Foreign Language Policy Research Articles

English Language Teachers’ conceptions and attitudes to multilingual development in Education

The study was conducted with the aim to specify the EFL teachers’ perceptions of central issues on Multilingual Education Policy, identify their attitudes to early FL learning, and record their suggestions about further developing multilingual education. The sample consisted of 86 EFL teachers employed in state schools in Northern Greece. Semi-structured interviews were used as the basic instrument. The data revealed the EFL teachers’ positive attitudes towards major issues of foreign language policies. However, despite the fact that the influential role of English as a lingua franca was recorded, the need for students to acquire multilingual competence, starting from very young age, was signified by EFL teachers.

Digital Education in Eastern Europe: Romania's Modern Affair with Technology

After the fall of the communist regimes in Eastern Europe, technology started penetrating new markets like Romania. Technology was viewed as a tool to improve Romania's political and social standing in the world, and multilingual literacy became very important in the country's effort to join the European Union. This article analyzes how political goals impact the adoption of modern technology and the teaching of English in Romania and discusses how politics eventually aided the promotion of digital literacy and foreign language policies in Romanian schools. Other factors impacting IT and EFL literacy in this process were poverty, people's mentality, and the country's lack of infrastructure. This culminated in an emerging divide between some segments of the population as a result of the unequal access to resources.

The Language Program Director in Curricular and Departmental Reform

Since its release in 2007, the MLA report Languages and Higher Education: New Structures for a Changed World has stimulated lively debate about the teaching of foreign languages in the United States. In the report, the MLA Ad Hoc Committee on Foreign Languages recommends that curricular and governance structures of foreign language programs be transformed to create an educational environment in which students will attain deep translingual and transcultural competence (237). The salutary effects of this discussion cannot be underestimated. The release of the report was followed by dialogue sessions at numerous conferences and focus sections in professional journals including the ADFL Bulletin, the German Quarterly, Die Unterrichtspraxis / Teaching of German, and the Jour nal of Language and Literacy Education. The summer 2008 Perspectives column of the Modern Language Journal (MLJ) continued that conversa tion by publishing the reactions of diverse stakeholders to the committee's recommendations. The arguments for a national foreign language policy will be aired in forthcoming MLJ issues. Indeed, a year after the report's

Linguistic Human Rights of Asian Migrant Workers in South Korea

There are more than 400,000 legal or illegal immigrant workers in South Korea who are suffering from insecurity of their linguistic human rights (LHRs). The immigrant workers are trying to re-establish their identity through voicing their LHRs. However, Korean society seems not ready to recognise LHRs of immigrant workers. This article examines this issue with the perspective of ‘ecology of language’ [E. Haugen, ‘The Ecology of Language’, in A. Dil (ed.), The Ecology of Language: Essays by Einar Haugen (Stanford: Stanford University Press 1972)], which advocates the rights of minority groups and their LHRs as well as criticises the paradigm of ‘linguistic imperialism’. It also suggests for Korean society that securing LHRs can be a starting point for protecting human rights and preparing appropriate foreign language policy in the era of globalisation.

China’s foreign language policy on primary English education: What’s behind it?

This paper examines the formulation of China’s foreign language policy on primary English education issued in 2001, specifically exploring factors contributing to the formulation of the policy and problems in its formulation. Drawing upon official documents, newspaper archives, publications, and an interview with an education official, it identifies five contributing factors and six problems in relation to policy formulation. The paper argues that the policy, jointly shaped by social, economic, educational, linguistic, and political forces, was the outcome of top-down, assumption-based, and hasty policymaking. The Chinese case exemplifies the impact of the global spread of English on foreign language policy in non-English speaking countries.

General English Attrition and Its Significance for Business English Teaching/Learning of Prospective Economists

This article summarizes some of the findings of a large-scale study of the foreign language needs of economics students (Čepon 2007). It focuses on the rationale behind the lengthy period of disuse of general English (GE) during economics students’ first year of undergraduate study. The article presents evidence for processes of GE attrition that slowly set in and are deemed to be particularly detrimental to economics. It is also important to determine exactly which language needs are essential for the future professional development of the economics graduates. It is hoped that this will spur foreign language policy renewal.

Demographic and sociopolitical predictors of␣American attitudes towards foreign language policy

Despite the controversies over the English-only movement, bilingual education, and language and national security, there have been only sporadic studies of the state of representative public opinion on these issues. The year 2000 General Social Survey (GSS) asked seven new questions on language policy of their national probability sample of 1397 respondents aged 18 and older. A factor analysis suggested that public responses to their seven questions clustered around two distinct dimensions, one on issues associated with more restrictive views of the role of languages other than English in the United States, and the other on support for second language acquisition in high school. The five questions that tapped the dimension of the more “restrictive” FL (foreign language) attitudes varied markedly in support – from the 78% who favored making English the “official” American language to the 22% who favored elimination of bilingual education. The other two GSS questions tapped the dimension of basic support for learning a second language in high school (with 64% and 75% support). In other words, support for the two types of issues was essentially independent of each other. When two scales were constructed to measure each dimension, their appeal was found to come from notably different constituencies in the public. Older, more conservative and Republican respondents were more likely to support restrictive English-only policies, but none of these groups were significantly less favorable to teaching FL in high school. At the same time, both the pro-FL and anti-restrictive dimensions did draw more support from certain similar demographic groups – in particular, from the college-educated, from women, from non-whites, from residents of urban areas and on the coasts – and from that quarter of the GSS sample who said they were able to speak a second language. In other words, these groups were significantly both more opposed to restrictive policies toward use of non-English languages and they were significantly more supportive of taking FL courses in high schools. This held true, and almost as strongly, after statistical regression controls for the other predictors. Although levels of agreement on these questions may have shifted since 2000, a small 2005 national survey was able to replicate the existence of these two separate dimensions and the relative degrees of public support for each policy.

'Language of the Enemy': Foreign Language Education and National Identity

The focus of the present paper is on the relationship between national identities and foreign-language education policies and practices. The paper examines this relationship through a juxtaposition of three sociohistoric contexts in which sociopolitical events led to major changes in foreign-language education: post-World War I United States, post-World War II Soviet Union, and post-communist Eastern Europe. On the example of these case studies, it is argued that shifts in national identity images and sociopolitical allegiances have implications for foreign-language policies and practices. It is also argued that foreign-language learners may choose to construct oppositional identities in language classrooms: some, for patriotic reasons, may reject the languages imposed on them, while others may instead reject the dominant national identity and create an alternative one through the means of a foreign language.

English Language Teaching in Taiwan Today

This paper gives an overview of English education in Taiwan. It traces the historical development of ELT in the country, discusses ELT today, and the implications of foreign language policies on ELT in schools in Taiwan.

Perspectives on Foreign Language Policy: Studies in Honour of Theo van Els

1. Preface 2. Foreign-Language Teaching Policy in the Netherlands 1800-1970: A Historical Outline (by Wilhelm, Frans) 3. The Task Force of the Dutch National Action Programme as an Instrument for Developing and Implementing Foreign-Language Policy (by Tuin, Dirk) 4. NAP as a Basis for a Coherent FLT Policy (by Renique, A.J.E.G.) 5. The Difficulty of Spanish for Dutch Learners (by Oud-de Glas, Maria) 6. Changing Target - Changing Tests (by Melse, Leijn) 7. Horizon Taal and Language Planning in the United States (by Lambert, Richard D.) 8. Developing a Language-Competent American Society: Implications of the English-Only Movement (by Tucker, G. Richard) 9. Planning Foreign-Language Education: An Israeli Perspective (by Spolsky, Bernard) 10. Implementation of Foreign-Language Policy in Finland (by Sajavaara, Kari) 11. Foreign-Language Policy form the Grass Roots (by Christ, Herbert) 12. Multilingualism in the Netherlands? (by Bot, Kees de) 13. Minority Groups and Minority Languages in the Netherlands: Empirical Facts and Educational Policy (by Broeder, Peter) 14. From Mother Tongue to Foreign Language: Prospects for Minority-Language Education in the Netherlands (by Driessen, Geert W.J.M.) 15. Adult Second-Language Policy in the Netherlands: Some Considerations (by Janssen-van Dieten, Anne-Mieke) 16. Index

PERSPECTIVES ON FOREIGN LANGUAGE POLICY: STUDIES IN HONOUR OF THEO VAN ELS.Theo Bongaerts and Kees de Bot (Eds.). Amsterdam: Benjamins, 1997. Pp. vi + 223. $54.00 cloth.

All too often, the festschrift consists of a disparate and uneven collection of papers on a range of subjects that often only vaguely intersect with the interests of the individual whose work is being honored by the volume. This is a festschrift with a difference. It consists of a coherent collection of original papers addressing an area of applied linguistics in which Van Els made his most outstanding contribution, that of foreign language policy. The collection is given added coherence by the fact that most contributors relate their papers to the work carried out by Van Els and his team on the Dutch National Action Programme on Foreign Languages. Although the majority of the papers describe initiatives in the Netherlands, there are also contributions from researchers working in a range of other contexts including Israel, the United States, and Finland. As the editors of the volume point out, the contributions from abroad highlight the international impact of Van Els's work on language policy.

A Scaffolding for language policy

The primary purpose of this article is to present a taxonomy within which language policy analysis may be carried out. Such analyses currently seem to fall within one or another of the following domains: (1) the choice and use of official languages; (2) setting the norms for national languages; (3) the diffusion of languages across national boundaries; (4) the architecture and functioning of language instruction within the formal educational system: (5) language instruction outside the formal educational system, and (6) the language planning process itself. In addition, such analyses tend to deal with policies dealing with indigenous ethnolinguistic divisions or with foreign-language instruction; rarely both. With regard to the former, countries are divided into those that are relatively ethnically homogeneous, those that contain two or three main ethnolinguistic groups, and those that are ethnically more heterogeneous. Using these classifications, differences in the emphasis on the various domains of language policy are discussed. The second portion of the paper discusses policy with respect to the teaching of foreign languages. The principal decisions and points of intervention in the making of foreign-language policy are noted

Using Language Policies to Highlight and Contrast the Values that Shape Multicultural Societies: Examples from Singapore and Australia

THIS paper introduces the idea of using the foreign language teaching policies of multiracial societies as a means of highlighting the self-identified values that shape those societies and comparing these societal moulding values between countries. A country's foreign language policies relate to, and protect, the country's preferred indigenous social values from the foreign values of racial groups within and external to the country. This paper compares how Singapore and Australia differ in their methodological approaches and educational ideologies for implementing second and foreign language teaching. A sectarian comparison of the two societies shows how their different lifestyles, economic conditions, and educational policies emanate from the contrasting values they place on the person as an individual. The first part of this paper compares Singaporean bilingual policies and goals. The second part outlines the Singaporean foreign language program. The third part discusses the impact of educational policies on shaping both societies.

Foreign Language Policy in U.S. Secondary Schools: Who Decides?

The United States has no official foreign language policy. In the absence of such a policy, there is a diverse array of decision makers who influence policies related to who takes a foreign language and when, and who determines which languages are taught and how. The decision makers include state legislative bodies, state boards of education, local boards of education, teachers, parents, and even students themselves. Frequently, the policymaking role of these groups is recognized and acknowledged; at other times, these groups subtly shape decisions in ways that may not be immediately apparent. Further, their views and objectives may not always be consistent with one another, leading policy in differing, if not diametrically opposed, directions. In an era that aims toward the restructuring of education and, more specifically, toward instructional improvements in all disciplines, understanding the explicit and implicit roles played by these unofficial policymakers will be important.

Foreign Language Policy and Teacher Education

Policymaking in American foreign language education is affected by a variety of factors, among them the increasing influence of outside forces such as politicians and business leaders, poor communication between high-level policymakers and practitioners, the paradox of national curricular and standardization efforts and local and state restructuring movements, and the diversity of policies governing teacher education. In view of projected teacher shortages, recruitment efforts need to be expanded and alternate routes to traditional teacher certification need to be explored. The wide diversity in subject-matter and pedagogical courses and experiences required for teacher certification across the fifty states is a matter of grave concern. The efforts of language organizations to create generic teacher education guidelines and language proficiency standards will be instrumental in providing needed leadership and guidance to reform efforts in foreign language instruction. Unfortunately, these reform efforts are being undertaken without the extensive policy and planning discussions needed to ensure that reform responds to future needs rather than to the status quo.

Policy Issues in Testing and Evaluation

To use tests responsibly in implementing a national foreign language policy, it is important to understand the limitations inherent in measuring language proficiency. The underlying paradox is that while traditional examinations and functional guidelines are useful in specifying goals of instruction—and even in controlling the process—but severely limited in their ability to provide accurate individual measurements, the psychometric techniques that produce the most reliable individual scores do so by narrowing their focus to instructionally questionable abilities. The conclusion is that no policy should rely on a single measurement technique.

Some Issues in Language Policy for Higher Education

The American educational system is unusual in that a substantial portion of basic foreign language instruction takes place in higher education. This requires that foreign language policy planning deal with that level; however, pan-institutional planning in higher education is especially difficult. A foreign language agenda devised by a set of college administrators is presented in this article. A number of more fundamental architectural topics are also discussed. These include the lack of articulation between the various levels of the system leading up to collegiate foreign language instruction; the heavy emphasis on low-level courses and the lack of a carefully developed system of upper-level skill instruction; the need to orient foreign language instruction to eventual adult use; and the importance of rationalizing overseas language study, particularly for the acquisition and utilization of advanced language skills. An agenda for action growing out of these conditions is proposed.

Minority foreign language provision: The case of Italian in the UK

Abstract This article describes research which informed an inter‐governmental colloquium on the teaching of Italian in the UK in 1992. The context of the colloquium itself is explained and an overview of recent and current educational reforms is presented. While there is evidence of short‐term gains in provision for Italian teaching and learning, concerns about longer term provision are expressed in the light of the possible outcomes of the reforms now taking place. A random sample of schools where Italian is taught was surveyed in order to define more closely examples of successful practice and some of the problems facing the language teaching profession. Recommendations are made for improving the scope of future provision for the Italian language and, more generally, UK foreign language policies. In particular, teachers’ opinions reinforce the need for improving arrangements for international cooperation at school level.

The Teaching of Additional Languages in Israel

There is a slowly growing number of countries like Australia (Lo Bianco 1987) which have a formally developed national language policy, or like the Netherlands (van Els 1992a) which have fully articulated foreign language teaching policies. Other countries, like New Zealand (Waite 1992) and Finland (Takala 1992), are now attempting to develop such policies. In most countries, however, it is commonly the case that the foreign language policy has grown haphazardly and can be found only implicitly in a complex set of uncoordinated policies and practices. This latter description is true of Israel.

Foreign Language Policy at School Level: FLT and Cultural Studies Across the Curriculum

This article is written with two audiences in view: the teacher of foreign languages who is interested in the relationship between the foreign language curriculum on the one hand and matters of school administration, policy and management on the othec and the school administrator or policy maker who is interested in the role and place of the foreign language curriculum in policy and planning at the school level. The article includes: an introductory treatment of relevant factors in successful foreign language teaching and learning that might be pertinent to the design of school policies; a list of foreign language policy questions that a policy making group might need to consider in its planning an update on what we mean by the phrase kommunicative competence: and some suggestions as to how cultural studies related to foreign languages might be included across the curriculum. The article also includes a specimen foreign language policy which has been developed as one in a series of language policy' case studies in schooki of various kinds.