Language Planning and Policy Research: An Overview

Abstract

The relevance of a section on language policy and planning for a handbook devoted to research on language learning and teaching could well be questioned. This is especially the case as many applied linguists define language planning in terms of large-scale, usually national, planning, often undertaken by governments and meant to influence, if not change, ways of speaking or literacy practices within a society (Kaplan & Baldauf, 1997, p. 3). Although such issues may seem remote and only marginally relevant to the other issues being discussed in this Handbook, it can be argued that language planning and policy is relevant to research on language teaching and learning on at least two counts. First, broadly speaking, the language policies and the subsequent implementation planning that occur, at least partially provide the structure or policy context for language learning and teaching and contribute to defining what counts as research. Second, at a more micro level, decisions that administrators and/or teachers make about who teaches what language, in what manner, for what purpose, to whom have small-scale policy consequences as these decisions either reinforce policy or begin to undermine it, thereby contributing to the development of new policy. Therefore, it behooves us to examine the research about language policy and planning processes to develop an understanding of how such practices impact language learning and teaching.