Model Of Language Policy Research Articles

‘We are always planning trips to Poland’: the influence of transnational family life on the family language policy of Polish-speaking families in Ireland

ABSTRACT In the context of heightened global transnational movements and the proximate geographical positioning of Poland and Ireland, this study investigates the impact of the transnational nature of Polish families’ migration experiences in The Republic of Ireland on their family language policy. This research endeavours to address a gap in the literature surrounding the influence of transnationalism on family language policy within Polish-speaking migrant families in Ireland. Grounded in Curdt-Christiansen's [Curdt-Christiansen, X. L. 2018. “Family Language Policy.” In Oxford Handbook of Language Policy and Planning, edited by J. W. Tollefson and M. Pérez-Milans. New York: Oxford University Press.] interdisciplinary model of family language policy, this investigation draws on an ethnographic inquiry into three Polish-speaking families in Ireland. The study focuses on families with first- and second-generation migrant children. Data were gathered through a combination of semi-structured interviews and children's reflective language diaries. The results depict the transnational nature of family life, with recurrent travel between Ireland and Poland evident across all three families. To sustain connections with Poland, parents implemented specific language management strategies. The study underscored the participants’ recognition of the interdependence between the use of the Polish language and the continuation of connections with Poland, as well as the capacity to uphold family life across Ireland and Poland.

School actors navigating between implementor & arbiter – a qualitative study on the dynamics in multilingual schools’ language policy

ABSTRACT Over the past two decades, heightened migration has increased linguistic diversity in schools. For schools to cope with this multilingualism, many governments impose a monolingual policy where only the language of instruction is allowed. Although many schools adopt such a policy, the classroom practices may differ since multilingual students often revert to translanguaging-as-practice. Drawing on three key conceptual language policy (LP) models (Bonacina-Pugh, 2012. Researching ‘practiced language policies’: Insights from conversation analysis. Language Policy, 11(3), 213–234; Johnson & Johnson, 2015. Power and agency in language policy appropriation. Language Policy, 14(3), 221–243; Ricento & Hornberger, 1996. Unpeeling the onion: Language planning and policy and the ELT professional. TESOL Quarterly, 30(3), 401–427), this study explores LP formation across macro (government), meso (school), and micro (classroom) educational levels in Flanders, Belgium. Macro-level analysis involves scrutinizing policy documents from the Educational Department of Flanders. Meso-level investigation includes policy documents from three secondary schools, compared with insights from interviews with the schools' principals and language coaches. Semi-structured interviews with teachers (n = 18) and classroom observations (n = 138 hours) provide nuanced perspectives at the micro-level. Triangulating data reveals declared, perceived, and practiced language policies at various levels. The study underscores LP's intricate nature within a multilingual educational context. Results highlight the contrast between macro-level policy straightforwardness and the complexity faced at meso- and micro-levels, where context-specific challenges arise. As schools navigate linguistic diversity, the role of language coaches becomes pivotal in creating inclusive and effective educational settings.

Language Attitudes and Policy Preferences: Insights From International Scholarship Applicants to Hungarian Universities

Abstract This study examined the attitudes of individuals seeking scholarships to study abroad, exploring whether their views on languages and language policy models vary based on gender, study programs, and countries. An online survey was administered to approximately 130 Hungarian government scholarship applicants from diverse nations. Statistical methods were employed to analyze responses, revealing variations and correlations between demographic and attitudinal variables. Participants expressed preferences for multilingual and monolingual language policies, aligning with their attitudes. The findings indicate that most participants pursued language learning with instrumental motivation, aiming to achieve educational and career objectives. Most participants expressed a desire for a multilingual language policy model in their home countries. While many embraced the proposal to adopt English as the medium of instruction, others maintained a critical perspective, acknowledging both the positive and negative impacts of English and multilingualism. Additionally, participants underscored the significance of preserving native languages in their respective countries.

LANGUAGE POLICY AND LANGUAGE IDEOLOGY: ATTEMPT TO CLARIFY THE CONCEPTS

The article attempts to clarify the concepts of «language policy» and «language ideology». The language ideology is proposed to be considered as a set of ideas and beliefs of members of an ethno-linguistic group about the status and prestige of their language and the language(s) of other groups. The purpose of the article is to describe theoretical approaches and concepts that allow revealing the essence of language policy and language ideology. The method used in the work is theoretical analysis. The analyzed theoretical approaches made it possible to establish the relationship between the implemented language policy and the language ideology, which acts as a factor that supports or does not support the implementation of a specific model of language policy. The representations of the speakers of an ethno-linguistic group, which are the basis of the language ideology formed, form the language space which the language policy is implemented. The extent to which representatives of an ethno-linguistic group are interested in promoting their language, whether they promote their request (themselves or through parties, NGOs), whether they perceive themselves as different from the dominant ethno-linguistic group on the basis of ethnic and linguistic affiliation, affects what measures the state takes with respect to the protection and support of the language(s) in society.

Inclusion or exclusion

The choice of a medium of instruction (MoI) is an ideological construct, closely linked to language, ideology and power. The Urdu/English-medium divide in Pakistan has reframed the ideologies in a way that a large majority of the rural population has become status conscious. English-Medium Instruction (EMI) policy has been used as a lens to examine parental ideologies of dropped-out children in language choice as MoI and to observe the gap between actual language policy and practices. Building on Spolsky’s (2004) Language Policy Model, a framework has been explicated to analyse the ideological change in the context of language choice with reference to EMI. Results suggest that the policy and practice gap concerning English has proven to be a tool of exclusion rather than inclusion for the masses and thus poor parents idealise English-medium schooling as the only option for a better future for their children, or otherwise pushing them out of public schools. This research, therefore, argues that in order to ensure inclusion, language-ineducation policy needs to be revisited on the principles of equity and impartiality so that it can win parents’ trust.

INVESTIGATION ON SATISFACTION AND EMOTIONAL BEHAVIOR CHANGES OF TIBETAN EDUCATIONAL LANGUAGE POLICY IN GANZI TIBETAN AUTONOMOUS PREFECTURE

BackgroundFrom the early empirical research results, we found the special methods and dimensions of education policy performance evaluation. These studies transition to outcome assessment and process assessment. Recent work has combined performance evaluation and education policy evaluation, and combined them. This study reconsiders the structure and measurement criteria of education policy performance in Tibet. To understand the current situation and characteristics of the implementation of educational language policy in Tibet and the changes of emotional behavior.Participants and MethodsA questionnaire survey was conducted among 945 middle school students in Ganzi Prefecture. Based on the results of Wang Shiying's questionnaire survey in Taiwan and the suggestions of the members and leaders of the research group, this study compiled a self-made Tibetan language education language policy scale. There are two types of balances, one is closed and the other is open. From the perspective of item reliability, structure reliability, alpha, ave and partition validity, this study makes an item analysis and reliability analysis on the four dimensions of language acquisition, policy attitude, policy awareness and policy satisfaction. Statistical software package amos21. 0 for confirmatory factor analysis (CFA).ResultsThe results show that the structural model of Tibetan educational language policy has been supported by the local government, which shows that the Tibetan educational language policy is effective. From large to small, the performance dimensions of educational language policy are: satisfaction with Tibetan educational language policy > Tibetan ability > Tibetan use > Tibetan educational language policy awareness. The standard deviation of each dimension from large to small is: Tibetan use > Tibetan ability > satisfaction with Tibetan educational language policy > recognition of Tibetan educational language policy. At present, the average value of the average performance evaluation of education policy in the questionnaire analysis is 3.6150 ~ 4.0595, which is equivalent to the degree of “above average”, and the overall performance is ideal. The correlation between Wittenberg coefficient and UCA was 0.81; The correlation between emotional language table and it is 0.59. Consistent with the expected results, language function is related to the evaluation of various policies; Emotional factors are related to the evaluation of the relationship between language recognition. (most correlation values are 0.30-0.70). From the perspective of discriminant validity, the correlation between social and emotional language items of Russell et al is only 0.170. As mentioned above, their correlation with other variables is also different. The correlation between Wittenberg's social and emotional language subscales is 0.44, which is significantly lower than the reliability of various scales, and the correlation between the two languages and other variables is also inconsistent. One of Wittenberg's findings is that social language has a high correlation with the UCLA scale, but this may also be partly due to the imbalance of the UCLA scale, that is, there are too many items for policy and less items for language and attachment.ConclusionThis paper discusses the dimensions and components of the performance of education policy in Tibet. In the analysis, some theoretical hypotheses of the performance structure of Tibet's education policy are tested, and the empirical data are combed to give an overall view of the criticism contained in these studies. This study constructs the model blueprint of the performance structure of Tibetan language education language policy, which provides reference and suggestions for future researchers. However, Ganzi Tibetan language education is a complex project, which will take a long time to implement. Therefore, the implementation of Tibetan language education needs unremitting efforts. On the basis of summarizing the successful experience of Tibetan language education, local governments and education departments should further study and accurately grasp the laws of education, promote the innovation of Tibetan language education ideas and clarify the objectives of Tibetan language education.AcknowledgementsThis article is a research project of the social science department of Hainan Province"(No. HNSK(ZC) -19 -08).

STRATEGIES OF LANGUAGE POLICY AT THE PRESENT STAGE OF DEVELOPMENT: A POLITICAL ANALYSIS

The article examines the role of language in multiethnic communities, where today language policy is becoming the most important issue of ethnic conflicts and clashes in developing countries of the world. The language policy model is one of the methods by which the State tries to settle ethnic contradictions within various communities. In many cases, language policy acts as a deterrent to inter-elite confrontations within a single state. The political elite uses various strategies to regulate language processes, namely: assimilationist or pluralistic strategies to achieve a political goal. Within the framework of this article, many examples of specific language policies were considered in terms of their contribution to achieving the political goals of elite groups. Language policy in the recent period is studied as based on the interaction of two obvious, but conflicting necessities. In the vast majority of countries where the conscious language policy of the authorities and uncontrolled policy through "economic turnover" is often aimed at maintaining the need for mutual understanding. The need for identity of speakers of minority languages often suffers, which can lead to interethnic conflicts.

Aspects of Teaching the Georgian Language to Non-Georgian Speakers

Socialization of students, their proper preparation for professional activities exactly corresponds to the spirit of the Bologna Process. That is why it became the basis for our learning process. Besides, our frenetic aspiration to integrate into the Euro-Atlantic space obliges us to follow the mentioned activity. Therefore, it is absolutely clear that we have already established a new scientific field – communicology. The eminent scholars, such as professors of Georgian Technical University Temur Jagodnishvili and Ivane Jagodnishvili laid the firm foundation for the development of the mentioned field. The books published by them: "Oral Communication," "Written and Oral Communication," "Academic Writing" or other textbooks are of the same level as the works of European and Russian textual critics, where the authors' concepts, findings, and methods establish the requirements of the modernity at a high scientific level. In the process of teaching the Georgian language, we pay special attention to the use of specific elements of non-Georgian speakers; for instance, determining the ways of language development and its management, clarifying the issue of language prestige, specifying its role in determining nationality, finding and establishing valid language policy models.

What prompts early childhood professionals to proffer advice to multilingual families? Investigating the association between language policy and perceived self-efficacy

ABSTRACT Early childhood professionals can act as catalysts in encouraging home language maintenance in multilingual families. However, there is a dearth of research on whether these professionals advise parents to speak their home language(s) to their offspring, and furthermore, little is known about what prompts professionals to proffer language advice. To respond to these queries, we relied on two theoretical frameworks: Spolsky’s language policy model and Bandura’s perceived self-efficacy theory. We gathered data from professionals (N = 305) employed at infant welfare clinics in Belgium and examined whether a high sense of multilingual confidence (i.e. a form of perceived self-efficacy), together with positive multilingual beliefs and multilingual practices, would induce professionals to offer multilingual advice (i.e. a form of language management). Our logistic regression results revealed that multilingual practices and multilingual confidence were positively associated with multilingual advice. Additionally, multilingual training was found to be strongly related to advice-giving. Multilingual beliefs, however, were only connected with multilingual advice when they were considered without the inclusion of multilingual confidence, as multilingual beliefs seemed to operate via multilingual confidence. We, therefore, suggest an enrichment of Spolsky’s model by taking into account multilingual confidence when investigating individuals’ language policy dynamics.

The recent evolution of first languages in Catalonia

AbstractThe case of Catalonia has often been pointed out as a case of success in the field of language policy, based on the improvement in its legal situation, the increase in the number of people who know it, and the extension of its use in certain fields. To contribute to a complete evaluation of the current language policy model in Catalonia, this article assesses the evolution of the first languages of the population over the last fifteen years. The study shows that during this period, despite some oscillations, Catalan has remained in stable numbers of L1 speakers in absolute terms, thanks essentially to very strong patterns of intergenerational transmission in both linguistically homogeneous and mixed couples. However, significant immigration during this period has substantially increased the weight of other languages and, to a lesser degree, Castilian, so that in relative terms Catalan has been reduced as a first language between 2003 and 2018.

An empirical validation study of Spolsky's language policy model

ABSTRACT This study investigates Spolsky's conception of language policy as the amalgam of language beliefs, language practices and language management. To the best of our knowledge, no quantitative evidence has ever been produced for his theoretical model. The current paper addressed this void, albeit specifically in the domain of Early Childhood Care and Education – scarce in terms of language policy research, but vital for children's (multilingual) language development. An Exploratory Factor Analysis yielded three valid and reliable scales that capture language policy from the perspective of early childhood professionals (N = 305) associated with infant welfare clinics in the Flemish Community of Belgium. Furthermore, a Confirmatory Factor Analysis indicated that the three components are ‘independent’ as well as ‘interconnected,’ thereby quantitatively corroborating Spolsky's theory. We conclude that language policy is no unitary concept; therefore, if one intends to study language policy holistically, the three indispensable components are to be identified. As a corollary, one simply cannot investigate management without considering beliefs and practices, and vice versa.

Інституційні основи модернізації політичних мереж моделі мовної політики

The institutional bases of of the language policy model are investigated. It is substantiated that the institutional basis for the of political networks of the language policy model is Ukrainian or other. language (at different times – it is Kiev, Church Slavonic, Old Ukrainian, Russian, etc.) as a state institution, which in the XV and XVI centuries. used in church translations and in the service of God. The language policy of affected the church sphere precisely when the Ukrainian church became independent, when priests had the opportunity to conduct services and read sermons in Ukrainian (Church Slavonic). The definition of modernization is given, which we understand as: cultural and democratic changes; renewal of the activity of a certain institution or branch, which carries significant vestiges of the past and is subordinated to its tasks; profound changes in the educational authoritarian worldview; revision of the principles of functioning of education, its reform in accordance with the new requirements. The activity of those institutions that the independent Ukrainian state inherited from the USSR is described, one of the reasons for its collapse is that this superpower tried to build a stateless monolingual society, which in the new democratic conditions cannot function constructively and fully. It turned out that ignoring national, in particular linguistic factors, was one of the factors of the viability of the empire, as a multinational state needs a pluralism of political and ideological views. Emphasis is placed on the fact that with the restoration of independence, new democratic institutions (the President’s Institute, the Legislative Institute, which is the Verkhovna Rada in Ukraine, the Executive Institute – the Cabinet of Ministers, and a network of judicial, communication, administrative, educational and other institutions) have defined the type of construction. model of language policy in Ukraine, which is monocultural, as well as – the democratic direction of development of its language policy. It is determined that the indicator of the political networks of the model is the Ukrainian language as a state institution, as well as other political institutions that regulate language policy, determine its vector of development and solve language and political problems. In this sense, it is revealed that the tension arises due to the competition of two main political institutions and their ideologies – national-democratic and communist, which provoke confrontation, for example, in areas of Ukrainian and Russian nationalisms. It was found that the of the political network of the language policy model took place during the rule of Kuchma and other pro-Russian politicians, who steadily and purposefully led the Ukrainian community to its polarization, division and language-political crisis. Given the activities of various political institutions, as well as the vision of the state and its model of language policy, it was found that between the right (national democratic political forces) and left (Communists, Socialists, Social Democrats, etc.) political institutions arise misunderstandings, confrontations and linguistic-political conflicts that occur during the discussion of language laws, their ratification and adoption. It has been proven that the functioning of the institutions that are the basis for the of the political network of the language policy model depends on the prevailing ideology, political culture of the subjects, political consciousness and political behavior.

Національне врядування як основа побудови нової моделі мовної політики в сучасних умовах

The purpose of the article is to analyze national governance as a basis for building a model of language policy on a new institutional framework, which changes if some political elites are replaced by others. The methodological basis of the article is a set of philosophical, philosophical and legal and general scientific methods. Determinants are dialectical, logical, historical, systemic, structural and functional methods, as well as activity, institutional, semiotic and other interdisciplinary approaches. Scientific novelty. The position is argued that national government will have a constructive basis for building a model of language policy only if it operates in an independent democracy and develops on a new institutional framework, when different political institutions will be able to compete and compete with each other not only in elections, but also in everyday political life. In this regard, the constructive actions of communist, on the one hand, and national-democratic political forces – on the other, which in the late 1989 – early 1990s jointly adopted several pieces of legislation, including the law «On languages in the Ukrainian SSR», which declared the Ukrainian language the state language; Declaration of State Sovereignty, without which the Act of Independence of Ukraine would not have been proclaimed; All-Ukrainian referendum, during which the President of independent Ukraine was elected. Conclusions. The destructive consequences of the government of pro-Russian politicians in Ukraine are the adoption of such laws as: «On ratification of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages»; «On the principles of state language policy», which intensified the division of the Ukrainian community and the state at the regional, linguistic and political and other levels. This contradicts the national interests of modern Ukraine, threatens its independence and the development of a model of language policy on a new institutional basis. To solve this problem, it is necessary to intensify the development of the outlined areas of research, to attract the attention of representatives of national democratic political forces, political scientists, legal scholars and policy makers. Keywords: national government; independent state; political networks; language policy models; new institutional framework.

Етапи формування концепту «політична мережа»

The stages of formation of the concept of "political network", which, according to many researchers, has long existed in various forms and meanings, are studied. In our case, the political network is seen not only as a concept, but also as a structural institution and an integral part of the model of language policy, which, among other things, unites institutions and institutions. It is noted that the influence of traditional and new institutionalisms, the latter of which was formed in the postmodern era, on the formation of the network and interconnection interactions of the model is different at least because these phenomena combine individual, group and mass forms, objective and subjective factors. which determine the nature, boundaries and direction of political action. We draw attention to the traditional institutionalism on the basis of which the Soviet political network of language policy model was formed, as it destructively influenced the interaction with another political network that operated underground in Soviet Ukraine on the basis of national democratic political forces. We study this interaction on the basis of the activities of the Sixties and dissidents who, under Soviet rule, defended the right to cultural autonomy, independent development, the use of the Ukrainian language, and the development of culture. We emphasize that it was during the Soviet era that the foundations were laid for the formation, on the one hand, of a pro-Ukrainian and, on the other, of a pro-Russian political network. The pro-Ukrainian political network is formed on the basis of national democratic institutions, and the pro-Russian – on the basis of "left" political forces, the basis of which in Soviet times were communists, and in independent Ukraine – socialists, renewed social democrats, new communists, centrists and others. Such a linguistic and political situation requires: coordination of the positions of different policy actors, which should formulate a common goal and objectives, develop rules and norms of interaction based on the requirements of voluntariness, equality and autonomy; concluding agreements that will ensure openness and transparency of political networks within the language policy model.It is substantiated that modern political networks are formed on the basis of information and communication centers, which create a space for network interactions to prevent and solve problems, including linguistic and political ones. They are an important part of the language policy model, as some combine formal and informal constructive or destructive institutions. For example, if Russian slavophiles in the XIX century. dreamed of uniting the Slavs around the Russian language and culture, the Cyril and Methodius – the equality of participants in the Slavic union, the independence of each tribe after unification, as well as popular rule. That is, the basis of the political network of language policy models Cyril and Methodius, which existed semi-legally, put Ukrainian culture, communication and freedom, when each nation had the right to create their own literature and culture, to use their native language freely, the Russian Slavophiles tried to to unite around the n language and culture. It has been found that their wish remains valid today. Only the names of parties, organizations, societies, etc. have changed. institutions that are the basis for the formation of modern political networks model language policy.

English Language Policy in Relation to Teachers and Teacher Educators in Latvia: Insights from Activity Systems Analysis

The ambitious objectives of European language policy and the strive for competitiveness have led to an increasing emphasis on foreign language competence at the level of national education systems. Using Spolsky’s onion model of language policy (2004) and Engeström’s Expansive Learning theory (1987, 2008), the study attempts to determine the formative influence of the existing multilayered language policy on the professional development of Latvian educators with the aim to compare the situation for teachers and teacher educators in respect of their English language proficiency.Given the prioritisation of English and strategic differences in foreign language management in relation to teachers and faculty, the activity systems analysis points to significantly higher demands and concomitant pressure in respect of English language competence of academic staff, and the lack of incentives to increase their proficiency for teachers. Remedying the existing situation through policy making, both systemic and individual perspectives should be taken into account, as their interplay affects the agency of educators in achieving the goals.

Translanguaging for intercultural communication in international higher education: transcending English as a lingua franca

ABSTRACT This article seeks to explore intercultural communication among a group of students with diverse linguistic and sociocultural backgrounds in an English-medium transnational university in China, focusing on multilingual students’ practices and perceptions of English as a lingua franca (ELF). Informed by an expanded understanding of translanguaging from a spatial perspective, this study explores multilingualism, multimodality, and spatiality in linguistic practices related to ELF in an international education context. Drawing upon multiple data sources including ethnographic observations, interviews facilitated by language portraits, recordings of interactions, and policy documents, findings of the study show that ELF communication was understood and practiced by multilingual students as a translanguaging act based on (partially) shared repertoires and beliefs about language and communication. It is also found that the monolithic and monolingual model of language policy in English-medium higher education ran counter to the students’ daily communicative practices and language development needs. Implications are suggested for how international universities can account for translanguaging in fostering linguistic diversity and preparing students for the practical realities of a multilingual world.

Intra-familial language choice in two multi-generational Polish-Swedish-speaking families

ABSTRACT Informed by Spolsky’s language policy model and the notion of audience design, this study addresses the under-researched context of the multi-generational family originating in the old Polish migration to Sweden. Two families were studied with a focus on (i) intra-familial language choice, and (ii) language policies derived from this choice and from individual reflections. Data were collected through an open-ended bilingual form and interviews, and then underwent descriptive, thematic and appraisal analysis. The findings suggest that family language policy is a heterogeneous social phenomenon. At the ideological level, Polish is the language of the family at home. At the level of practice, family members modify the policy in multiple ways. Language management is primarily verbalised as consequent usage of Polish within the family. Also, an agency belief is expressed, meaning that subsequent generations make independent linguistic choices. With respect to the influence of audience design, the families adjust to the language of the participating audience. With a non-participating audience, Swedish is a preferred or accepted choice. This paper concludes that there should be a follow-up study on the families presented here, which would further contribute to the still limited understanding of how family language policies are reshaped by later generations.

THE SOCIAL CONTEXT OF ANGLO-BARBARISM IN THE UKRAINIAN EDUCATION AND SCIENCE

Goal. Our goal is to investigate and explore the social context of anglo-barbarismin the educational sphere, i.e. to determine the complex of extralingual factors creating conditions for imposition of the English language and Anglicisms under the guise of allegedly necessary and useful phenomena of globalization and internationalization of the education. Methods. The main methodological basis of our research is the priority of the national principle and interest in assessment of socio-lingual phenomena in the area of foreign-language influence and use of descriptive-analytical method enabling to explore the main mechanisms of anglo-barbarism in the Ukrainian educational domain. Results: a) antagonism between the social and political phenomenon of globalism and nationalism as a worldview and linguistic confrontation under condition of insufficient formation of the Ukrainian nation is explored; b) the meaning of the term anglo-barbarism is explained as the most applicable to contemporary expansionary processes in educational environments; c) the Ukrainian legislative environment facilitating educational processes of the state Ukrainian language being replaced by the English language is defined and analyzed; d) a model of balanced language policy with the language-national priority is proposed. Conclusions. Extralingual factors play a decisive role in the processes of vocabulary borrowings. As a rule, a donor language is a language of the world’s to economic and political state with aggressive language policy of globalization-liberal character. Though, it does not mean that other states must adhere to this policy. On the contrary, one should reston the national principle with one’s own language priority, which, alas, taking into account the adopted laws and various educational regulations, we do not have in the Ukrainian State. Neither the language legislative environment, nor the general denationalized thought in the educational sphere work for actualization of our own language opportunities, but rather are targeted at replacement of the Ukrainian language by English or Russian. Integration into the so called globalized world with a positive outcome for our own country is only possible under condition of education on specificnationallanguagebasis.

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?

Wrestling between English and Pinyin

Abstract This paper examines the code choice and contestations on street name signs in China to find out the dynamics of language politics and the language ideological debates. In China, Hanyu Pinyin and English compete for visibility on street signs, though only Pinyin is the legally-endorsed alphabetic form for place names. Spolsky’s (2004, 2009) tripartite language policy model is adopted to analyse the management, practice and ideologies regarding the code choice on street name signs in Chinese cities. It shows that Pinyin has been promulgated as domestic standard fused with national interests in the official discourse, while English win the favour of the general public and some international-oriented cities due to its pragmatic value and the symbolic capital associated with it. The resilient approach taken by the top authority suggests that the traditional model of language management relying on political authority and ideological hegemony is hard to work its way out nowadays.