Language Policy 

About: Language Policy is an academic journal published by Springer Science+Business Media. The journal publishes majorly in the area(s): Sociolinguistics & Language education. It has an ISSN identifier of 1568-4555. Over the lifetime, 608 publications have been published receiving 12177 citations.

Multilingual Language Policies and the Continua of Biliteracy: An Ecological Approach

Abstract: The one language—one nation ideology of language policy and national identity is no longer the only available one worldwide (if it ever was). Multilingual language policies,which recognize ethnic and linguistic pluralism as resources for nation-building, are increasingly in evidence. These policies, many of which envision implementation through bilingual intercultural education, open up new worlds of possibility for oppressed indigenous and immigrant languages and their speakers,transforming former homogenizing and assimilationist policy discourses into discourses about diversity and emancipation. This article uses the metaphor of ecology oflanguage to explore the ideologies underlying multilingual language policies, and the continua of biliteracy framework as ecological heuristic for situating the challenges faced in implementing them. Specifically, the paper considers community and classroom challenges inherent in implementing these new ideologies,as they are evident in two nations which introduced transformative policies in the early 1990s: post-apartheid South Africa's newConstitution of 1993 and Bolivia's National Education Reform of 1994. It concludes with implications for multilingual language policies in the United States and elsewhere.

Invisible and visible language planning: ideological factors in the family language policy of Chinese immigrant families in Quebec

Abstract: This ethnographic inquiry examines how family languages policies are planned and developed in ten Chinese immigrant families in Quebec, Canada, with regard to their children’s language and literacy education in three languages, Chinese, English, and French. The focus is on how multilingualism is perceived and valued, and how these three languages are linked to particular linguistic markets. The parental ideology that underpins the family language policy, the invisible language planning, is the central focus of analysis. The results suggest that family language policies are strongly influenced by socio-political and economical factors. In addition, the study confirms that the parents’ educational background, their immigration experiences and their cultural disposition, in this case pervaded by Confucian thinking, contribute significantly to parental expectations and aspirations and thus to the family language policies.

English Language Education in China: Policies, Progress, and Problems

Abstract: English language education has been accorded much importance in the People’s Republic of China in the last quarter century. This paper presents an overview of basic English language education in the Chinese education system. It is intended to serve two purposes: (1) to provide background information for situating and interpreting the findings reported by Silver and Skuja-Steele in this issue and (2) to survey progress and problems in the development of basic English language education in China. The paper is structured in three parts. The first part examines national policies on the expansion of English provision in basic education since the late 1970s. The second part focuses on policy efforts directed towards improving the quality of English instruction. The last part sketches the major progress that has been made and identifies several thorny issues in English language education that deserve serious attention from policymakers.

Ethnography of language policy

Abstract: While theoretical conceptualizations of language policy have grown increasingly rich, empirical data that test these models are less common. Further, there is little methodological guidance for those who wish to do research on language policy interpretation and appropriation. The ethnography of language policy is proposed as a method which makes macro–micro connections by comparing critical discourse analyses of language policy with ethnographic data collection in some local context. A methodological heuristic is offered to guide data collection and sample data are presented from the School District of Philadelphia. It is argued that critical conceptualizations of educational language policy should be combined with empirical data collection of policy appropriation in educational settings.

Current Japanese Reforms In English Language Education: The 2003 “Action Plan”

Abstract: In response to growing criticism that Japanese do not have sufficient communicative skills in English, the Japanese government proposed a five-year “Action Plan to Cultivate Japanese with English Abilities” in 2003. This paper examines the context and content of this plan as well as the initial reactions to it in various educational settings. The Action Plan itself reflects a number of conflicting ideological orientations, including: (1) whether Japan should pursue a policy of multilingualism or one favoring the spread of English; (2) whether Japan should emphasize international understanding or simply English education; and (3) promoting egalitarianism versus allowing for individualized education. Despite the challenges that these conflicting goals present, the Action Plan gives greater autonomy to teachers and local governments and thus may improve English education by enabling them to become active participants in the development of language education policies rather than simply being passive consumers of such policies.