Bilingual Policy Research Articles

Bilingualism Policies and Bilingual Education Programs in European Countries: The Example of Belgium

Bilingualism Policies and Bilingual Education Programs in European Countries: The Example of Belgium

Rural teachers’ appropriation of national bilingual policies: voices from the Colombian periphery

ABSTRACT This qualitative case study explores how rural teachers in the Colombian periphery perceive and appropriate national bilingual policies. I drew theoretically on coloniality/decoloniality, bilingualism, and teacher agency and collected data through questionnaires and in-depth interviews from four self-contained rural elementary school teachers. Data were analysed through thematic analysis and thematic coding and yielded three research categories: (a) bilingual policies and teaching realities gap, (b) policies’ discourses and teacher identity interconnectedness, and (c) eclectic and collaborative teachers. The main findings suggest that teachers perceive bilingual education merely as English language teaching and that bilingual policies’ powerful discourses have influenced their identity negatively. Likewise, they acknowledge that the educational authorities’ expectations are distant from the rural realities, so theyrecur to various pedagogical strategies and collaborative work to teach English and address bilingual policies’ methodological shortcomings. However, these efforts suggest racialised/colonised perceptions and teaching practices that enforce global agendas and neglect local necessities. Hence, it is paramount that educational actors decolonise/deracialise bilingual policies by localising pedagogies and humanising bilingual education.

Macro Skills Development Management of Chinese EFL Learners in Taiwan (R.O.C.)

Managing students’ macro skills development is necessary for any nation especially for non- native English-speaking countries not only because it can fully benefit them from global commerce but also for the reason that nations with higher levels of English language skills have stronger economies and enjoy a higher quality of life. This study critically analyzed the macro skills development management of the Grade 5students of Taipei Municipal Shezi Elementary School. It employed the Descriptive Survey Research Method and Comparative Analysis that were both transcribed in English and Traditional Chinese languages. Weighted Mean, Frequency Count, and Percentage were used to determine the implementation extent of the macro skills development program for the Chinese EFL learners as perceived by the three stakeholder groups, namely: the English teachers, the school administrators, and the policymakers along the four language components, namely: Listening, Speaking, Reading, and Writing in terms of the three management functions, namely: Planning, Commanding, and Controlling. Moreover, Independent (Paired) t Test, One Way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), and Post Hoc Test were utilized to ascertain the significant difference that exists on the implementation of the macro skills development program along the four language components in terms of the three management functions when categorized according to the perceptions of the three stakeholder groups. Furthermore, Frequency Count, Percentage, and Rank Order were employed to identify the factors attributed to the macro skills development of the Chinese EFL learners. The results of the study revealed that the macro skills development program for the Chinese EFL learners is highly implemented by the current educational managers of the state. It also went to show that the identified factors are rather pivotal to the realization and quality of bilingualism policy in the state. Thus, the BENEDICTUS Language Development Program Management Framework was created to help optimize the macro skills development management of EFL students around the world.

EFL Pre-service Teachers’ Enactment of Agentic Capacities in their Online Pedagogical Practicum

The global COVID-19 pandemic has significantly changed how education is delivered and accessed. In the evolving landscape of pre-service teachers’ pedagogical practicums within teacher education programs, both teacher educators and school supervisors continue to follow traditional national bilingual policies and curricula. These frameworks, often marked by discourses of accountability, control, and prescription, fail to address the post-pandemic realities faced by second and foreign language student-teachers. Factors influencing the pre-service teachers’ capacities to take initiative and make decisions in online pedagogical practices have not yet been thoroughly explored. This case study aimed to explore how 16 pre-service teachers exercised their agency in their online EFL pedagogical practicum classes and the factors that influenced their actions. Data were gathered through surveys, focus groups, recorded class observations, whole-class discussions, and teacher’s journal. The findings suggested that an intermediate competence on educational software enabled EFL pre-service teachers’ agentic capacities, which were manifested in transformative online teaching strategies centered on learners. Likewise, the lack of computer-mediated communication literacy, bad perceptions towards online teaching, unstable connection, and unequal power relations with school practicum teachers related to textbook coverage and impossibility to address social issues critically restricted their agentic capacities. These findings urge teacher educators, practicum supervisors, and curriculum developers to incorporate innovative, teacher agency-based policies, designs, and practices in both face-to-face and online instructional environments. Doing so will raise pre-service teachers’ awareness and empower them in decision-making processes during their pedagogical practicum, ultimately contributing to societal transformation through remote education.

Lost in translation: is Taiwan’s bilingual policy in graduate school a myth?

PurposeThis study intended to bridge this gap by investigating the perspectives of international students regarding Taiwan’s bilingual education policy and its impact on their willingness to enroll in graduate programs in Taiwan. Additionally, the comparisons among international students from diverse backgrounds were examined.Design/methodology/approachEmploying a qualitative research design, the study included nine participants from three countries, with each country contributing three students. Three sessions of semi-structured interviews were conducted, supplemented by the analysis of 15 documents from 8 organizations and universities.FindingsResults indicated predominantly negative views toward Taiwan’s bilingual education policy, with little impact reported by two participants and none by others. Furthermore, themes derived from document analysis deviated from participants' viewpoints.Originality/valueA focus on students from southern Asia, which was the major source of international students in Taiwan, becomes critical. In the same vein, little literature has been found concerning graduate students' perceptions toward bilingual education policy, which should be thoroughly explored as well.

Impact of English proficiency and self-efficacy on EMI content learning: a longitudinal study in Taiwan

Abstract In many countries, English-medium instruction (EMI) courses have become a requirement for universities to maintain their competitive global rankings. This study reports on a three-year EMI program in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at a national university in Taiwan. A total of 63 students participated in the study. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected, including measures targeting students’ English proficiency, language learning beliefs, classroom anxiety, self-efficacy, content course grades, and interview data from four faculty members. The t-tests indicate that students’ English proficiency significantly improved from their freshman year to their sophomore year but then tapered off in their junior year. Multiple regression analyses show that students’ self-efficacy remained the strongest predictor of the content learning outcomes, overriding the English proficiency. Interview data show that, after navigating the initial language impact and adapting to the EMI environment, students were better able to focus on the content learning due to enhanced self-efficacy. The qualitative data provide enriched contexts to support the statistical findings, against the backdrop of the 2030 Bilingual Policy, initiated in 2018 by Taiwan’s National Development Council to build a bilingual society by 2030. Finally, pedagogical implications and future research endeavors are also discussed.

조선족 학교 학생들의 이중 언어 태도 조사 연구

By examining the complex aspects of language use and attitudes among Korean-Chinese students living in Heilongjiang Province in China, this study aims to analyze the bilingual patterns of Korean-Chinese students from various angles and provide an in-depth understanding of their language usage patterns, attitudes toward language, and how bilingual skills are formed and developed in socio-cultural contexts. In this paper, based on the national public language supply policy at Heilongjiang Korean-Chinese School, a field survey and survey were conducted on students from Heilongjiang Province Korean-Chinese School to accurately grasp the status and attitude of bilingualism in Chinese and Korean. For the conduct of the study, first of all, the survey method and the subject of the survey were confirmed as students of 32 Korean-Chinese schools in Heilongjiang Province. Next, the pattern of bilingualism in Korean and Chinese was analyzed through a survey on language attitude, language status cause, language and character use, and language relationship. Next, the problems of bilingualism were confronted, and a strategy for optimizing bilingualism according to the cause was devised. The results of the survey showed that Korean-Chinese school students were deeply interested in Chinese and Chinese culture. In other words, it was premised that they should be able to accurately recognize the superiority of China's bilingual policy and speak both Korean and standard Chinese, which are the native languages of the Korean people, but it showed the reality that the Korean language ability was weakening day by day compared to Chinese. Therefore, in this paper, the optimization strategies for bilingualism were divided into five categories: language dissemination and education programs, socio-cultural environment encouraging language use, the development of bilingual education programs, home and community support for language use, and policy support for language preservation. Therefore, the Heilongjiang provincial government, schools, and parents should set up an environment where Korean language education can develop soundly through policies and measures to promote full promotion and distribution by developing Korean and Chinese in a balanced manner.

Лингвопрагматические характеристики двуязычия в акадийском медиадискурсе

The aim of the study is to identify the peculiarities of the implementation of pragmatic attitudes of the Acadian linguistic personality regarding bilingualism (goals pursued when covering bilingualism, values associated with bilingualism, etc.) in the media discourse of the province. The paper presents the results of analysing 100 newspaper articles covering various aspects of bilingualism in the region – the main themes and subthemes associated with bilingualism are identified and both quantitative and qualitative analyses of the data are conducted. The study is novel in that it presents the first characterization of the coverage of bilingualism in the Acadian press. As a result, the study reveals that regarding the coverage of bilingualism, the New Brunswick press primarily focuses on internal provincial affairs – the representation of bilingualism at the national level is barely reflected; failures and problems related to the implementation of bilingualism in the province are covered more extensively than the successes and achievements of implementing the institutional bilingualism policy. There is explicit criticism of the implementation of the language policy by the regional authorities – their actions and inactions; the articles note violations of Francophones’ rights and numerous difficulties in implementing bilingualism, including those arising from the entrenched conflict between Anglophones and Francophones in the province. However, measures to develop real bilingualism in various spheres of public life undertaken by the government, organizations, and ordinary citizens of the region are also highlighted; the authors of the articles and interviewees postulate ideas about the economic benefits of bilingualism and its value as part of the Acadian identity.

The Phraseology of Legal French and Legal Popularisation in France and Canada: A Corpus-Assisted Analysis

The popularisation of legal knowledge is a critical issue for equal access to law and justice. Legal discourse has been justly criticised for its obscure terminology and convoluted phrasing, which notably led to the Plain Language Movement in English-speaking countries. In Canada, the concept of Plain Language has been applied to French since the 1980s due to the official policy of bilingualism, while the concept has only been recently discussed in France. In this paper, we examine the impact of Plain Language rewriting on legal phraseology in French popularisation contexts. The first aim of our study is to see if plain texts published in France contain more traces of legal phraseology than French Canadian texts. Our second objective is to determine if a ‘phraseology of plain language’ can be identified across genres and languages. To do this, we compare two corpora of expert-to-expert legal texts written in French—made up, respectively, of legislative texts published in France and judicial texts published by the Supreme Court of Canada—with two corpora of texts that are claimed to have been written in Plain French Language for a non-expert readership—texts that guide laypersons through legal and administrative processes in France and summaries of decisions by the Supreme Court of Canada. Using n-grams, we extract and discuss the patterns that emerge from the corpora. In particular, our analyses rely on the concept of ‘lexico–grammatical patterns’, defined as the minimal unit of meaningful text made up of recurrent sequences of lexical and grammatical items. We then identify a sample of recurring lexico–grammatical patterns and their discursive functions.

Causes of Low Communicative Competences in English as a Foreign Language: Considerations and Reflections

Mastering English as a lingua franca has become a first-rate skill for new professionals in most jobs around the world. According to the bilingualism policies in Colombia it is expected that students from higher education achieve a level of English between B1 or B2 according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFRL), with students from bachelor degree programs in foreign languages, the level must be C1, in this sense the Ministry of Education has implemented projects and strategies to get a bilingual professional with high communicative competences, according to the demands of the globalized world. However, most students show low levels of communicative proficiency in English according to the results of the test applied by ICFES. Despite the demands of learning English, weaknesses persist in the mastery of communicative competences. A constant concern is to investigate some causes of low communication skills in this language. This article presents the results of some research conducted in various countries around the world that has attempted to investigate these causes. The causes, according to the results of the research, have to do with social and cultural aspects, but more importantly, teacher performance is one of the most frequent causes. This requires special attention to start programs and projects aimed at training teachers in didactic competencies.

Teacher Preparation and the Implementation of Official Bilingualism in Anglophone Primary Schools in Cameroon: A Study of Some Teacher Training Colleges in the Buea Municipality

Since the reunification of the two Cameroons in 1961, successive modes of application of official bilingualism have been adopted geared toward empowering every child leaving school with communication competencies in English and French. Despite the noble intentions, the pedagogic implications of the implementation remain uncertain. With the current Anglophone crisis, the much talked about ‘living together’ is threatened by a linguistic divide which, undeniably, has a huge toll on the cultural heritage of the two linguistic communities in the country. One wonders why after more than half a century; official bilingualism is not yet a living reality among school leavers. In teacher training institutions responsible for laying the foundation for the achievement of the policy, language curriculum still leaves much to be desired. This research investigates teacher preparation as a crucial link in implementing the official bilingualism policy in Anglophone primary schools. It focuses on language curriculum as the basis for teacher training to establish its adequacy in the achievement of official bilingualism. The paper examines official bilingualism in the professional preparation of teachers in some public, confessional and lay private teacher training institutions in the Buea municipality of the South West Region of Cameroon. The findings reveal that, though most teachers have a good working experience of over 10 years, their deficient bilingualism levels do not reflect effectiveness in bilingualism teaching. They cannot plan, implement and evaluate French and bilingualism training lessons. They lack exposure in terms of content knowledge and pedagogic skills and have limited time allocation for bilingual training. Finally, teachers do not master the French language subject matter they are expected to teach.

Reflections on the Role of Indigenous Languages in the Context of Bilingualism Policies in Colombia

Colombia is one of the most diverse countries in cultural and linguistic terms, with 68 indigenous languages in different regions. However, because of the bilingualism policies implemented in the country and the decision to promote the teaching of English as a foreign language from a homogenization perspective, a great majority of languages have been disappearing over time, which affects the cultural and historical legacy that these languages allow. The trends of the globalized world have provoked non-English-speaking countries into starting bilingualism plans to enter the dynamics and requirements for new professionals. However, these initiatives have been detrimental to the cultures of the countries themselves. In Colombia, the teaching and preservation of aboriginal languages have been omitted to introduce foreign languages. The national bilingualism programs launched in Colombia during the last decades are focused on linguistic homogenization, leaving aside the cultural and linguistic richness of the country, which affects the communities that have a minority language and are in danger of extinction. This is qualitative research with a descriptive documentary research methodology whose main objective was to analyze the policies of bilingualism in Colombia and their impact on preserving aboriginal languages. A review of bilingualism policies, ethno-education policies, and academic offers in higher education were reviewed from the perspective of descriptive-documental research. The research results show that bilingualism policy decisions have favored the inclusion of modern languages, leaving indigenous languages at a disadvantage. A review of the academic offerings of higher education in modern languages and ethno-education shows that the latter is very limited while the former is increasing, as well as the reduction of aboriginal languages in the country and the lack of educational opportunities and teaching training for the indigenous population.

Reflecting on bilingualism policies in non-English speaking countries in Latin America: The case of Colombia and Argentina

English has been considered the official language in many non-English speaking countries. In the case of Latin America, language policies have been included in most of the countries where English has been officialized as the foreign language and it is mandatory to teach it in educational contexts. Most countries are aiming for the formation of bilingual citizens and professionals with proficiency in English to meet the demands of globalization. This article presents a reflection on the case of two countries that have implemented bilingua-lism policies such as Colombia and Argentina. These two countries have similarities in terms of policies and social, economic, geographic, and cultural factors, however, evaluating the level of English that each country has. It shows a marked difference between the two. Argentina occupies the first place in the performance of communicative skills in English with a high level, while Colombia is in the last places and has been recognized as one of the countries with the lowest level. In addition, the qualitative approach, the constructivism paradigm and documentary research method will be considered to achieve this objective.

A Study on The Factors Behind Bilingual Policy Promotion Within Higher Education in Taiwan

This paper aims to examine the ongoing bilingual policy promoted in higher education in Taiwan by exploring the important factors that might affect the promotion of the policy. After using literature review method to explore key factors affecting bilingual policy implementation in higher education, a group of 15 distinguished experts in the fields of language education, EMI promotion centers and in bilingual education policy implementation were assembled to form an expert panel. Leveraging the collective expertise and diverse perspectives of the panelists, the study conducted a questionnaire survey to collect the data. The results show five main categories of factors related to the implement of Bilingual Policy, namely “administrative support”, “school environment and resources”, “curriculum and instruction”, “student learning” and “local linkage”. Among the five categories, “administrative support” has the highest expert consensus of importance in terms of promoting Bilingual Policy, followed by “student learning”, “curriculum and instruction”, “school environment and resources” and “local linkage”. Experts’ comments and suggestions are also discussed.

Has language as resource been the basis for mother-tongue instruction in Sweden? On the evolution of policy orientations towards a uniquely enduring bilingual policy

This paper provides a comprehensive analysis of the motivations that key policy documents have put forward as justifications for Sweden’s mother-tongue instruction in immigrant and historical minority languages as a multicultural policy that has endured for nearly half a century. The diachronic development of these motivations is analysed in four periods and interpreted with the help of Ruiz’s (1984) orientations in language planning. The corpus consists of 26 key policy documents making up the coordinative discourse among policy actors. Based on an innovative mix of qualitative and quantitative methods, the motivations are presented in a three-tiered taxonomy consisting of motivational units, themes and language-planning orientations. The results point to both continuity and change in how mother-tongue instruction has been justified over time. Confirming previous research, the results show that the language-as-resource orientation has played a central role in justifying both the establishment and the maintenance of mother-tongue instruction in Sweden and that language as right complemented this orientation. Furthermore, the study illustrates that the language-as-problem orientation need not always be detrimental to bilingualism and minority-language maintenance. Contrary to some claims in the literature, it is argued that language as extrinsic resource is not necessarily underpinned by neoliberalism, as there are also social liberal and conservative inroads to this orientation. The paper concludes that although the language-as-resource orientation plays an indispensable role in supporting bilingualism in education, not only the language-as-right orientation but also the language-as-problem orientation should not be neglected.

Psychic Capital: Its Role in Maintaining Quebec and Other Francophone Identities

This article will demonstrate the value of Boulding’s concept of psychic capital in explaining the survival of Quebec and other North American francophone communities where French is the first language. Psychic capital holds that while in an economic unit there will be a store of financial capital which is necessary for the continued existence of an economic unit, also in a human community there is a need for a reserve of psychic capital that is vital for the survival of that community. Psychic capital does this by providing a body of positive feelings shared between individuals and larger groupings, which could be a community or a whole nation. Boulding proposed that a coherent body of thoughts, memories and emotions may be shared as psychic capital. In the case of Quebec, this is embodied in the French language and a distinct culture which has provided the foundation of its survival through many adverse events and is the basis of the desire of many of its members for independence from Canada. If Quebec were to achieve independence, this would impact other francophone communities in North America by undermining Canada’s policy of official bilingualism at the federal level, with economic, social and political impacts. A store of psychic capital is thus necessary for the survival of Quebec and the other francophone communities of North America.

Researching EMI policy and practice multilingually: reflections from China and Turkey

In the field of English medium instruction (EMI), multilingual research approaches are crucial to carrying out effective and ethically responsible research, because EMI policies and practices are inherently multilingual. This paper is a partial replication study that adopts a ‘researching multilingually’ analytical framework to interrogate the challenges and affordances of using multiple languages during two EMI research projects. In the project in Turkey, the lead researcher, who is an English-Turkish bilingual, analysed policy documents (n = 145) and interview data (n = 67) drawing on her knowledge of both languages. Additionally, 85 EMI classroom observations were conducted. In the project in China, the research team of two L1 English speakers and two L1 Chinese speakers investigated 93 bilingual policy documents and conducted interviews with 26 policy arbiters by drawing on both languages during data collection and analysis. Together, these reflections highlight how multilingual approaches can be utilised throughout the research process, from team formation, research design, data collection, data analysis, and presentation of findings in research reports.

Public Policies of Bilingualism towards Social Peace

The objective of this study is to analyze bilingualism in Colombian educational public policies and academic management committed to healthy coexistence and social peace in elementary and middle school education. It is mixed research, and the data processing techniques are textual analysis of written documents and descriptive statistics of data from surveys applied to teachers. The main findings explain that public bilingualism policies do not achieve satisfactory results due to the lack of procedures that involve the different actors of the educational system. The bilingual curriculum represents the means of implementation of these policies in the educational institution and urgently requires an update that includes its actors recognizing their needs, where shared learning represents a vital foundation for socialization from the classroom, guaranteeing the development of communicative skills among different groups of students and promoting harmonious coexistence that sustains social peace. Public policies for bilingualism require updating with strategies and trained human capital for the development of a curriculum that facilitates its effectiveness, considering learning as a promoter of social peace.

Repositioning technical and vocational education and training in Africa for global competitiveness: a bilingual model

This paper aims to reposition technical and vocational education and training in Africa by modelling the Chinese and Asian Tigers’ bilingual approach. This study used inductive content analysis cum transformative paradigm to identify relevant points constituting the major component of this conceptual paper. In addition, thematic method was also used to organize the identified points into categories and sub-categories. The introduction of the bilingualism approach to TVET programs following eight key stages will be actualised. Researchers are encouraged to conduct experimental empirical studies on Bilingualism in African TVET institutions, and its programs exploring the six stages conceptualised. Adding bilingualism to the TVET program will increase enrollment, make the program easier to get into, and help African countries’ economies grow. A bilingual policy will help many local talents who cannot speak other languages.

Evolving means of formal language policy on Putonghua and minority languages on the Chinese mainland (1986–2021)

ABSTRACT This study analyses the evolving means of China’s formal language policy on Putonghua and minority languages from 1986 to 2021. This paper identifies four stages based on the shifting focus between Putonghua and minority languages: status planning of the central government (1986–1990), balance via bilingual policy (1991–2000), strong Putonghua spread at all levels (2001–2011), and Putonghua promotion and minority language preservation (2012–2021). Through descriptive and corpus analysis of a self-constructed language policy database, for each stage, we explore the major means stated in policy documents by analysing keywords to explain policy changes with consideration of social conditions. The results show that China has continuously adjusted its formal language policy according to social changes, and that language planning in this emerging economy has been profoundly influenced by national strategy and government administration.