Language Practices Research Articles

Autism and bilingual socialisation: parents’ perspectives and youth language practices in three bilingual (Japanese–English) families

ABSTRACT This study of three bilingual families with autistic children in the U.S. examines parents’ perspectives on bilingual socialisation and analyzes language practices in everyday family interactions. When their children were diagnosed with autism in early childhood, parents in all three families were advised by professionals to speak exclusively in English at home. One set of parents attempted to adhere to the clinician recommendation, while the other two families disregarded this advice. Data collection for this study included questionnaires, open-ended interviews, and 30–32 h of naturally occurring interactions per family. The study employs discourse analysis to explore parents’ stances toward the monolingual recommendation, their discussions about past decisions, and their assessments of their present-day, adolescent children’s language practices. The micro-analytic study of the organisation of family interactions provides a supplemental perspective and highlights the agency of the autistic youth in navigating bilingual conversations. The findings reveal the tensions between institutional and family language policies and detail how youth draw from their respective linguistic repertoires in everyday interactions.

Empowering Product Teams to Advance Inclusive Language and Mitigate Hateful Speech on Social Media Products

As social media use proliferates, so does hateful language on such platforms among users. How might product teams be empowered to tackle hateful speech and promote inclusive language proactively among users? We developed an intervention that targets the organizational culture of tech companies and their product teams as a driver for change. More specifically, the intervention aimed to advance inclusive language practices within product teams, while introducing product development frameworks for advancing inclusive language and mitigating hateful language among social media product users. For this study, we partnered with a large U.S.-headquartered tech firm that owns several social media products to develop and pilot the intervention. The intervention was implemented with 238 participants—representing employees of the firm across several global locations, with particular representation from the United States—in seven workshops. Forty participants were tracked semilongitudinally across three surveys—prior to the intervention, immediately after, and 4 months after. Two participants participated in in-depth interviews 6 months after the intervention. Survey data were submitted to ordinal regression models that examined difference in workshop attendees’ confidence levels across the three time periods. Findings reveal positive impacts over time among product teams in regard to enhanced agency in advancing inclusive language and mitigating hateful speech among users. More specifically, confidence levels to guide one’s team in preventing or mitigating harmful language among product users significantly increased by 13.6% ( p < .0001) from before the intervention to both postworkshop surveys. Confidence levels to guide one’s team in enhancing inclusive language among users significantly increased by 18.1% ( p < .0001) pre- to postworkshop. Positive correlations are present between the measures. Lastly, qualitative responses in the surveys and interviews express appreciation of learning gained in the workshops, but also the need to continue such interventions as an effort to maintain critical understandings of inclusive language practices.

Spoken service language for customer well-being in a transformative service context: residential aged care

PurposeSpoken service language is critical for service experiences and human welfare in many service settings. However, little is known about how spoken service language can enhance customer well-being in transformative service contexts. This paper explores spoken service language and well-being for customers experiencing vulnerability in a transformative service context, informed by an empirical account of the human welfare service of residential aged care.Design/methodology/approachSituated within transformative service research (TSR), this study was guided by a theoretical framework of service language and adopts a strengths-based approach to customer experiences of vulnerability. A qualitative multiple case study methodology was applied to explore carers’ perspectives on spoken service language and well-being from three residential aged care homes in Australia.FindingsThe findings demonstrate five spoken service language practices and four principles of spoken service language for well-being that co-create customer well-being and support the alleviation of customer experiences of vulnerability. Conceptualised as transformative spoken service language, the spoken service language practices and principles collectively recognise, support and leverage residents’ capabilities and uplift customer well-being, by enacting a process of mattering highly salient to transformative service contexts.Originality/valueThis study is the first to conceptualise how employee spoken service language can be used to support customer well-being and enhance transformative value for customers experiencing vulnerability to align with the goals of TSR. Practically, the study advocates for a greater awareness and more considered use of transformative spoken service language in human welfare and other transformative service contexts.

Coping with National Language Policy Shift: Voices of Chinese Immigrant Parents in an Irish County Town

ABSTRACT This paper focuses on the diaspora Chinese community in Limerick – an Irish county town in the southwest of the Republic of Ireland – and examines how Chinese parents have responded to the education policy shift resulting from the 2017 Irish foreign language strategy, which added Chinese to the official educational curriculum. A semi-structured group interview was conducted with four Chinese-speaking parents. Analysis of the data revealed that identity preservation and maintaining bonds with extended family are the predominant expressed reasons for parents to cultivate their children’s Chinese proficiency. English and Irish are prioritized over Chinese. Though the parents hold positive attitudes towards the inclusion of Chinese as a school subject in Ireland, they are disempowered from taking advantage of participating in the implementation of this national language shift due to a lack of access to social, cultural, and economic capital. Analysed through a Bourdieuian lens, the findings further expose the limitations or constraints placed on family language policy and the discrepancy between macro- and micro-level language policies. The paper is intended to shed light on education, social justice, and equality, bridging the gap between micro-level family language practices and macro-level language policy.

Differentiating Language for Students Who Are Deaf or Hard of Hearing: A Practice-Informed Framework for Auditory and Visual Supports.

Speech-language pathologists (SLPs) serving students who are d/Deaf or hard of hearing (Deaf/hh) and their deaf education counterparts must navigate complexities in language that include modalities that are spoken or signed and proficiency, which is often compromised. This tutorial describes a practice-informed framework that conceptualizes and organizes a continuum of auditory and visual language supports with the aim of informing the practice of the SLP whose training is more inherently focused on spoken language alone, as well as the practice of the teacher of the Deaf/hh (TDHH) who may focus more on visual language supports. This product resulted from a need within interdisciplinary, graduate programs for SLPs and TDHHs. Both cohorts required preparation to address the needs of diverse language learners who are Deaf/hh. This tutorial includes a brief review of the challenges in developing language proficiency and describes the complexities of effective service delivery. The process of developing a practice-informed framework for language supports is summarized, referencing established practices in auditory-based and visually based methodologies, identifying parallel practices, and summarizing the practices within a multitiered framework called the Framework of Differentiated Practices for Language Support. Recommendations for use of the framework include guidance on the identification of a student's language modality/ies and proficiency to effectively match students' needs and target supports. An examination of established practices in language supports across auditory and visual modalities reveals clear parallels that can be organized into a tiered framework. The result is a reference for differentiating language for the interdisciplinary school team. The parallel supports also provide evidence of similarities in practice across philosophical boundaries as professionals work collaboratively.

Towards an emotive-relational model of FLP: mapping the connections between family language policy and parental wellbeing

ABSTRACT This paper addresses the emotive-relational dimensions of family language policy (FLP), in the context of Hungarian families in Australia. The study explored parental experiences of family language policy implementation efforts and challenges. The research used an online survey (N = 80) which collected quantitative and qualitative data. Survey data were analysed using SPSS software to generate descriptive and t-test statistics. The results demonstrate that parents experienced emotional challenges around all three elements of family language policies: (i) ideologies; (ii) language practices and (iii) language management. This paper identifies six main emotive-relational dimensions of FLP: (i) linguistic-ideological, (ii) discursive; (iii) personal/relational; (iv) socio-relational; (v) agentive and (vi) pragmatic. The methods and the results of this study can be useful for researchers investigating the interconnectedness of language maintenance and parental subjective wellbeing. The findings inform current theoretical models and methods of researching family language policy and its complex dimensions. This paper concludes with an empirically tested emotive-relational model of FLP, which informs future research directed at exploring the emotional aspects of FLP from parents’ point of view as language planners.

Exploring the Impact of Bilingualism in Early Life on Foreign Language Learning for University Students in Lebanon Theoretical Foundations: Part I

Bilingualism and multilingualism have long fascinated linguists, educators, and researchers due to their potential effects on cognitive, linguistic, and educational development. This study, part of two, explores how growing up in a bilingual or multilingual environment impacts foreign language learning abilities, focusing on university students in Beirut, Lebanon. The investigation sheds light on whether being born into such language-rich contexts confers advantages in acquiring additional languages, specifically English as a Foreign Language (EFL). This research follows a quantitative, deductive, and positivist approach. A sample of 153 Lebanese university students pursuing different majors was selected conveniently based on the participant's willingness to participate. The research tool is a questionnaire constituting four sections that include knowledge questions addressing different sets of attitudinal statements characterizing the students’ and their parents’ status, home habits, background, and practices of the English language; the attitude of students toward the English language along the three dimensions of Towers-Perrin-ISR model; the family’s attachment to books, and demographics of the participants and their parents. Questions and statements were dyadic, multiple choice, four-level, and five-level Likert scales. Collected data were analyzed using the IBM SPSS version 26.0 package. Data analysis used descriptive, factor, and linear regression analyses. However, this paper, part 1 of 2, provides the theoretical background necessary to carry out the quantitative part. In this paper, the introduction and the literature review include an in-depth exposition of bilingualism in Lebanon, the status of English language teaching, the Towers Perrin-ISR model, and related empirical review of schooling, parents’ and teachers’ roles, and bilingualism in tertiary education. Findings contribute to both theoretical and practical domains. Theoretically, the study offers insights into the relationship between early language exposure and subsequent language acquisition. The outcomes inform EFL teaching methods, curriculum design, and language policy initiatives in multilingual societies like Lebanon.

Exploring the Impact of Bilingualism in Early Life on Foreign Language Learning for University Students in Lebanon - Analytics: Part II

This study, part of two, analyzes how growing up in a bilingual or multilingual environment impacts foreign language learning abilities, focusing on Lebanese university students. A quantitative, deductive, and positivist approach is used. The sample of 153 Lebanese university students with different majors was selected purposively and conveniently based on the students' free will participation. A survey of four sections was used. It includes knowledge questions addressing different sets of attitudinal statements characterizing the students’ and their parents’ status, home habits, background, and practices of the English language; the attitude of students toward the English language along the three dimensions of Towers-Perrin’s ISR model; the family’s attachment to books, and demographics of the participants and their parents. Questions and statements were dyadic, multiple choice, and four- and five-level Likert scales. Collected data were analyzed using the IBM SPSS version 26.0 package. Data analysis used descriptive, factor, and linear regression analyses. This paper, part 2 of 2, provides the detailed quantitative analysis necessary to test the hypothesized research questions, review the proposed conceptual framework, and create a statistically revised framework. Results show the persistence and statistically supported Towers Perrin’s ISR model as a significant contributor to students’ motivation to learn a foreign language and improve performance. Most variables in the framework were statistically insignificant whereby the corresponding null hypotheses H01, H02, H03, H04, and H09, were accepted (i.e., unrelated variables) and null hypotheses H05, H06, H07, and H08 were rejected (i.e., related variables). Other determinants were explored and the resultant regression model affirmed this paper’s objective, i.e., bilingual students were motivated to learn a foreign language. Also, the students were encouraged by their bilingual parents who read to them at a young age. Findings contribute to theoretical and practical domains. Theoretically, the study offers insights into the relationship between early language exposure and subsequent language acquisition. The outcomes inform EFL teaching methods, curriculum design, and language policy initiatives in multilingual societies like Lebanon and others.

A Literature Survey on SpeakSmart: AI – Enhanced language learning guide

This extensive review of the literature examines the pervasive impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on language learning and teaching, covering innovative uses like real-time language practice, personalized language learning, and automated testing methods in the teaching of English as a foreign language (EFL). The survey covers a wide range of topics, such as the use of Natural Language Processing (NLP) to extract Business Process Models in Business Process Management (BPM), the deployment of English-language chat-bots operating on the WeChat platform that are based on transfer learning, and the incorporation of NLP tools and virtual reality in the e-learning platform Exills. Additionally, it delves into cutting-edge technologies such as chat-bots for language learning, low-resource spoken language learning applications with AI support, and the broad application of AI in EFL teaching, tackling issues and offering encouraging results. The poll also addresses the use of AI in language learning tools, focusing on transparency and ethical issues while utilizing chat-bots, machine translation, speech recognition, and AI-generated content. The study highlights the importance of exposure to different cultures, community interaction, and multilingual voice recognition in creating a comprehensive language learning environment. It also highlights the limitations and enormous possibilities of integrating AI into language instruction.

The investigation of application related to ChatGPT in foreign language learning

The integration of Chat Generative Pre-trained Transformer (ChatGPT) into the realm of education has garnered significant attention recently. Due to its capability of providing answers to inquiries, the feasibility of ChatGPTs implementation in education has been examined. This review explores the potential benefits of ChatGPT in foreign language learning. Initially, different methods used to research the ChatGPTs plausibility of improving language skills are shown. Furthermore, this review discusses some different application scenarios of ChatGPT, also presenting its drawbacks and limitations. Despite recognized concerns, the viability of ChatGPT as a valuable instrument for foreign language education remains substantiated. The technology exhibits promise in offering personalized and interactive language practice. While acknowledging potential pitfalls, the study underscores the need for further investigation to harness ChatGPT's potential optimally. By emphasizing ongoing research and development, this review envisions a future where ChatGPT contributes significantly to language education, underscoring the necessity for careful exploration of its evolving capabilities.

Revolutionizing L2 speaking proficiency, willingness to communicate, and perceptions through artificial intelligence: a case of Speeko application

ABSTRACT The emergence of artificial intelligence (AI) and AI-based applications has become increasingly significant due to its transformative potential in various fields including language learning. These applications have the potential to enhance second language (L2) learners’ speaking proficiency, willingness to communicate (WTC), and perception, leading to improved learning outcomes by providing personalized and interactive language practice. Using the Speeko application, this study examines the influence of AI on L2 speaking proficiency, WTC, and perceptions. The study employed a mixed-method approach in which 66 participants were randomly assigned to experimental or control groups. A Speeko application was used in the experimental group, while traditional teaching methods were used in the control group. As part of the study, data were collected through a speaking test and WTC questionnaire administered at pre-test and post-test intervals, as well as a semi-structured interview. According to the results, the experimental group had significantly higher L2 speaking proficiency, WTC, and better perceptions than the control group. Based on the findings, the incorporation of AI-based applications in language learning has the potential to enhance language learning outcomes.

Book Review: Public Relations and Neoliberalism: The Language Practices of Knowledge Formation by Kristin Demetrious

Book Review: <i>Public Relations and Neoliberalism: The Language Practices of Knowledge Formation</i> by Kristin Demetrious

Video research in language classrooms: activities and target language use in early language learning

ABSTRACT A compulsory foreign language in Finland starts now in Grade 1 instead of Grade 3. The change has forced teachers to adopt new teaching methods. As young learners are not yet literate, teaching should focus on oral skills and awareness of diversity. Video data from 19 early foreign language lessons of five English, German, or French teachers in Grades 1 and 2 were analyzed to investigate what methods and activities were employed and how the target language was used. The teachers used various engaging, multisensory activities that were mostly teacher-led and done together with the whole class. Two teachers used plenty of target language while three used mostly Finnish. Besides singing, pupils generally produced single target language words while prefabricated longer expressions were rarer. It is important for teachers to consider activities from the perspective of language use so that pupils’ exposure to and practice of the target language are maximized.

Teachers’ Perception and Practice of English Language Teaching Following CLT Approach in Times of Crisis

The aim of the present study was to investigate the role of teachers’ perception and their perceived practice of instructional strategies in the implementation of English language teaching following Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) approach online in two Chinese universities amid the Covid-19 pandemic crisis. The mixed methodology of quantitative and qualitative approaches in crisis management was employed in this study. The data was collected from forty college English teachers through survey questionnaire, a case study, and semi-structured phone-call interview. The findings revealed that almost teachers’ perception and practice had a noticeably positive correlativity with the characteristics of CLT approach, directly manifesting that the three intricate characteristics of online CLT approach: learner-centered approach; four English language skills linked together in teaching process; and authentic materials promoted. Additionally, online group discussion; pair work; and presentation to whole class they’ve experienced are prominently tied. Nevertheless, some online problems and obstacles were likewise illustrated in the crisis management, which probed to be difficultly operated in prolific English language teaching class online: large online class size; lack of students’ active participation; and little time to prepare teaching materials. Pedagogical Implications for the study are that teachers’ perception and practice within the characteristics of CLT approach amid the crisis have meaningful effects on online ELT development in higher education as well as the exhibited issues in class operation profoundly requires consideration to be kept from in college class.

Beyond the Front Yard: The Dehumanizing Message of Accent-Altering Technology

Abstract Over the past decade, the artificial intelligence (AI) industry, as it relates to the speech and voice recognition industry, has established itself as a multibillion-dollar global market, but at whose expense? In this forum article, we amplify the current critiques of the architectures of large language models being used increasingly in daily life. Our commentary exposes emerging AI accent modification technology and services as agents of racial commodification and linguistic dominance, as it rests on the perceived superiority of standardized US English. We discuss our concern for such services leaching into academia. We argue that this technology follows a standardized language framework, which poses a fundamental problem of being informed by purist monolingual principles. These principles often help to perpetuate and maintain harmful raciolinguistic ideologies that result in language discrimination and the continual framing of the language practices of racially minoritized speakers as deficient. Thus, we write this piece with the intent to expose the fabricated humanity of accent modification technology whose existence perpetuates capitalism’s reliance on dehumanization for economic advancement and the legacy and reproduction of white language superiority.

The Impact of Educational Games at Professional English Lessons in Iraqi Schools

The purpose of this study we present the most helpful material in the field of teaching foreign languages is to analyze the results of using professional English courses with educational games in Iraqi schools, indicates, it’s a tools used in the teaching second language. In this work, we aim to explore the effects of education games on improving and developing learners’ . The participants are fifth grade from two different elementary schools. This is a deliberate selection on the part of the researcher. One hundred and thirty-eight students were selected randomly from the fifth grade class. After testing the tool with two groups; experimental and control group, researchers concluded that educational games are more beneficial than more conventional methods. Playing educational games significantly affects the motivation of Iraqi students, according to the results of this study, and they are also helpful in increasing students' exposure to vocabulary and providing students with meaningful practice of language.

Tiered vocabulary and raciolinguistic discourses of deficit: from academic scholarship to education policy

Tiered vocabulary is a pervasive concept in academic scholarship, education policy, and schools. It involves placing individual words into hierarchically arranged tiers, based on their apparent simplicity, sophistication, utility, and complexity, with these categorisations used to determine which words carry value in the classroom. In this article I conduct a genealogy of tiered vocabulary and argue that it is a raciolinguistic ideology which frames the language practices of racialised and working-class children as deficient and requiring modification. I trace the ideological roots of tiered vocabulary to European colonial representations of the purportedly limited vocabulary of Black African communities. I then examine how tiered vocabulary emerged as a concept in 1980s US academic knowledge production, based on experiments led by white academics on predominantly Black children from low-income homes. I show how tiered vocabulary is descendant from deficit, anti-Black thinking which characterised mainstream educational linguistics in the 1960s. I then focus on how it has become normalised in England’s education policy in the 2020s, as part of a flawed theory of change which deems that the acquisition of academic language is a tool for enabling social justice. Ultimately, I show how tiered vocabulary is a flawed theory of language which ties together race and class in producing discourses of linguistic deficiency, and legitimises language policing which undermines the education of marginalised children.

The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on multilingual families in the Netherlands.

As a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, public life in many countries ground to a halt in early 2020. The aims of this study were (i) to uncover the language practices of multilingual families during the pandemic, in general and especially regarding homeschooling; and (ii) to determine to what extent the changes in circumstance caused by the pandemic impacted children's language use and proficiency, and family well-being. Parents from 587 families completed an online survey for 1051 children. Data were analysed using ordinal logistic regression. Our results showed that for most children, there were no changes in language use, proficiency or well-being. When there were changes, these were more likely for (families with) preschool children. Using the heritage language for homeschooling (some or all of the time) did not have a negative impact on Dutch language proficiency, but it did have a positive impact on the heritage language proficiency.

Exploring the language policy and planning: a comparative analysis of language practice in Kazakhstan and Estonia

ABSTRACT This study proposes a modified and more precise framework for conducting a comparative analysis of the current linguistic situations in two post-Soviet countries, Kazakhstan and Estonia. While these countries share historical roots under the Soviet Union, they have followed divergent paths since its dissolution. The evolution of language policy in these nations since their independence is considered from the perspective of everyday language practice, national identity, and prestige. With a particular focus on exploring the role of multilingualism in shaping the image and prestige of the Kazakh and Estonian languages, the research reports on the participants’ awareness of the de jure language policy and their attitudes towards the de facto language policy, and assesses the present state of the Kazakh and Estonian languages in the visual and media landscape. Employing an online survey and subsequent correlation analysis using SPSS, the research findings indicate a positive shift in the perception of native languages in both Kazakhstan and Estonia, signifying ongoing efforts to elevate their prestige and modernity across various sectors. By shedding light on the complexities of language dynamics in these two countries, the findings contribute to a comprehensive understanding of the contemporary sociolinguistic landscapes in Kazakhstan and Estonia.

The multilingual university: language ideology, hidden policies and language practices in Malawian universities

ABSTRACT Globalisation is increasingly affecting universities worldwide. In African contexts, language policies exhibit an inheritance situation in which countries continue to implement policies which favour colonial languages in education. This paper investigates the Malawian higher education context and the ways in which staff engage with multilingualism. It examines the implementation of language policies by staff in their classrooms and explores the attitudes of staff members towards the current monolingual language policy and practices in higher education in the country. The paper draws on a 4-month ethnography carried out in eight Malawian universities. Findings indicate that the language ‘rules’ imposed by staff are highly variable and that diverse language ‘policies’ are implemented and enforced by staff, some of whom operate strictly monolingual approaches while others adopt multilingual approaches. Staff display a range of attitudes towards multilingualism, influenced by competing pressures of ensuring students comprehend the subject matter while also seeking to improve their English skills against the broader backdrop of language practices and expectations in the country.