Language Policy And Planning Research Articles

Translanguaging and decolonizing LPP: a case study of translingual practice in Macau

AbstractThe present paper aims to explore how the critical lens of translanguaging can shed new light on the decolonizing language policy and planning (LPP) issues in Macau. As an illustration, we analyze the Chinese translation of a Portuguese poem,Viola Chinesa, in tandem with the visual art piece by the contemporary Chinese artist Xu Bing’s Square Word calligraphy tailored-made for Macau. In particular, we argue that the visual art piece by Xu Bing represents a visual and ideological turn of translanguaging that creates a hybrid piece of calligraphy to reverse the imagery orientalism reflected in the original Portuguese poem. By physically tracing the alphabets through the characters, viewers can gain an embodied translingual experience, which encompasses the ideological negotiation that transcends the Portuguese language dominance. In this boundary-breaking artwork, we can discern the deterritorialization of the unequal language and ideology dominance. Above all, it is concluded that the emerging translanguaging as a political and decolonizing stance provides new insights to renegotiate with fossilized values and beliefs, which in return, contribute to the decolonizing LPP of Macau.

Problematising ASEAN language policy

Abstract In a world where linguistic and cultural diversity is increasingly celebrated, opting for English as the sole working language, as stipulated in the ASEAN Charter, on pragmatic grounds, has made ASEAN an interesting case study from the language policy and planning (LPP) perspective. ASEAN’s LPP can be understood as the manifestation of the principles of the ‘ASEAN Way’, i.e., quiet diplomacy, non-interference, and flexible consensus. Drawing on an analysis of the three overarching principles of the ASEAN Way and with reference to the ASEAN Charter, this paper problematises the ASEAN Way of LPP, arguing that a monolingual and essentialist approach to LPP might be both insufficient and inappropriate, and calls for an ecology-of-languages paradigm for ASEAN LPP. It invites readers to reimagine language policy that is more inclusive, democratic and socially equitable – one that reflects the sociolinguistic diversity of Southeast Asia and the Association.

Language policy and planning for English-medium instruction in higher education

AbstractThis article presents English-medium instruction (EMI) in higher education (HE) from a language policy and planning (LPP) perspective. Based on a review of EMI policy research in diverse higher education contexts, we address several key contemporary policy tensions in EMI such as English native-speakerism, English monolingualism, and language education with attention to corpus, status and acquisition planning as well as the role of individual policy actors. In light of this review, we argue for an orientation to policymaking for EMI-HE institutions that acknowledges the value of individuals as policy arbiters and aligns institutional goals with “on the ground” needs and practices. We also point to areas of future research that would benefit all EMI stakeholders, in particular critical engagement with the nature of language competence in EMI settings and the enhanced development of evidence-based EMI learning outcomes. Finally, we propose an ecological framework for EMI-HE policy development that could be employed as a heuristic to guide universities in designing concrete EMI policies for their local contexts. As an extension, we also offer an inventory of reflective questions to guide key university stakeholders in effectively engaging in EMI policy processes.

Microplanning and Language Policy in Morocco

Language policy and planning (LPP) has undergone an epistemological turn. Early LPP works approached linguistic diversity as a problem; especially for the newly independent states, but in today’s globalized world, multilingualism is the norm. A major issue that characterizes contemporary LPP in Morocco and needs further investigation is the interaction between macro-policies and local practices. Most top down language policies face resistance from speech communities. The purpose of this paper is to illuminate the role of micro-planning and local agents in implementing a workable language policy. The aim is to reduce the gap between LPP research and local practices by using an ethnographic approach. Ruiz orientational model and Spolsky’s management theory provide a rich theoretical framework. Micro-planning can translate central policies into local practices.

Construction of bilingual abilities through monoglossic literacy assessments

Schools and classrooms are positioned as sites where various community members come together with the shared goal of fostering and developing bilingual abilities in bilingual education programmes in the United States. In relation to the specific social, political and historical framings relevant to the school or classroom context, individuals in these settings separately and collectively operate in ways that not only support but conversely also erode the possibilities of meeting this goal. The limited purview of currently available and/or well-established forms of assessments in particular around bilingualism often constrains actions. When these assessments are used for decision-making processes in the classroom, the forms of language supported in the assessment can have consequences for understanding bilingualism throughout the school. Through the analysis of recorded assessment interactions, and building on the research which has illustrated how monoglossic literacy assessments, developed for monolingual children, fail to capture bilingual abilities, we illustrate the process of how children’s bilingual abilities become constructed through a monoglossic lens. Together with the narrow definitions of literacy which characterise these assessments, children’s emerging biliteracy becomes invisibilised. The data for this study come from an ethnographic, discourse analytic study of one bilingual, Two-Way Immersion programme that was part of a large urban K-8th school. Using the lens of Language Policy and Planning (LPP), we describe how confusing and contradictory policies were communicated and enacted from the multilingual teacher leaders to the classroom teachers, who were required to assess all students with reading assessments used for benchmarks by the district. Through the analysis of field notes as well as audio transcriptions of testing interactions, we show how literacy assessments that assume monolingualism as the norm fail to capture the multilingual knowledge and repertoires of emergent bilingual children. Through this analysis we show how, in this context, bilingual abilities were defined through multiple, flawed layers of language policies and decision-making – from school leaders with limited knowledge of bilingualism, to frustrated teacher-leaders with differing opinions, to stressed teachers who have no choice but to carry out the decisions made by others – so that children in the end are categorised and assessed in ways that do not show their bilingual knowledge.

Understanding China’s LOTE learners’ perceptions and choices of LOTE(s) and English learning: a linguistic market perspective

ABSTRACT This study examines how China’s LOTE (languages other than English) students perceive English and their target languages as different types of linguistic capital with different values, and how they exercise their agency as micro level LPP (language planning and policy) actors in language learning. Data were gathered from in-depth interviews with 35 university students (including Hindi, Persian and Thai learners) and analysed through the lens of individual agency in language planning and policy, as well as the Bourdieusian constructs of linguistic capital and the linguistic market. The findings reveal that English is regarded as a requisite, while LOTE(s) is/are perceived as a plus by LOTE learners. It was also found that English learning seems to be a default choice among LOTE learners, while LOTE learning is more often an extra choice in their language learning investment. Such findings have a counter-intuitive implication, namely that without recognizing the role of LOTE learners as micro LPP agents and the gap between the individual needs of career development and the macro and meso level demands for high-level multilingual personnel, LOTE education planning and policy may contribute to the English domination over LOTE(s) rather than enhancing (supra-)national linguistic capacity and multilingual and multicultural diversity.

Russian language teachers’ professional agency against the backdrop of the New National Teaching Quality Standards in China: an ecological perspective

ABSTRACT With the ‘New National Teaching Quality Standards’ and its supplement – the ‘Guide for the Russian Majors Education’ as language education policies, this paper argues that these policies have constructed an ecological environment for Russian language teachers’ (RLTs) agency in China. The interpretive policy analysis, interviews and classroom observations of four RLTs help explore which environmental factors (the macro-system, exo-system, meso system and micro-system) impact their agency from an ecological perspective, and which factors are ignored by RLTs. The findings are: (1) (the ideology embodied in) these policies is (are) mandatory in terms of the vocabulary and text, and they set a macro (exo-) framework for and influence RLTs’ agency; (2) The meso system (universities) has the greatest impact on RLTs’ agency, which may access or deny the possibilities the macro-language policy may offer; (3) RLTs’ dispositions and the Russian language department constitute a potential micro-system, and the role of this sub-system in RLTs’ agency cannot be ignored. This study is of methodological, theoretical, and practical significance for research on the impact of language policy and planning (LPP) on the developmental environment for teachers of less-commonly-taught language in terms of LPP for the diversity of foreign language education.

Developing a Social Critique of Hegemony of English

The language pyramid in the post-colonial territories as propounded by Melchers and Shaw in 2003 aptly reflects on the status of different languages in Pakistan. At the top is English, with its heritage as a colonial language. Then is the ‘national’ language Urdu which has nationalist value and is spoken by the majority as a lingua franca; while at the bottom of this hierarchy are the regional languages and their dialects. This hierarchy of languages has deeper repercussions enrooting stratification based on social class and commodification of languages. In this paper, this claim is substantiated by semiotic analysis of a social media text− an amateur video clip that went viral on Facebook in January 2021− in which owners of a high-end cafe in Islamabad mock their manager’s English. The video is only the tip of the iceberg of the symbolic and linguistic capitals of English in Pakistan. This analysis is further pleaded by the literature on the critical approach to language policy and planning (LPP). This critical approach can be traced back to the 1980s and Tollefson’s oft-cited book in 1991 that endeavors to situate LPP as a part of ongoing conflicts between the elites and the common masses. He regards that the evolution of the critical approach has widened its scope rendering it primarily sociocultural, dealing with the dynamics of status and prestige. Thus stated, this research attempts to converge the critical relational theory of Bourdieu with semiotics to address this issue of class discrimination based on the hegemony of English in Pakistan through a multimethodological approach.

Characterising language policy and planning in international organisations: ASEAN insights

ABSTRACT Although most international organisations are, in principle, multilingual, the ten-member Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) has adopted a radical approach by operating monolingually, ostensibly for convenience and pragmatism. In order to provide an evaluation of the ASEAN policy context, this paper compares and contrasts ASEAN to two other more familiar international organisations, namely the United Nations (UN) and European Union (EU). The paper attempts to rationalise language policy and planning (LPP) in these organisations, grounded in principles such as equality, inclusivity, practicality, instrumentality, economic viability and even arguably, ‘neutrality’ in the context of ASEAN. These principles are discussed in relation to two underlying models of language ideology, i.e. linguistic pluralism and internationalisation, which characterise ASEAN, EU and UN LPP. The article presents the argument that ASEAN has embraced English-only monolingualism, rooted in internationalisation, while both UN and EU strive to achieve plurilingualism, albeit through divergent multilingual operational models. The analysis, however, shows that the ideology of linguistic pluralism characterising UN and EU is at best symbolic, as this ideology has practically maintained the hegemony of English and, to some extent, the other languages of power. This suggests that ASEAN may not have much to learn from EU or UN for an alternative to its English-only policy.

Институциональные основы языковой политики в России: виды на будущее

Introduction. The study of language planning and policy (LPP) involves the cross-disciplinary interaction of applied linguistics and political science. The need for this is increasing especially in relation to the regulatory and organizational aspects of language regulation in the conditions of modern Russia. Methods and materials. The authors use the techniques of systems analysis and approaches of political institutionalism: normative, rational choice, theory of organizations, historical, constructivist, network. To study the materials of official documents and legislative acts, the method of textual analysis is used. Academic works of foreign and Russian authors are used through the prism of discourse analysis. Materials related to the activities of agencies and actors in the field of LPP, characterized from a structural and functional point of view. Analysis. The normative and agentive properties of LPP in the modern conditions of Russia and its regions are considered by the authors of the article through analytical procedures proposed by foreign scientists. Many developments from Englishlanguage works in this area can be adapted to the tasks of studying political-linguistic relations, taking Russian specifics into account. The ratio of institutional and conversational types of linguistic interactions is considered as a subject of linguistic pragmatics. The main subject of analysis is formal regulatory complexes and agencies specializing in this area. The analysis undertaken by the authors of the article leads to the conclusion that there is no sustainable institutional LPP model in the Russian situation. This applies, in particular, to the de facto and de jure characteristics of bilingualism as a strategic priority proclaimed at the beginning of the 20 th century. In the latest official texts, the emphasis is on strengthening the position of the Russian language. Further, the body of Russian and regional legal acts is marked by features of rhetoric and excessive symbolism. The prospects for institutionalization here are associated with overcoming such normative dysfunctions. Results. The article draws conclusions about the desirability of conceptualizing LPP within the framework of a separate state doctrinal document, as well as a system of information support and implementation of the principles of language cultivation and management.

Using corpus linguistics to investigate agency and benign neglect in organisational language policy and planning: the United Nations as a case study

ABSTRACT This article responds to recent calls to investigate the role of agents and the connections between layers of agency in the development and implementation of language policy and planning (LPP). Using a corpus linguistic and discursive approach to language policy, we identify interventions made in plenary sessions by Secretary-Generals and Member States at the United Nations when discussing language issues over 46 years (1970-2016). The article identifies which individuals prioritise language issues and the change agents and/or (un)successful brokers in matters of LPP. Analysis reveals that language issues were discussed infrequently, suggesting benign neglect in matters of multilingualism: the silent majority were agentive in largely maintaining the status quo. However, in exploring power in discourse and power over discourse we were able to determine which interventions resulted in minor changes to policy and who were the powerful agents. The study points to the importance of using corpus-assisted methods in diachronic and synchronic studies of agency in LPP. Future research should explore networks of agents, using CL to investigate longitudinal trajectories of decision-making and policy change over time. Moreover, CL can usefully complement other approaches, (e.g. interviews and ethnography), to further explore the dialectic relationship between agency and structure.

The Friulian minority

Abstract In the framework of linguistic or national minorities in Europe, the Friulian case can be considered, from several points of view, an exemplary one. This applies not only to the historical development of its minoritisation and to the steadiness of its claims to recognition and protection but also to the way, during the last decades, that the community has been trying to promote its language and concretely affirm those fundamental rights related to the use of the language itself, through laws and actions of language policy and planning. The contribution aims to present the Friulian case, illustrating the evolution of legislation and policies and identifying their impact on the language itself, its formal and informal use, its social presence, the community’s legitimation, self-representation and delimitation, and the establishment of language rights. It is an interesting path with noteworthy results. It is also a discontinuous itinerary, with ups and downs, in which most of the protection rules (Law 482/1999 and the Regional ones 15/1996 and 29/2007) have not found real application. Therefore, the language is still excluded from several fundamental contexts and, despite some encouraging data coming from the most recent sociolinguistic research, its public use and its presence in education and in the media are still victims of old prejudices, which inspire the contradictory choices of political and institutional decision-makers. Friulian is at the same time a resistant and emerging language and a strongly minoritized one.

The role of Language Planning Agencies in higher education in South Africa - comparing two cases

AbstractThe question about the role of Language Planning Agencies (LPAs) in higher education is very relevant within the South African context. A range of policy provisions regarding language in higher education are characterised by the use of language policy and planning (LPP) jargon found in the Framework for Language Planning Goals, pointing to the need for a range of LPAs to be involved in this language domain. Since such involvement has been documented in the case of the institutionalisation of Afrikaans as alternative language of higher education during the period 1910-1961, it provides the basis for a comparison with post-1994 initiatives regarding the elevation of the Sintu languages and the extension of their use in this language domain. Such comparison is undertaken on the basis of a Typology of LPAs that is developed from earlier insights that evolved during the International Research Project on Language Planning Processes at the University of Hawaii in the 1970s, essentially distinguishing between LPAs involved in regulatory, productive and promotional language planning functions. Evidence on the work of LPAs involved during the two periods is collected from secondary sources documenting the cases and analysed in terms of this typology. The results of the study provide insights into the role of LPAs in each case and in their relative effectiveness in aiding the institutionalisation of the designated languages. The article concludes by suggesting the “ideal” LPA mix for the realisation of LPP goals in higher education in South Africa.

Negotiating English-only gatekeepers: teachers’ agency through a public sphere lens

ABSTRACT The study is underpinned by the public sphere paradigm, which emphasizes that language policy and planning (LPP) should be studied from the actual practices of local stakeholders/agents and communities within the local sites. This approach allows researchers to understand the complex, multilayered, and dynamic process of policy interpretation, appropriation, and implementation. The study draws on qualitative interviews with 12 English teachers from the elite English–medium schools to show how their agency and agentive responses to policy generate openings for transformative English teaching and learning practices. Agency refers to an individuals' capability to make difference to pre–existing state of affairs. The transformative acts entail teachers creating spaces for multiple languages, cultures, and identities despite strict constraints from the English–only gate–keeping regimes. Findings suggest that teachers who have critical consciousness, solid theoretical knowledge of bi/multilingual education, and critical awareness of LPP can often challenge institutional constraints to open meaningful ‘ideological and implementational spaces’ (Hornberger, 2003) for multilingual pedagogies within the hard–core monolingual institutional environments. We sum up by emphasizing that the scale of these agentive actions may appear tiny and insignificant; however, these reflexive actions showcase substantial symbolic and ideological potential for an epistemic reorientation in the field of English language education.

Domain loss theory revisited: From multinational corporations to multicorporate nations

This paper examines how multinational corporations (MNCs) act as language managers when handling linguistic diversity in the workforce, for example through corporate language policies. Cooper's status, corpus and acquisition planning framework is applied to two case companies headquartered in Scandinavia, and the findings show that the MNCs' language policy and planning (LPP) activities go beyond the boundaries of the organisations, and interfere with the LPP activities of their home countries. The paper concludes that the language planning activities of MNCs may be even more important and impactful than those of the nation‐state. The term “multicorporate nations” is used to denote a shift in language management agency; a shift where the corporate level represents the new macro level and the national level the new meso level.

Agency in language planning and policy

ABSTRACT The role of agency in language planning and policy (LPP) is a recent focus of scholarship. Interest in agency has seen new issues and contexts being given prominence in LPP research. In this introduction, we present an overview of theoretical definitions of agency and the ways it has emerged as a concept in LPP scholarship. We consider how developments in methods and approaches to LPP research have led to a greater focus on social actors and their agency in LPP decision-making. We also consider how agency can be conceptualised within the field of language planning, how it may be exercised and who may exercise agency.

Teacher sociolinguistic backgrounds: a multilinguistic domain approach to understand teacher agency and language planning outcomes

ABSTRACT This paper examines the unintended consequences of state language policy and planning (LPP) that adopt subtractive approaches on teachers’ subsequent receptivity to policy fine-tuning. A comparative approach is adopted in this statistical study of two strategic contexts, where the influence of the world’s two leading languages—English and Mandarin—manifests in the home language conversion patterns of ethnic Chinese teachers of Hong Kong and Singapore. The interplay among state, education, and family linguistic domains provides the framework to understand how teachers exercise agency underpinned by their sociolinguistic background (childhood home language—CHL) and home language conversion preference (home language as adult—HL). The results show that teacher CHL–HL conversion preferences underlie their response to state LPP initiatives and influence LPP outcomes in the education domain. The results are theorized in terms of the prevailing values in Hong Kong and Singapore that shape teacher agency, the unintended outcomes of subtractive LPP in education, and the probable outcomes on the linguistic vitality of local and dominant languages in Hong Kong, with the interplay between future subtractive LPP and teacher agency.

The language planning situation in the Sultanate of Oman

ABSTRACTThis paper examines the language planning situation in the Sultanate of Oman with emphasis on the planning of Arabic, English, French and German, and their choice and spread in serving different interests and purposes. The paper explores the historical, social, political, and ideological processes and complexities of the language policy and planning (LPP) situation in the Sultanate. The discussion attempts to show that language planning, as carried out by the elites, is top-down and ideologically oriented and motivated, as it favors certain knowledge and traditions, while marginalizing and oppressing others. A brief introductory history of Oman is followed by an account of the language profile of the country. The paper then examines the role of Language in Education Planning (LEP) in the spread of Arabic, English, French, and German in schools and higher education. It concludes that there is an ideological struggle, contest, and conflict at the LEP level resulting in a lack of strategic planning and organized effort affecting language choice, language spread, language contact, language preservation, language maintenance, and language shift. Finally, the paper recommends avenues for further research and ways forward for LPP and LEP in Oman.Abbreviations: AALIM: Arab American Language Institute in Morocco; ACTFL: American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages; AFL: Arabic as a Foreign Language; ALT: Arabic Language Teaching; BES: Basic Education System; BTEC: Business and Technology Education Council; CA: Colloquial Arabic; CEFR: Common European Framework; CELTA: Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults; CfBT: Center for British Teachers; CFO: Centre Franco Omanais; CLS: Critical Language Scholarship; CLT: Communicative Language Teaching; CoE: College of Education; DAAD: German Academic Exchange Service; DALF: DiplômeApprofondi de Langue Française; DELF: Diplômed’Etudes en Langue Française; DELTA: Diploma in English Language Teaching to Adults; ELT: English Language Teaching; EMI: English-medium instruction; FPEL: Foundation Program English Language; EU: European Union; GCCC: Gulf Cooperation Council Countries; GFP: General Foundation Program; GPA: Gulf Pidgin Arabic; GUtech: German University of Technology; H: High; ICC: Intercultural Communicative Competence; IELTS: International English Language Testing System; IESCO: Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization; IGCSE: International General Certificate of Secondary Education; KSA: Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; L: Low; LEP: Language in Education Planning; LPP: Language Policy and Planning; LWC: Language of Wider Communication; MENA: Middle East and North Africa; MoE: Ministry of Education; MoHE: Ministry of Higher Education; MSA: Modern Standard Arabic; NCATE: National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education; NRAA: National Records and Archive Authority; OAAA: Oman Academic Accreditation Authority; OIF: International Agency of La Francophonie; OPA: Oman Pidgin Arabic; OPEC: Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries; PDO: Petroleum Development Oman; PFLOAG: Popular Front for the Liberation of Oman and the Arabian Gulf; PHEIs: Private Higher Education Institutions; QA: Quranic Arabic; RWTH: Rheinisch-WestfälischeTechnischeHochschule; SCPTT: Specialized Centre for Professional Training of Teachers; SQU: Sultan Qaboos University; TCF: Test de connaissance du Français; TEF: Test d’ Evaluation de Francais; TOEFL: Test of English as a Foreign Language; TOEIC: Test of English for International Communication; TVET: Technological Vocational Education and Training; UAE: United Arab Emirates; UN: United Nation; UNESCO: United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization; ZD: Zertifikat Deutsch

Eastern Cape’s Language-in-Education policy implementation initiative for bilingual education: A historical and onion metaphor conceptualisation

This article presents one of the main findings of a doctoral study that investigated the implementation of the mother tongue (L1) based bilingual education (MTBBE) programme that was piloted in South Africa’s Eastern Cape (EC) province. Major stakeholders’ perceptions and views were explored. Data collection involved focus groups, individual interviews, and classroom observations. Aspects of the language policy and planning (LPP) model were applied as the theoretical and conceptual framework. The qualitative thematic analysis method was used for data analysis. The main study led to, among others, an important historical account of LPP events involving the Eastern Cape Department of Education (ECDoE) and other stakeholders as LPP agencies. Such a historical account may effectively lend itself to the application of the LPP onion metaphoric framework. The significance of the account of the LPP activities was that it provides a history of the beginnings of bilingual education implementation in the Eastern Cape. As part of the conclusion, this article poses the following question and proposes a tentative answer: What model and programme type(s) of bilingual education should the EC adopt and why?

Research and Engineering at Academic Institutions as LPP Factor: Russia Case Study

Language policy and planning (LPP) is an increasingly broad field today dealing with a number of complicated issues of utmost importance for the sustainable development of society in general and local communities in particular. In this view, it is necessary to create an efficient network and structure of actors all working towards the same goals. The paper seeks to explore the role of academic institutions as LPP actors with a focus on international cooperation in research and engineering as a major factor that impacts academic LPP at micro-level and shapes foreign language acquisition agenda at the macro-level. The paper presents a case study focused on Russian LPP and considers its current concerns and solutions.