Investigating Language Education Policy

Spolsky, Bernard

doi:10.1007/978-0-387-30424-3_243

Cited by 4 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…Looking into the underlying policies of practice -the "implicit and deducible rules of language choice" (Bonacina-Pugh, 2012, p. 218) -has been scarce in the literature. Building on the work of Spolsky (2004Spolsky ( , 2007Spolsky ( , 2008, Bonacina (2010), Bonacina-Pugh, (2012) on language policy, and the work of García (2007), and Creese and Blackledge (2010) on translanguaging, I explore the practiced language policies of the students in the language classrooms of two departments at the University of Dhaka.…”

Section: Evolution Of Language Policy Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

Students’ Practiced Language Policies:

Akhter

2019

Crossings

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Language policy research has traditionally focused on macro-level policies while language practices have been studied vis-à-vis macro policies to ascertain the success or failure of the policies. Policy as practice has only recently been conceptualized. This new strand of research argues that the real language policy of a community or institution resides in its practice. Language-in-education policies have traditionally advocated keeping learners’ first language separate from the target language fearing cross-contamination and hoping that this makes learning more effective. This “two solitudes” approach largely ignores what really happens in the classroom. Ethnographic research, however, shows that learners switch codes fluidly. The term “translanguaging” has been coined to describe such usual and normal practice of bilingualism without diglossic functional separation. Drawing upon the theories of practiced language policy and translanguaging, and adopting linguistic ethnography as method, I explored the “implicit and deducible” rules of language preference, that is, the practiced language policies of students in two language classes at the University of Dhaka. The findings show that students orient to a practiced language policy in which translanguaging is the norm and boundaries between languages become permeable.

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Section: Evolution Of Language Policy Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

Students’ Practiced Language Policies:

Akhter

2019

Crossings

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“…The fragile language ecology achieved in such multilingual contexts can easily be jeopardized through, for instance, policy decisions like the introduction of degree-course programmes in English or the suppression of courses taught in a minority language in order to attract international students . Consequently, the opinions and beliefs of the stakeholders need to be carefully considered, which is why Spolsky (2008) encourages research into the beliefs and attitudes of the different sectors that make up the university community: (home and international) students and academic and administrative staff.…”

Section: Multilingual Universities and Minority Languagesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Studying in a ‘multilingual university’ at home or abroad

Cots

Garrett²,

Lasagabaster

2016

SAR

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The relatively recent phenomenon of the internationalisation of higher education (HE) in European non-English-speaking universities has resulted in more linguistically diverse student bodies and has forced universities in bilingual territories to reconsider their language policies. In this paper, we adopt a student perspective in order to explore the notion of a multilingual university in the bilingual territories of Catalonia, Wales and the Basque Autonomous Community (BAC). This also includes looking at how the students view the relationship and possible tensions between internationalisation (and its concomitant student mobility) and the language policies. In order to investigate the attitudes and beliefs of the students (both home and international) in connection with the notion of a multilingual university, we asked them to complete an open-ended questionnaire item regarding the advantages and disadvantages they see in such an institution. The results of the analysis point, in the first place, to different perceptions among students of a multilingual university depending on (i) whether English is the main or even sole means of instruction, and (ii) the perceived status of the minority language. Secondly, the analysis suggests the need to approach students’ attitudes towards a multilingual university by considering the ways in which the sociolinguistic context (in official, academic and experiential terms) may have an impact on their perception of the process of multilingualisation in universities.

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