Language Management Theory Research Articles

Do you speak English or my language? An LMT approach to language requirements in EU nations’ visa applications

ABSTRACT This study investigates the language ideologies manifested in the linguistic hierarchies produced by relevant EU governmental/political institutions through their language requirements for visa application documents. Based on the theoretical framework of Language Management Theory (LMT), this study employs a mixed-methods approach, combining quantitative analysis of visa statistics with qualitative content analysis of 200 social media narratives. At the macro-level, it analyzes the language ideologies underpinning the language requirements for national/long-term visa application documents. At the micro-level, it explores the intersecting point where language management behaviors from different levels converge through individuals’ pre- and post-interaction management behaviors, as observed in social media posts related to document preparation and potential visa interviews. The results project a spectrum of approaches among EU countries: eight countries exhibit the tendency to civic linguistic nationalism by mandating their national/official languages as the sole language choice; while the remaining seventeen countries display varying degrees of linguistic pragmatism by accepting the required documents in English. The paper concludes by discussing the implications of these findings for language policy and ideology in the context of global mobility, suggesting that the current language requirements may not only project the language ideology but also carry broader socio-political consequences.

Ukuhlakanishiswa kwezilimi zomdabu Zama-Afrika Enyuvesi yaseFreyistata nomthelela wolwazimfundo kwabalukhulumayo

The University of the Free State Language Policy 2024 takes off from the premise that, firstly, students come from diverse linguistic backgrounds, of which the majority come from a Sesotho language background. Secondly, when our students join the university, they are confronted by English as the medium of instruction which is not their language, thus, it creates a barrier to effective learning. Thirdly, when our students join their specific disciplines, they are also confronted by unfamiliar environments of new disciplinary terminology and concepts which they are expected to learn and master in a foreign language. The language policy made a conscious commitment to develop and intellectualise Sesotho so that it becomes an academic language and a resource for supporting academic access and success for African students, in alignment with the Language Policy Framework for Higher Education 2020. This paper employs a literature-based methodological approach, focusing on a single university as a qualitative case study. Underpinned by the Language Management Theory, we argue that the African indigenous language, Sesotho, requires an effective and conscious process of intellectualisation. Strategies like terminology development are proposed to effectively support the learning of new concepts and theories across disciplines and thus reduce the burden imposed by English instruction among Sesotho speakers. The paper also argues that the intellectualisation of African languages in higher education is critical for ensuring that African students are not provided access without support in the persistent English monolingual higher education fraternity. IQOQA INqubomgomo Yolimi YeNyuvesi YaseFreyistata Yowezi-2024 isusela embonweni wokuthi, okokuqala, abafundi baphuma ezizindeni ezahlukene zezilimi, iningi labo liphuma emakhaya okukhulunywa ulimi lweSesotho. Okwesibili, uma abafundi bengena enyuvesi babhekana nesiNgisi njengolimi lokufundisa okungelona ulimi lwabo, ngaleyo ndlela, kudala isithiyo ekufundeni ngempumelelo. Okwesithathu, lapho abafundi bengena emikhakheni yabo ehlukahlukene abazikhethele yona baphinde babhekane nezimo ezingajwayelekile zamagama amasha aqondene nemikhakha yemfundo abakuyo okulindeleke ukuthi bawafunde futhi bawazi kahle ngolimi lwangaphandle. Inqubomgomo yolimi inika isibophezelo ekuthuthukiseni nasekuhlakanishisweni kweSesotho ukuze sibe ulimi lolwazimfundo kanye nensizakusebenza yokweseka abafundi abangama-Afrika ukuba bafinyelele kulwazimfundo ngempumelelo. Le nqubomgomo iyahambisana futhi noHlaka Lwenqubomgomo Yolimi Yemfundo Ephakeme wezi-2020. Ukubukwa kwalezi zinqubomgomo neminye imibhalo yocwaningo kungenye yezindlela zocwaningo ezisetshenzisiwe njengocwaningo lwesimo ngaphansi kwendlelande yocwaningo lobunjalo botho. Leli phepha elisekelwe Injulalwazi Yokulawulwa Kolimi liqakulisa ngokuthi ulimi lomdabu lwase-Afrika, iSesotho, ludinga inqubo esebenzayo neqaphelayo yobuhlakani ngokusebenzisa amasu afana nokwakhiwa kwamagama. Lokhu kusemqoka ukuze kusekele ngempumelelo ukufundwa kwemicabangonzulu nezinjulalwazi ezintsha emikhakheni yemfundo abakuyo abafundi abakhuluma ulimi lweSesotho. Okunye futhi lokhu kuzophinde kunciphise amandla athweswa isiNgisi phakathi kwabakhulumi bolimi lweSesotho. Leli phepha liphinde liphakamise ukuhlakanishiswa kwezilimi zomdabu zase-Afrika emfundweni ephakeme kubalulekile ukuze kuqinisekiswe ukuthi abafundi abangama-Afrika abanikezwa amathuba okufunda ngaphandle kokusekwa kodwa benikwa imfundo yesiNgisi ewubulimibunye.

Language exams as a policy instrument

Utilising language management theory (Jernudd and Neustupný 1987; Nekvapil 2016), this paper explores motivations for the language exam as an instrument of organised management in the form of policy in the Czech context and analyzes its outcomes more than ten years after its initial implementation. First, we provide an overview of research on language testing as a form of organised management, discussing how emphasis has been placed on citizenship, and explain the relevance of researching the use of language exams for permanent residence in the European Union, where an important distinction is made between EU and non-EU citizens. We consider the selection of the appropriate Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) level for the exam and the overall question of exemptions, which may raise doubts about the exam’s overall effectivity as a tool for the linguistic integration of foreigners. We show that there are several tendencies in the understanding of the situation by individuals who have already passed the exam, including the view of it as a mere formality, and, conversely, as a major hurdle. We conclude by exploring potential policy consequences of these outcomes, emphasising the idea that language support from the state and employers needs to be provided intensively and immediately following the individuals’ arrival in the country.

Language consulting and language management from the perspective of the Hungarian Language Consulting Service

Applying the framework of Language Management Theory, the paper explores how language consulting services may be involved in the management of various language problems experienced by speakers. Focusing on the discourse-shaping activity of everyday speakers, Language Management Theory is a comprehensive theoretical framework aimed at the detection, analysis and treatment of linguistic and communicative problems. One viable path toward solving language problems is for language users to contact a language consulting service. The paper shows how the Language Consulting Service of the HUN-REN Hungarian Research Centre for Linguistics applies problem-management practices to the spelling and language use problems of inquirers. The practice of institutional language consulting provides a bridge between simple and organised language management processes, and between the micro and macro levels of management. In today’s complex linguistic context, which promotes linguistic diversity, the role of language consulting services is primarily to provide a data-driven and discursive approach to language problems, working closely with the language users themselves.

The accompanying dialogue and the follow-up interview: the analysis of trans-interactional management

Abstract The accompanying dialogue (realized while the participants are engaged in work activities together) provides very suitable material for the in-depth analysis of interaction and its relational, content, self-presentation and conative aspects, above all in the case of asymmetrical roles (superior – inferior). This contribution uses a video recording and a transcript of two collaborators in a violin workshop and, in addition, a follow-up interview, which forms an interesting complement to the original recording. Here it is possible to trace how, in the interview, the workshop leader tries to balance out the relational, content and conative aspects, weaken the expressions of his own superiority, mitigate the command-like tone of the communication, and to cooperate with his partner as much as possible; however, he himself labels these methods as “manipulation”. Methods of interactional linguistics were utilized in the analysis of both interviews. The theoretical framework for the empirical analysis consists of ego-linguistics as conceived by J. Dolník (emphasis on the egocentrism of the participants, their ego-motivation and ego-mobility) and language management theory with a focus on communicative (organized, trans-interactional) management.

Managing multilingualism in a tourist area during the COVID-19 pandemic

Intense mobility of people and languages driven by tourism, which propels “cultural transformation of places” (Urry, 1995:2) across the world, is manifested in their linguistic landscapes through varying regimes of multilingualism. Linguistic landscapes, which render themselves for “visual consumption” (Urry, 2005), emerge from the sedimentation and synchronization of diachronic semiotic processes which index current societal developments. The recent period of the COVID-19 pandemic has had a noticeable impact on linguistic landscapes globally through the emergence of a noticeable and coherent layer of pandemic regulatory signage. In a longitudinal study covering the period between the outbreak of the pandemic in March 2020 to its decline in August 2022, we trace the implementation of regulatory measures in a highly frequented tourist region in Slovakia whereby the actors involved in the tourist industry implemented the official pandemic legislature aimed at preventing the spread of the disease. Our overall goal is to explore the management of “pandemic regulatory discourse”, i.e., how producers of regulatory signage manage multimodal resources to convey their authority and stance towards regulations, to legitimize regulatory measures, and to ensure compliance with them. The study is grounded in the theoretical-methodological approaches of ethnographic linguistic landscape studies, geosemiotics, sociolinguistics of globalization, sociopragmatics, and language management theory.

Metalinguistic activities as a focus of sociolinguistic research: Language Management Theory, its potential, and fields of application

Abstract The paper aims at identifying common features in various fields of sociolinguistic research which would help rationalize methodological procedures and increase their efficiency. To this end, the paper discusses Language Management Theory, which focuses on the metalinguistic activities or behavior toward language of various social actors. Such metalinguistic activities represent a common denominator interconnecting seemingly heterogeneous fields of sociolinguistic research. The paper considers the possibilities of connecting such fields in various research areas. These include processes of language standardization and destandardization, the establishment of pluricentric standards, language attitudes research, the conceptualization of descriptive versus prescriptive linguistics, gender-related issues, language law, the management of multilingualism, and efforts aimed at strengthening the status of a language in a state or international organization. The discussion focuses on phenomena of agency, processes of the behavior toward language, the interconnection of the micro and macro levels of these processes, and the need to take socio-cultural, communicative as well as linguistic dimensions into consideration. Such a synthetic perspective would help generate and answer new fruitful research questions.

Interest, Power, and Attitudes Toward International Communication

This study investigated the language choices of provincial governments in China by employing the concepts of interest, norm, and power within the Language Management Theory (LMT) framework. We approached this issue by examining which language options were presented on the websites of 31 provincial governments in China (Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan not included), and found that 11 offered Chinese versions only, 16 offered both Chinese and English versions, and only four offered Chinese and multiple foreign language versions. For both the governments and international visitors, subsequent analysis suggested that additional language versions facilitated the fulfillment of communicative and symbolic interests. However, this entailed a higher loss of pecuniary interest from a government-based perspective. Here, the voluntary abandonment of pecuniary interest indicated both a lower power position and a more open attitude toward international communication. In summary, the data showed that not all provincial governments in China were ready to embrace globalization in the context of cyberspace.

Language learners as invisible planners: a case study of an Arabic language program in a Chinese university

ABSTRACT Despite the predominant position of global English, teaching and learning of languages other than English (LOTEs) are gaining increasing attention in foreign language planning in China. This study aims to showcase the development of an elective Arabic language program in a Chinese university through the lens of agency as a spatial, temporal, and dialogical construct. We investigated how 24 participants representing three groups of actors—people with power, people with expertise, and people with interest—exercised their agency during the five stages of language planning stipulated by the process model of Language Management Theory (i.e. noting, evaluation, adjustment design, implementation, feedback). Drawing on narrative accounts and semi-structured interviews, the findings revealed constant interactions between different actors distributed through the five stages. In particular, we found that the five stages did not proceed in a linear way, and the findings demonstrated the presence of an internal cycle in addition to the external cycle in the micro language planning process. Language learners are invisible planners in the LOTE program. The study concludes that different actors in the local context need to make coordinated efforts to negotiate spaces to sustain the teaching and learning of less commonly taught languages, despite various structural constraints.

Nyelvi tudatosságot fejlesztő pályázat középiskolásoknak

Education of Hungarian as L1 requires an approach and methods that place much greater emphasis on students’ own language experiences. The aim of this article is to present the principles and methodological aspects of a competition that invited secondary school students to submit language diaries. The aim of this competition was to test a model of teaching Hungarian as L1 which focuses on real language problems and is based on the one hand on the theory of problembased learning (PBL) and on the other hand on Language Management Theory (LMT). The competition was motivated by the fact that the method had not been tested before, based on the language experiences and reflections of students in public education.

Rewarding journeys: exploring medical students’ learning experiences in international electives

ABSTRACT International electives are recognized as a high-impact practice in clinical education. However, medical students’ actual learning experiences during electives have not been explored fully. Specifically, drawing on language management theory, this exploratory case study investigates students’ perceived learning outcomes and the managing processes by which they gained benefits from cross-cultural learning experiences in international electives. Written reflective reports in a series of e-portfolios were collected from 43 Japanese medical students who participated in a four-week international elective. Moreover, to further explore their emotions and the reasons behind adopting a particular adjustment behaviour, follow-up interviews with 12 students were undertaken soon after they returned home. Using reflexive thematic analysis, the qualitative data were analysed. Their perceived learning outcomes were categorized into seven themes: medical knowledge and skills, communication, career management and development, international healthcare, society and culture, medical education, and personal development. During the programme, they experienced linguistic, sociolinguistic, and sociocultural difficulties, and attempted to overcome them by employing various adjustment strategies, such as meaning-focused coping, social relationship building, management of learning opportunities, communication management, and developing approaches to learning. Managing problems in academic contact situations is not a linear process; it is iterative and cyclical. Since the combination of several strategies was needed depending on the situation, the management process is a context-dependent and complex phenomenon. The findings in this study provide new insights into student participation in short-term international elective programmes in order to develop academic and social support strategies for educators at both home and host institutions.

The levels of language problem management

Abstract The paper deals with the question of levels of language problem management on the basis of the Language Management Theory as well as other approaches to language problem management. The aim is to contribute to bringing the theoretical basis of language problem management closer to the problem management theories in general. Within language problem management three levels of management are distinguished: 1. interactional level of small‐scale management of inadequacies; 2. supra‐interactional level of small‐scale management of metaproblems and 3. supra‐interactional level of large‐scale management of metaproblems. Inadequacies are individual instances of problems rising in concrete interactions and metaproblems are types of problems which can be identified suprainteractionally, by abstracting the idiosyncratic features of inadequacies. With the help of these concepts the difference between the Language Management Theory and other theories of problem management can be made more visible: Language Management Theory builds on the small‐scale management of inadequacies on interactional level, while other theories are based on the large‐scale management of metaproblems on suprainteractional level.

“English is the best way to communicate” - South African Indian students’ blind spot towards the relevance of Zulu

Abstract The South African University of KwaZulu-Natal has developed an ambitious language policy aiming “to achieve for isiZulu the institutional and academic status of English” (UKZN LP 2006/2014). Part of this ambition is a mandatory Zulu language module that all undergraduate students have to pass if they cannot prove knowledge of the language. In this article, we examine attitudes of South African Indian students towards this compulsory module against the strained history and relationship between Zulu and Indian people in the province. Situated within the approach of Language Management Theory (LMT), our focus is on students as micro level actors who are affected by a macro level policy decision. Methodologically combining quantitative and qualitative tools, we attempt to find answers to the following broad question: What attitudes do South African Indian students have towards Zulu more generally and the UKZN module more specifically? The empirical findings show that students’ motivations to learn Zulu are more instrumental than integrative as the primary goal is to ‘pass’ the module. South African Indian students have developed a blind spot for the prevalence and significance of Zulu in the country which impacts negatively on the general attitudes towards the language more general and the module more specifically. Language ideologies that elevate the status of English in the country further hamper the success of Zulu language learning.

The exclusion of vos from the Spanish as a foreign language classroom discourse: A critical examination through the lens of the language management theory

ABSTRACTThis paper explores the presence of Spanish form of address vos in the university Spanish classroom discourse from the perspective of Language Management Theory. Under this model, language management is understood as any type of activity that influences language or communication, in other words, language or language use (Nekvapil & Sherman, 2015). We observed five Spanish classes as well as interviewed their instructors with the intention of examining the presence of vos in the classroom discourse and the reasons for including or excluding this form of address. Our findings show that vos is practically nonexistent in the university classroom discourse of these instructors due to a variety of reasons that include the negative connotations associated with the form vos, its linguistic complexity, its absence in the textbook, and the unfamiliarity of some instructors with this form of address. We propose that teachers use their agency in promoting the elimination of negative traditional language ideologies toward non-standard forms such as vos, which are not only used by millions but also make part of the target community’s linguistic and cultural identity.

A Study of the Written Language Use of Foreign Residents in Japan: From the View of Literacy Practice Studies and Language Management Theory

A Study of the Written Language Use of Foreign Residents in Japan: From the View of Literacy Practice Studies and Language Management Theory

Noting as Learning: Its Significance for Teaching and Learning Japanese in Volunteer Language Classrooms for Migrants

This paper discusses problems in volunteer Japanese classrooms as a field of teaching foreign language for special purposes, which is to enhance migrant learners in the neighbourhood to participate in the host society through the target language. The data on which the discussion is based was collected from a case study conducted in a volunteer Japanese classroom in eastern Japan. From the point of view of “noting” in the Language Management Theory (LMT; cf. Neustupný 1985, 1994; Jernudd and Neustupný 1987), the findings suggest that although all the learners in the classroom intend to stay in Japan permanently, they appear to be reluctant to interact with local Japanese and to expand their Japanese social network due to the inability to note deviations from norms underlying in Japanese speech situations. In the second half of the paper, I raise an example of teaching materials to illustrate that noting as learning can be enhanced through systematic classroom activities. It is suggested that the ability to become sensitive about possible problems when interacting with local Japanese people can help foreigners in the neighbourhood to be more prepared and thus more confident to use the target language in real life.

Compulsory African language learning at a South African university

Abstract While many universities in the world are making provisions to include the English language in their institutional structure, the South African University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) is opposing the hegemony of English in its institution. The University has launched a language policy and planning (LPP) strategy that makes provisions first to incorporate the vernacular language Zulu as language of learning and teaching, and second, to promote it as a subject. In this vein, the institution recently made an unprecedented decision for the South African higher education system. Since the first semester of 2014, a specific Zulu language module is a mandatory subject for undergraduate students who have no proficiency in the language. Although considered a watershed moment among many African language promoters, the mandatory ruling is fiercely discussed and debated in the institution and beyond. Theoretically grounded in Language Management Theory (LMT) and empirically based on semi-ethnographic fieldwork, this article examines the interplay between macro and micro language dynamics at UKZN in the context of the mandatory Zulu module. In juxtaposing interview discourses of language policy stakeholders with those of Zulu lecturers, the study reveals a stark discrepancy between macro and micro language management at this university. The article argues that this mismatch between the language policy intents and actual practices on the ground is symptomatic for South Africa’s language policy in education being shaped more by ideological interests than by pedagogical regards.

Language management and devolved governance in Kenya

The article explores interfaces between language management and devolved governance in Kenya against the backdrop of language management theory and the roles and responsibilities of devolved governance as defined by traditional fiscal federalism, new public management (NPM), public choice, new institutional economics (NIE), and network forms of local governance. This discussion establishes theoretically sound intersections between language and devolved governance, underpinned by the centrality of language in information and knowledge access, sharing and utilisation in governance processes and structures. The article applies this proposition to the language and devolved governance interface in Kenya and identifies engendering active citizenship, accountability and transparency, and mainstreaming indigenous knowledge into governance and development discourses as some of the interfaces between language management and devolved governance in Kenya. The article argues that language management is integral to the optimisation of devolved governance that is responsive, responsible and accountable in Kenya, and possibly elsewhere.

Family language policy by Hakkas in Balik Pulau, Penang

AbstractFamily domain is crucial for language maintenance. It is also a critical avenue for children’s language acquisition. In Spolsky’s language management theory, family is one of the key domains for language management. In this study, we focus on family language management in Hakka families in Balik Pulau, Penang. Structured-interviews were conducted in November 2012. In total, 14 Hakka families were interviewed. In each family, one parent and one child were interviewed. This article examines family language policy from three perspectives: ideology, practice, and management. The results show that Hakkas in Penang give great importance to Mandarin and almost abandon Hakka in the family domain. However, they still have strong Hakka identity and some parents have restarted to speak Hakka with their children consciously. Multilingual capacity is a common expectation from parents. With multilingual input in the family domain, most of the children become passive bilinguals or multilinguals. The regional prestige dialect Hokkien is part of the repertoire of these Hakka families. However, there are no intentional efforts from the parents to teach Hokkien to their children. Conscious language management is only found for Mandarin and sometimes for English. This results from the parents’ language ideology that Mandarin is the most important language for Chinese Malaysians and English is an international language for their children’s future career. Findings from the current study contribute to the understanding of language maintenance and language shift in general.

Saving Shanghai Dialect: A Case for Bottom-Up Language Planning in China

This paper examines the dynamic interplay between language policy and local stakeholders in the process of dialect planning in the city of Shanghai, in the context of social tensions surrounding the decline of Shanghai dialect in mainland China. A process-oriented Language Management Theory (LMT) model is adopted as the analytical framework to reveal the interactive facet of micro language planning. Drawing on in-depth interviews and document analysis, the paper analyzes and interprets ten key players’ perceptions and experiences in relation to the ‘saving Shanghai dialect’ movement. Qualitative data analysis demonstrates five stages in the dialect planning process and reveals how individuals’ agency, when struggling and striving for local language rights, exert bottom-up influence upon language policy-making. The findings also unravel the social political duality between macro structure and individual agency. The paper ends with a discussion on the need to negotiate the individual agency in a more interactive and democratic dialog with predefined policy constraints. This study may have implications for multilingual/multidialectal contexts in other geographical locations where linguistic diversity in the local contexts is encountering shifts in language use and language changes. Besides, this study may also enrich applicability of the LMT framework which reveals the interactive and dynamic process by unbundling individual responses and influences on language planning.