language testers' responsibilities, new chapters on non-testing methods of assessment and a checklist to help teachers choose tests.

A Qualitative Framework for Collecting and Analyzing Data in Focus Group Research

Abstract: Despite the abundance of published material on conducting focus groups, scant specific information exists on how to analyze focus group data in social science research. Thus, the authors provide a ...

Identity, language learning, and social change

Abstract: In this review article on identity, language learning, and social change, we argue that contemporary poststructuralist theories of language, identity, and power offer new perspectives on language learning and teaching, and have been of considerable interest in our field. We first review poststructuralist theories of language, subjectivity, and positioning and explain sociocultural theories of language learning. We then discuss constructs of investment and imagined communities/imagined identities (Norton Peirce 1995; Norton 1997, 2000, 2001), showing how these have been used by diverse identity researchers. Illustrative examples of studies that investigate how identity categories like race, gender, and sexuality interact with language learning are discussed. Common qualitative research methods used in studies of identity and language learning are presented, and we review the research on identity and language teaching in different regions of the world. We examine how digital technologies may be affecting language learners' identities, and how learner resistance impacts language learning. Recent critiques of research on identity and language learning are explored, and we consider directions for research in an era of increasing globalization. We anticipate that the identities and investments of language learners, as well as their teachers, will continue to generate exciting and innovative research in the future.