Language Policy Research Articles

Діяльність Володимира Старосольського як адвоката та громадського діяча у сфері захисту мовних прав українців в Другій Речі Посполитій

The article examines Volodymyr Starosolskyi’s contributions as a lawyer, public figure, and scholar of constitutionalism, specifically focusing on his role in defending the language rights of Ukrainians in the Second Polish Republic. This is explored within the broader context of the Ukrainian national question in the early 20th century. The article highlights the political, legal, and social realities of the time, detailing Starosolskyi’s involvement in judicial political processes against Ukrainians in Poland, as well as his political and legal writings. The study is based on a significant range of sources, including Volodymyr Starosolskyi’s correspondence, scientific treatises on language policy, and courtroomspeeches. Thesematerials provide a comprehensive understanding of his worldview and beliefs. Particular attention is given to the formation of his ideas, which were shaped by prominent Ukrainian public figures and legal scholars, such as I. Voloshyn, R. Dombachevskyi, M. Glushkevych, S. Dnistryanskyi, K. Levytskyi, and I. Franko. The article also uncovers lesser-known aspects of Starosolskyi’s legal practice, including his active participation in the Union of Ukrainian Lawyers, a professional association dedicated to defending the national rights of Ukrainians. Additionally, it analyzes the judicial political trials of the 1930s, in which Starosolskyi defended the language rights of Ukrainians. The author concludes that Starosolskyi’s involvement in the human rights movement in Western Ukraine, particularly in response to the Polish government’s discriminatory policies, became the driving force of his legal and public work. His advocacy for Ukrainian language rights was a central aspect of his broader efforts to address Ukraine’s national and sociopolitical challenges and to realize the vision of an independent Ukrainian state.

Intercultural Competence in the Context of Teaching Chinese in Sri Lanka: Ideology vs Spirituality

Significant transformations have occurred in the anatomy of societies along with rapid digitalisation, migration, and language change, which, in liaison with various other influencers, have highlighted the need to incorporate intercultural competence into education. The qualitative and quantitative changes that have occurred in teaching Chinese in Sri Lanka in the recent past have stemmed new paradigm shifts in curriculum development, teaching methods and material for teaching Chinese language, of which consolidating intercultural competence is indispensable. The present study has examined the existing modes and extents of intercultural competencies incorporated into teaching Chinese in Sri Lanka from the perspectives of ideology and culture. The study adopts a convergent parallel design juxtaposing qualitative and quantitative data from the informants to obtain a more comprehensive understanding of the situation. The results indicate that the informants' preference is more toward learning cultural content, especially content related to spirituality, than ideological content in language learning. The limitations of the Sri Lankan CFL learners' cross-cultural knowledge are clearly depicted by the low performance of informants in identifying rudimentary Indic loanwords in Chinese. Existing teaching material, approaches and language policy planning have to be reassessed and redesigned to cope with rapid language change and increasing diversity of learners.

Comparative Analysis of Inclusive Writing in University Discourse: Case Studies from France and Italy

This article examines inclusive writing in the university discourse of France and Italy from a comparative perspective. The research aims to analyze the use of gender-specific and gender-neutral forms in higher education institutions in Paris (Sorbonne University and Paris Catholic Institute) and at the University of the Aosta Valley in Italy (a private university located in a region where French is the second official language). The study is based on a corpus of archival texts and documents, selected through continuous sampling from electronic versions on archive.org between 2020 and 2023. The authors draw conclusions about the specificity and frequency of inclusive writing in these institutions. The findings indicate that, in France, despite the country’s language policy efforts to ban inclusive spelling at the official level, public universities actively use it, in contrast to private institutions, where gender-specific forms are primarily found in job vacancy sections. The authors conclude that the choice of using gender-specific or gender-neutral forms is often left to the discretion of the individual or institution. The study also explores the most common methods of expressing gender specification, including the duplication of feminine and masculine forms, the use of feminine endings/suffixes in brackets or separated by a hyphen, and the marking of positions/professions with “(M/F)” after the masculine form. The potential implications of these practices are analyzed. In Italy, the study reveals a strong connection between French and Italian university cultures but finds no evidence of inclusive writing within the Italian university discourse. Despite the active development of gender equality programs at the state level, there remains an uneven tendency toward gender specification in Italy. The authors conclude that the methods of expressing gender specification play a significant role in shaping the university discourse in both France and Italy. They also note the complete absence of gender-neutral language or any moves beyond the gender binary in the universities studied.

One policy, two implementations: probing policy specifications in two EMI courses in a Macao university

ABSTRACT Despite growing literature on EMI policy implementation in higher education contexts, there is a lack of research on how these policies are enacted at the micro-level, particularly in the classroom settings. The present study explores the language beliefs and practices of a psychology professor in two English-medium instruction (EMI) courses which differed in course types and students’ preparedness, in an effort to understand how language policy was enacted in nuanced EMI settings. Drawing on semi-structured interviews, classroom observation, and course artifacts, the study reveals that the non-native English speaking participant held a consistent belief in enforcing a strict English-only policy within the classroom, yet she managed students’ and her own language practices slightly differently (e.g. speak time, pace, vocabulary, L1 proportion) based on specific course objectives. The findings highlight the importance of consistent and mindful language policies that allow for flexible implementation where unique features of individual EMI contexts are accommodated. Through highlighting the agency of EMI teachers as language policy arbiters, we reimagined the original ROAD-MAPPING framework [Dafouz, E., & Smit, U. (2016). Toward a dynamic conceptual framework for English-medium education in multilingual university settings. Applied Linguistics, 37(3), 397–415] to capture the granular and dynamic process of EMI policy enactment and implementation in authentic classrooms. Practical implications are drawn accordingly.

Balancing faith and identity: language policies and practices in Indonesian Muslim families

ABSTRACT This study investigates the complex interplay between language policies, religious beliefs, and cultural identity within two Indonesian Muslim families, residing in urban and rural contexts. Given Indonesia’s diverse linguistic landscape, with over 700 languages spoken, this research examines how religious beliefs and cultural identity shape their language ideology and their utilisation of the Indonesian language, local languages, and Arabic within Indonesian Muslim families. This research fills a gap, as there is limited literature on this topic in Indonesia. Through a case study design, including semi-structured interviews with two families in different contexts, the study explores language use for daily communication, cultural preservation, and religious practices. Findings reveal that the urban family members prioritise the Indonesian language for broader communication, while the rural family members maintain stronger ties to local languages to preserve their cultural identity. Their religious convictions place Arabic as a language designated for religious purposes rather than for daily communication. The study underscores the significance of religious beliefs in shaping language choices and highlights the challenges and strategies to preserve cultural identity and religious devotion. This research contributes to the understanding of how faith and cultural identity influence language ideology and practices in Indonesia’s multilingual society.

The (il)legitimacy of Arizona’s English-only language policies: an analysis of legitimacy in language policy discourse

The (il)legitimacy of Arizona’s English-only language policies: an analysis of legitimacy in language policy discourse

Contemporary translingual English language policy and practice in Indonesia

Contemporary translingual English language policy and practice in Indonesia

“Always they look at you as a stranger”: affective encounters with the border among irregularised African migrants in Israel

ABSTRACT From 2005-2013, migrants travelled through Egypt’s Sinai Desert to cross into Israel in search of asylum. The first were Sudanese people escaping conflict in Darfur, with Eritreans arriving subsequently. With no established legal framework for processing asylum claims, Israel’s government prevented these migrants from making formal asylum applications, granting temporary collective protection, and began to use language of infiltration and policies of detention and deportation. In response, irregularised Africans organized a protest movement, claiming the right to a fair asylum process, the contours of which illustrated the complex entanglements of collective affects that were central to making a new political subject. The article asks how experiences of Israel’s border regime disclosed a particular world, how the border was felt in affective encounters and relations through which migrants were hailed as infiltrators. The violence of bordering led to despair, stuckness, and dissipating hopes, but migrants’ shared suffering also produced inter-connection and solidarity in ways that reflected the valuing of established identities as well as being together in difference. Positive and negative affects coexisted, the latter leading not to political inaction but demonstrating the generative potential of loss when it shapes shared affective spaces and expressions of collectivity.

Neoliberalism in South African higher education language policy: A decolonial perspective

The global spread and hegemony of English as a medium of teaching, learning and research has come to be closely associated with neoliberalisation of higher education in the universities across the world, and has negatively impacted on epistemic issues, especially in Global South universities. No permanent solution has been found on challenges of English hegemony, particularly in African higher education. This article adds to the advancement of neoliberal discourse in higher education in South Africa by analysing neoliberal manifestations in its higher education language policy agenda. The article used desktop analysis to assess relevant literature on mainstream neoliberal ideologies and manifestations in the language policy reform post-apartheid. Drawing on relevant literature and through critical discourse analysis, it integrated evidence from the selected sources associated with mainstream neoliberal ideologies and then analysed the neoliberal manifestations in the language policy reforms pursued in South African post-apartheid context to bring out how the neoliberal actors in the higher education sector have reconfigured neoliberal principles. The decolonial perspective premised on concepts such as coloniality of being, power and knowledge was used to critique the neoliberal manifestations in South African higher education language policy directives. The paper presents the argument that universities in the country are deeply entrenched in linguistic hierarchisation which perpetuates epistemic injustices in teaching and learning. The African higher education should endeavour to underpin its language policies in indigenous knowledge systems to help harness the African content while existing in a global space where all knowledges should be regarded as equally relevant.Contribution: This article contributes to the emerging discourse of neoliberalism in higher education in the Global South and its impact on language policy formulation and implementation.

From ‘Born’ Bilinguals to Monolinguals: Understanding Korean‐Chinese Bilingual Family Language Policy in China

ABSTRACTIn recent years, China has implemented a national language policy promoting the use of Putonghua (Standard Chinese) in ethnic minority schools. This study investigates how mesolevel institutions (i.e., schools) have responded to this macro‐level national language policy change, and how the institutional policy changes have affected Korean‐Chinese bilingual family language policies in Yanbian, China. Based on an analysis of the teaching and learning materials used in schools and data gathered through interviews with and observations of 16 Korean‐Chinese bilingual families, this study finds that schools have actively responded to macro‐level policy changes with organised, large‐scale language practice activities. As a result of factors such as educational pressure and broader societal ideologies, families have been pressured to align with the meso‐level language policy despite their desire to maintain their heritage language and culture. Consequently, it is likely that future generations of Korean‐Chinese individuals, who would previously have been ‘born’ bilinguals, may become monolinguals. This study contends that in countries with a unified language ideology and a dominant language, the impact of macro‐level policy reforms can restrict or promote micro‐level family language policies through the mediating influence of meso‐level institutions. Family language policy researchers may need to recognise that there is a one‐way, rather than two‐way, relationship between the aims of the state and the desires of families in such contexts.

Problems of preserving the position of the Russian language in Georgia within the context of current geopolitical situation

The problem of studying the status of the Russian language in the countries of the post-Soviet space is particularly relevant within the framework of Russia’s language policy aimed at popularizing the Russian language and culture abroad. The article analyzes the status and position of the Russian language in Georgia in the current geopolitical realities: it focuses on the trend of gradual decline in the level of Russian language proficiency among the residents of Georgia, and also considers the aspect of the status of the Russian-speaking Diaspora in the republic, its legal position and the possibility for Russian-speaking citizens of Georgia to receive education in Russian. In addition, the article provides statistical data showing the change in the Russian-speaking population of Georgia since the collapse of the USSR.

Michael Kretzer & Russell Kaschula (eds): Handbook of language policy and education in countries of the Southern African development community (SADC)

Michael Kretzer & Russell Kaschula (eds): Handbook of language policy and education in countries of the Southern African development community (SADC)

The situatedness of hybrid practitioner agency in the internationalisation of Japanese higher education and the necessity of transversal policy enactors

ABSTRACT This study explored a contemporary period of Japanese higher education policy planning that adopted internationalisation of higher education as a metanarrative for sociocultural change in Japan. These wider societal pressures have over a period of time contributed to increasing institutional resistance to top-down policy initiatives. Further, these pressures have limited spaces for professional collegiality to develop. As a result, there is an increased importance for the development of individual practitioner agency that can contribute to the interpretation and translation of national policy planning goals. Document analysis in conjunction with qualitative interviews were operationalised with faculty membership of the same university in Japan to explore how situated performative action hold significant conceptual importance to understanding resistance, or enactment, to educational change. In particular, the study revealed the spatial dispositioning of teaching practitioners reflective of language policy planning experiences. These experiences were multifaceted and did not represent benign motivations on behalf of these individuals. To overcome these tendencies, this study identified hybrid practitioners who understand and demonstrate policy, administrative and teaching/researcher expertise as a necessary language policy plannning component of modern higher education institutions. The hybrid practitioner model is an important component of carrying forward the policy planning objectives of modern higher education organisations.

Mothers’ Education, Family Language Policy, and Hebrew Plural Formation among Bilingual and Monolingual Children

Mothers’ Education, Family Language Policy, and Hebrew Plural Formation among Bilingual and Monolingual Children

EMI programs in Azerbaijani Higher Education: analysis of macro, meso, and micro level agents’ perceptions of language policy and planning implementation

ABSTRACT Within the last decade, Azerbaijani universities’ upward implementation of English-medium instruction (EMI) policy has spread among most of the country's universities, public and private . Studies show that EMI programs in many universities worldwide are positioned as a language-planning tool to promote students’ mastery of English, which would open up new horizons and facilitate globalization. Considering that language planning and policy is an understudied topic in the Azerbaijani context and that there are practically no or few studies in this vein, it is hard to appraise EMI programs as a language planning tool in terms of this country. The paper reveals the key tendencies of the increasing number of EMI programs in Higher Educational Institutions in Azerbaijan. It examines the nature of EMI-related language policy and investigates how it is enacted in practice. We analyze EMI-related language policies and listen to the voices of the stakeholders at three levels, illustrating how macro (state/national), meso (university), and micro (staff) levels translate into one another. For this, we refer to a qualitative method of data collection that includes (1) a content analysis that studies four state policy documents at the macro level, (2), interviews administered to ten state representatives and policymakers at meso levels, and sixteen university professors at micro levels. The paper is a relevant contribution to understanding the language policy and planning (LPP) tendencies in the country using EMI as a key tool for globalization and internationalization.

The Impact of Kwazulu-Natal Provincial Language Policy on Sesotho Speakers at Nquthu

The Impact of Kwazulu-Natal Provincial Language Policy on Sesotho Speakers at Nquthu

Macro-level language policy and planning to promote and maintain English-taught programmes in Turkish higher education: a Process Tracing perspective

ABSTRACT This paper explores how higher education governance and macro-level (governmental) language policy and planning (LPP) impact (a) the growth and (b) sustainability of English-medium instruction (EMI) programmes in the Turkish higher education context, an Expanding Circle country (Kachru, 1985). We examine higher education policy documents and regulations and interview elite participants (N = 20), i.e. higher education administrative and governance staff who play significant roles in the decision-making processes of the universities. We make innovative use of a Process Tracing methodology to provide a broader perspective on the growth of EMI. We also examine the impact of macro-level LPP on the regulation and sustainability of EMI programmes. Regarding the growth of EMI programmes in Turkiye, we identify three significant milestones, namely the foundation of the Council of Higher Education, massification, and privatisation. While sustaining the quality and quantity of EMI programmes, higher education actors also implement some language policies. By employing Process Tracing, this study goes beyond simply identifying the relationship between policies and their impact: it sheds light on the causal mechanisms at play, revealing how adopting a ‘steering at a distance’ approach can have unintended consequences that fuel the growth of EMI programmes.

Family language policy and parental language ideologies among Chinese transnational families in multilingual Luxembourg

Family language policy and parental language ideologies among Chinese transnational families in multilingual Luxembourg

What are the languages in my school? Pre-service teachers’ decisions when designing ideal schools in the Basque context

ABSTRACT This paper analyzes how future educators would design their ideal school in the context of the Basque Country, with particular attention put on language planning and language teaching aspects. More specifically, we focus on the ideas about the languages to be included in the curriculum, the modes of inclusion of students’ home languages and the language policies they would establish in their ideal schools. For that purpose, pre-service teachers’ (N = 56) written reflective tasks were analyzed through thematic analysis. Findings show that these future teachers would ideally design Basque immersion schools, with an increase of English-medium class hours, and would include mainly hegemonic majority languages such as German and French as optional foreign languages. Students overall show multicultural awareness and would include students’ home languages in their schools, although the ways to do so are rather superficial. Concerning language policy, students show divergent views on the use of L1 or the exclusive use of the target language in language learning.

“I know this language, that language, and my language”

Abstract Adopting a longitudinal dynamic perspective on the field of Family Language Policy (FLP), combined with insights from language socialization, the current study explores five Iranian immigrant family members’ language ideologies, practices and policies and aims to unfold the processes through which the language ideologies and policies are instantiated and negotiated. Particular foci are the evolving nature of family language ideologies and practices, emphasizing the influence of children’s language ideologies and societal interactions. Through detailed analyses of multiparty family interactions, the study argues the significance of considering children’s language ideologies as integral to understanding of their language practices, moving beyond a simplistic attribution of actions to mere ‘agency’.