Language education policy

This paper examines the roles the English language is
expected to play in contemporary war-torn Afghanistan. It
identifies 12 roles – some functional, others aspirational.
English has a role to play in the development of Afghanistan,
albeit limited, and it is believed to provide ameans of escape,
both literally andmetaphorically. On the other hand, in some
sections of society, English is seen negatively. In other contexts,
English is required to play a neutral role between the
two national languages. Analysis of the way that English
is used in aspirational contexts suggests a parallel with
shamanistic language: it does not need to be understood but,
for its audience, the intended beneficiaries, that does not
make it any less effective as a symbolic language, at least
in the short term. In the longer term, however, as promised
benefits fail to appear, Englishmay increasingly be perceived
negatively.

Scholarly literature highlights the systematic actions taken in the modern Middle East to destroy the Kurdish language. With a primary focus on Turkey, scholars have described this process as a policy of linguicide, or language genocide, which is “the extermination of languages, an analogous concept to (physical) genocide.”2 In contrast, similar processes at work in southern Kurdistan (Kurdistan of northern Iraq) have often been described as “linguistic suppression.”3 This paper argues that linguistic suppression does not adequately describe the Iraqi Kurds’ experiences. Rather, linguicide better captures the practices of cultural genocide that have targeted this group. This paper focuses on how the Kurds in modern-day Iraq were subjected to linguicide under the Language Education Policy (LEP) from 1932 to 1991. This policy was established during the monarchy (1921–1958), and advanced through the time of Saddam Hussein’s regime (1979–1991).4 While much scholarly work has associated the process of linguicide with the birth of a nation-state,5 this article further argues that linguicide in the Iraqi Kurdish case predates the formation of the Iraqi nation-state.

A transcript and video of a TV interview with Sir Eric Pickles MP on 20 March 2017, in which he agrees that the first large-scale central government funding for promoting the Cornish language, delivered from 2010 to 2016, was a political ‘bribe’ to secure fiscal savings in other areas of government from his Liberal Democrat coalition partners. Includes some relevant background information.

This article emphasizes that in the education of young Cameroonians, there is need to conceive cultural rootedness through language from a non-essentialist perspective.A clear decision on the choice of national languages to be taught should be made in order to enable every Cameroonian citizen to learn at least one national language in an optimal way. The national language in question could be an ethnic language which should be taught in an interlinguistic and intercultural perspective.
This would contribute to rootedness not only in an ethnic culture but in a national culture which is characterised by diversity.

Keywords : national language, national culture, non-essentialist, plurality.

Compared to the few public higher education institutions in the prewar era, postwar Somalia boasts a large number of academic institutions at the tertiary level, mainly as privately owned universities. Although these community-initiated academic establishments are making tremendous contributions to the higher education sector, particularly in the absence of an effective national government, one can argue that much still remains at stake in terms of evaluation and quality assurance, key elements necessary for institutional accreditation and acceptance of credentials by other educational establishments issuing the same level of certificates. In this essay we aim to provide an overview discussion of the trends of higher education in Somalia and the way forward for newly emerged institutions, which have taken the bold initiative of changing the landscape of Somalia’s higher education.

Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) and the concept of teaching non-linguistic subjects in a foreign language was quickly picked up by the Council of Europe and the European Commission in the 1990s as an innovative solution to the need to develop plurilingual competence among European citizens. This report seeks to trace the path of recent European and Italian language education policy texts that have led to CLIL, and to explore the ways in which related supranational and national policies interact and manifest at the micro-level in Italy. Culminating in a presentation of the research that has explored the implications of CLIL for Italian secondary schools and teachers, this report pays particular attention to the recent mandate that CLIL be implemented in the fifth year of upper secondary schools throughout Italy beginning in academic year 2013-2014.

Commissioned by the British Council, the report seeks to answer the following questions:
• What is the extent and nature of Arabic provision in UK schools?
• Who are the learners, and what motivates them?
• What are the strengths and weaknesses of this provision?
• Where are the opportunities, and the threats?
• How can the promotion of Arabic best be approached?

The present paper presents a detailed account of the
Indian Language Education Policy from a historical perspective
and the issues associated  with policy- making for language in
education in the Indian socio-political context; It argues the
outcome of the policies implemented in the colonial period and
discusses the current status of implementation of these policies in
the present Indian Educational scenario. It further elaborates the
adoption of national and regional language policies of India in
general and its outcomes in Tamil Nadu state in particular.
Finally it discusses and evaluates the consequences and aftermath
to be taken into account by the policy makers.

The study illustrates the attitudes of public high school and senior high school teachers in Zamboanga del Sur, Philippines towards Mother Tongue-Based Multilingual Education (MTBMLE) policy; the challenges they experienced that are attributed to it; and their suggestions in improving such language education policy. The study adapted the modified version of Ejieh’s (2004) questionnaire, such modifications were done by Tonio and Ella (2019) in their study for it to fit in the Philippine educational context. Using Chronbach’s Alpha, Tonio and Ella’s (2019) modified questionnaire garnered a 0.80 rating for reliability. The questionnaire was administered online, and the data were obtained from 70 secondary teachers of sixteen (16) public high schools in the Zamboanga del Sur province. The data were analyzed using the frequency and mean computation as well as thematic analysis. The results indicate that generally, the teachers disagree that the MTB-MLE policy is in good principle as they believe that it will not make the lessons interesting to students, and that it will not enable them to understand their lessons
easily. In addition, some of the most recurring challenges associated with the policy include reading and instruction comprehension difficulties, degradation of English language literacy and proficiency, language and/or
communication barrier between the teacher and the students, poor vocabulary and other grammar issues, teaching difficulty in Math, and difficulty in learning a second language (L2). Some recommendations obtained from the participants include the call for additional funding and support for MTB-MLE teachers, abolishing the policy and switching to the old curriculum, and revising some aspects of the policy to better suit the linguistic diversity of the country.

Apresentamos algumas ações de política linguística e educacional no âmbito da Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS) quanto ao Português como Língua de Acolhimento (PLAc), considerando especificamente o contexto do Programa de Português para Estrangeiros (PPE) do Instituto de Letras da UFRGS. Primeiramente, discutimos a inclusão de refugiados da comunidade em geral em seus cursos de extensão, bem como o acolhimento dos alunos com visto humanitário ou de refúgio ingressantes pelo edital extravestibular da UFRGS de 2017/2. Na sequência, relatamos ações do projeto multidisciplinar Laboratório de Migração (LabMig), envolvendo o PPE e a Faculdade de Educação, em uma escola municipal da zona norte de Porto Alegre, incluindo uma fase de ensino de PLAc Básico I para um grupo de imigrantes e outra com oficinas audiovisuais em uma turma da Educação de Jovens e Adultos (EJA), composta por imigrantes com diferentes níveis de proficiência em português como língua adicional (PLA) e brasileiros falantes de português como língua de socialização. Por fim, sistematizamos as principais questões levantadas no 1o Encontro Interdisciplinar sobre Ensino de Português para Imigrantes e Refugiados, realizado no final de 2017 no PPE, do qual participaram professores e pesquisadores envolvidos com PLAc em diferentes regiões do Rio Grande do Sul e do Brasil, e uma participação internacional enfocando o contexto de acolhimento europeu.

BULLA, G. S.; LAGES E SILVA, R. ; OLIVEIRA, B. S. ; Conceição, J. V. . Português para imigrantes e refugiados na UFRGS: ações de política linguística e educacional. In: Luciane Corrêa Ferreira; Cristina Perna; Ricardo Gualda; Eulália Vera Lúcia Fraga Leurquin. (Org.). Língua de acolhimento: experiências no Brasil e no mundo. 1ed.Belo Horizonte: Mosaico Produção Editorial, 2019, v. , p. 103-120.

After over a century of federal policy antagonistic toward indigenous languages, the government of Canada by the mid-1980s developed programs to financially support community-based indigenous language revitalization efforts. This project investigates the effect of one such program, the Aboriginal Language Initiative. While a number of useful resources have been produced through the ALI, the overall span of the program demonstrates shallow support for communities in need of capacity building. The experiences of local program delivery agents and feedback provided by recipient communities highlight the federal government’s refusal to act in partnership with Indigenous communities. In light of ongoing reforms to the ALI over the last year, the project will also shed light on the dual role required of language activists, to both harness available resources, while resisting regressive policy directions.

Indigenous Australians have long been advocating for recognition of their languages, cultures and identities. They have sought the inclusion of their languages in schools to revitalize and maintain languages and cultural knowledge, and to take an active role in the education of their children. This paper provides an overview of Indigenous language programs and activities in education and looks to future directions and innovations that may strengthen languages in education, and in turn Australian languages. The paper argues that policy and practice for Indigenous language education interacts with policy and discourse for Indigenous languages, education outcomes and Indigenous policy more broadly. It identifies strengths and challenges for Indigenous languages, and examines national legislative frameworks, which would support Australia’s languages into the future, a goal Australia has set itself.

As was the case with many newly independent African nations, Somalia was beset by a language problem whose complexity had begun well before independence and the unification of British Somaliland and Italian Somaliland in 1960. With three languages (English, Arabic, and Italian) used as media of communication in government offices and in schools, various Somali administrations struggled to contain the impasse but found no tangible solution. Barely three years after Mohamed Siad Barre seized power in October 1969, he had his military regime introduce the Somali orthography in the Latin alphabet. Based on this milestone, Siad Barre's military rule is highly commended for taking a remarkable step forward in what came to be known as the Somalization project. However, officials of the government and Somali scholarship failed to

This paper delves into the “profound effect of globalization on education”  specifically in the area of language learning and teaching vis-à-vis the use of Filipino and English in schools and eventually as part of lifelong skills.  Some decades back, the Philippines prided itself to have mastered the art of bilingualism with its people efficiently speaking both Filipino and English in classrooms and outside.  Prominent economist Solita Collas-Monsod (2003),  in fact, puts the Philippines as the third-largest English-speaking country in the world after the United States and the United Kingdom. However, recent findings caused the Philippine government to rethink of a better policy to contain the fast- deterioration of English-speaking, most importantly, among its people and to ensure the use of English as medium of instruction in schools to make its people “globally competitive” while, at the same time, complying with the constitutional mandate on the use of Filipino. 

To fully grasp the country’s current state of bilingualism, this paper looks into the effect of the advent of a “globalized education system”, where learning is characterized by modern modes and strategies like e-learning, distance education, international joint-degree programs and partnerships, integrated study abroad modules, etc., which critiques consider as “impediment” to productive learning.  Perhaps the most appropriate question that should be asked is “How does globalized education system impact on the bilingual communication skills and competencies of Filipinos?”

Apparently, the Philippine government is confronted with the dilemma that the dwindling bilingual communication skills and competencies of Filipinos, as a comparative advantage over other Asian countries, will worsen even further and that Filipinos will eventually be left out in the globalized economy.  Center on this debate are issues whether to pursue English as the sole medium of instruction, or strengthen bilingual approach to education or review the policies involved in the proliferation of the “globalized education system”.  A major policy issue, thus, remains crucial: can a “globalized education system” indeed contribute to the development agenda of the Philippines and ensure the country in positioning its labor force in a globally competitive market?  The government believes that the Philippines’ own historical experience itself evidenced a symbiotic relationship between enhancing the Filipinos’ bilingual skills and becoming a globally competitive business environment.  Proponents for further strengthening Filipinos’ English skills and competencies often argue on the bases of the Asian Street Journal (October 15, 2002 issue) where it noted of India’s English skills and proficiency that has propelled the country’s hi-tech industry and that which catapulted Singapore to be “one of the world’s most impressive economic success stories”. 

This paper, however, strongly disagrees with so-called “educational Taylorism” as suggested by William Tabb. The art of promoting bilingualism under the regime of a “globalized education system”, unlike education per se, cannot be conducted in similar way that Henry Ford manufactured automobiles where “skilled labor are broken down into a series of lower-skilled tasks, assigning some tasks to machines and imposing strict managerial control over the rest.”  While at some point language learning and/or can be commodified and are sold through various modes and strategies, just like education as a whole, concrete policy standards have to be crafted if indeed such skills-enhancement is geared towards lifelong competencies for the Filipinos.

Over the past decade the government of the United Arab Emirates has led several initiatives to revive and strengthen the Arabic language at the educational, cultural, and regulatory levels. These initiatives were influenced by popular narratives about the challenges to Arabic learners in the usage of their mother-tongue, the diluted presence of the Arabic language in public space, and the relative lack of macro-level language policies in the UAE and the Gulf region more broadly. The government initiatives have sought to bring about a revival of Arabic language discourse in the public, educational and policy spheres.

Using a post-structuralist approach to the analysis of policy discourse, this study investigated the perceptions and problematizations of the recent Arabic language initiatives (ALI) of the UAE with a view to identifying the implications for the curriculum and pedagogy of the Arabic language.

Data were gathered by means of 29 semi-structured interviews, following the ‘What’s the problem represented to be’ framework (WPR) proposed by Bacchi and Goodwin (2016b).  A discourse-historical analysis (DHA) approach was then used in order to interrogate the underpinning concepts of the Arabic language policy which impact on teaching and learning.

The findings suggest that the Arabic Language Initiatives of the UAE are political drivers that contributed to raising the profile of the Arabic language, yet they were not perceived to have filtered through the system sufficiently to affect learners’ pedagogical experiences in the language. The data reflects a perceived policy practice gap reflected in the absence of an Arabic language education policy and an ambiguous regulatory landscape. The implications of this research bring to the fore new pathways for the development of Arabic language policy, pedagogical practices and curriculum planning in the UAE. In addition, the study suggests implications for the agenda of Arabic teacher preparation and the Arabic language content in public and virtual space.

статье рассматривается практика категоризации и процедур в сфере языковых ситуаций и языковой политики в России в сравнительном
аспекте. В центре анализа взаимосвязи “язык и этничность”, “язык и политика”, особенно в практике переписей населения, и их интерпретации. Предлагается пересмотр категорий “родной язык”, “материнский язык”, “национальный язык” в пользу ситуативного и множественного подходов, которые учитывают факторы рационального выбора, языкового рынка, структурных предписаний, языкового репертуара в культурно-сложных обществах, а также историческую динамику языковых процессов. Автор обосновывает отсутствие жесткой связи между языком и этничностью и ставит вопрос обеспечения прав языковых сообществ, поддержки
языков как самостоятельных ценностей в культуре человеческих коммуникаций. В сфере языковой политики рассматриваются роль языковых проблем в современном нациестроительстве, соотношение государственного (национального) языка и этнических (миноритарных) языков в общественной жизни таких стран, как
Российская Федерация.

In the context of the United States K-12 school system, reclassifcation
processes of emergent bilinguals are laden with high-stakes assessments. Largely absent in reclassifcation scholarship is the consideration of how reclassifcation policies uniquely affect those learners with identifed disabilities. Applying an intersectionality lens that foregrounds political and structural critique, we conducted an interpretive policy analysis of reclassifcation policies in two states, New Mexico and California. In the analysis, we examined the coalescence of federal and state policies governing reclassifcation procedures along with assessment designs and
practices as they impact the educational realities of emergent bilinguals with disabilities. The analysis illuminated how existing policies and practices marginalize emergent bilinguals with disabilities by making reclassifcation improbable for students with intersecting disability and second language acquisition needs. We argue that the unlikelihood of being reclassifed as Fluent-English Profcient has profound educational consequences for emergent bilinguals, who over time may become disproportionately represented in both special education as well as the long-term English learner population in schools.

The field of bilingual education in Hong Kong provides a perfect window to study transformation of education in the context of wider processes of economic, institutional, political, sociolinguistic and cultural changes. As Hong Kong changed from a former British colony to a Special Administrative Region (SAR, hereafter) of the People’s Republic of China, the space of language education has seen the overlapping of old and new ideas regarding what languages should be learned or taught, by whom, when and to what degree. Such ideas and the related policies which have contributed to their institutionalisation cannot be detached from shifting conditions as to who gets to decide what language repertoires are attributed value in which sociolinguistic markets vis-à-vis local and trans-local processes of destabilization of the modern politics of language and culture. This entry traces major works that have reported and described these processes, with attention to their implications for the existing language-in-education policies and practices in contemporary Hong Kong.

This chapter offers a global perspective on heritage language education. It aligns with the expansion beyond the multilingual turn (May 2013) to a transdisciplinary perspective that recognizes how languages are learned, used, lost, and revitalized in a multilingual world shaped and being shaped by ideologies and political power dynamics (Ortega 2013; Douglas Fir Group 2015). This calls for consideration of social, historical, and political factors, as well as sociopolitical and historical ecologies that shape concepts of heritage language and approaches to research and pedagogic approaches to heritage language education (van Deusen-Scholl 2003; Hornberger 2005; Tifonas and Aravossitas 2014, 2018). To highlight these dynamics, this chapter focuses on the case of Spanish as a heritage language in the United States - the most commonly taught heritage language, and the heritage language with greatest representation in the literature.

The purpose of this study is describe how Protestant missionaries’ language education in Amoy dialect in Amoy was started in the 1850s, how it expanded to Tainan in the 1870s, and how it had strong effect on language education policy of the Taiwan Government-General in 1895.  This research analyzes (1) missionaries’ view of Language for Chinse language before 1850s, (2) John Van Nest Talmage’s (1819-1892) language education in 1850s in Amoy, (3) Thomas Barclay’s (1849-1935) influence on Shuji Izawa’s (1851-1917) language education policy in Taiwan.

This paper considers the role of Malay language loyalty and loss in South Thailand. The ethnographic material presented is based on the author’s ten years living and working among bilingual urban Malays, and a year making regular visits to rural communities in Narathiwat. One of the few things that informed analysts of South Thailand agree on is that a range of factors contributed to the resumption of violence in 2004. In addition to the role of political legitimacy, there is consensus that progress towards peace is complicated by the involvement of uncivil constituencies from two highly ethnicised religious communities. Despite the importance of ethnoreligious issues this paper argues that ethnolinguistic dynamics⎯specifically language loyalty, loss, and angst⎯have much to contribute to the return of peaceful co-existence and reconciliation. Although religious freedom in Thailand is promised and present, few minority languages in Thailand are strong now than they were before policies promulgated in the 1930s. I introduce the range of positions on the role of language and multi-lingualism in the construction of difference and the achievement of peaceful co-existence. I describe the range mono-lingual and bilingual communities in South Thailand. I also recount the variety of ways that Southern Malays have responded to the decline of Malay and the importance of Thai for those wishing to engage in Thai modernity. There is a need to as informed by ethno-linguistic angst as ethno-religious rebellion.

Contact between culturally distinct human groups in the contemporary ‘glocal’  -global and local- world is much greater than at any point in history. The challenge we face is the identification of the most convenient ways to organise the coexistence of different human language groups in order that we might promote their solidarity as members of the same culturally developed biological species in the globalization era.

Processes of economic and political integration currently in motion are seeing increasing numbers of people seeking to become polyglots. Thus, English is establishing itself as the usual world supra-language, although it coexists with other lingua francas that are widely used in certain parts of the globe.

All this communicative reorganization of the human species may very well pose new problems and aggravate existing tensions as regards language and identity. It would seem that these processes comprise at least four major conceptual dimensions which must be taken into account above all else, as they are both widespread and, left unaddressed, may lead to significant social instability. These dimensions concern linguistic recognition, communicability, sustainability and integration.

While accepting the utility of having an inter-national language, the keystone of the system is clearly that it must ensure the linguistic sustainability of each group. The basic principle is likely to be functional subsidiarity, i.e., whatever can be done by the local language should not be done by another one which is more global. As in the quote from Paracelsus  --“the dose alone makes the poison”-- contact between languages is not ‘poisonous’ per se, but when the correct dose is exceeded it can prove harmful to the language whose position is weaker. A multilingual and communicated humanity is possible.

No credible claims can be made that the role of language – specifically Malay – has been entirely overlooked by those studying conflict dynamics in South Thailand. Nevertheless, those concerned with religious factors dwarf the number of studies interrogating language issues. Without suggesting that language represents some sort of silver bullet solution to this complex conflict, I argue that anyone pursuing peaceful, political resolutions to Thailand's southern impasse must be more informed about language policy, monolingual mind-sets, and linguistic justice, namely how linguistic repertoires and linked to inequality. My interests in this paper are theoretical (rather than empirical). The first of this paper's two substantive sections describes the nature of Thailand's (diverse) linguistic landscape and how the language policies pursued by Bangkok resemble those of other states between South and Southeast Asia. In light of Bangkok's policies towards southern Malays resemble those that impacted Lao and Khmer-speaking Buddhists in the northeast provinces, I suggest that some dynamics in South Thailand need to be de-exceptionalized. In the section the follows, I interact with recent treatments of how language and religion are involved in constructions of ethno-nationalisms, and linguistic injustice that leads to inequality among linguist minorities. I conclude suggesting reasons for anyone seeking peaceful political resolutions in South Thailand – where a nation linguistic minority possesses close connections to the Malay cosmopolis – needing address the politically sensitive issue of Thailand's (deeply entrenched) monolingual mind-set and discriminatory language policy that has led to widespread language loss.

Chapter 6; Contributor.
Preservice and Inservice English as a Foreign Language Teachers’ Perceptions of the New Language Education Policy Regarding the Teaching of Classes in English at Japanese Senior High Schools

Book Abstract:
This book is open access under a CC BY license. Japan has recently promoted a number of initiatives that can be termed an opening to the world and the Asia-Pacific in particular. These have origins in Japan's globalization generally and multicultural policies more specifically. The chapters in this book are grouped in three sections - theories, language, and migration - and they explicate details of multiculturalism in the Asia-Pacific, largely focused on Japan, but including cases that extend beyond Japan as well. Alternative understandings based on analyzing conflicts and moving towards reconciliation underscore the urgency of viewing multiculturalism in Japan and the Asia-Pacific from perspectives that are firmly based in the region. Themes such as immigration, identity, foreign language education, politics and language, English language policies, dual citizenship, foreign labor policies and movements, and higher education are all addressed in the individual chapters. The book will be of interest to scholars of multiculturalism in a wide variety of fields.

This institutional project focused on the integration of quality standards in teacher education in a public university that trains English teachers from a region of the Middle East with approximately $10,000 purchasing power parity (PPP). The institutional change under study consisted of integrating standards through electronic portfolios. Teacher training provides an opportunity for students to enhance their status, as English is an international language. However, language and culture are interconnected, which situates English as a tool for influence, persuasion, and a subtle form of colonization to concepts proper to Western societies. Indeed, language is more than communication: It represents experience and social attitudes and links knowledge with demands for group worth. This article focuses on the dynamics of change. Participatory Action Science (PAS) was used as a design for the study. Participants documented their activity and were interviewed during the collaborative changes. The focus is on the clash between male and female positioning during the innovation process. The article is a reflection on how globalization shakes traditional obedience networks based on gender, how it impacts cultural change, and how it typifies seats of resistance.

o credible claims can be made that the role of Malay has been entirely
overlooked by those studying conflict dynamics in South Thailand.
Nevertheless, those concerned with religious factors dwarf the number of studies
interrogating issues related to language. Without suggesting that language
represents some sort of silver bullet solution to this complex conflict, I argue
that anyone pursuing peaceful, political resolutions to Thailand’s southern
impasse must be more informed about language policy, linguistic justice, and how
linguistic repertoires are linked to inequality. My interests in this paper are
theoretical (rather than empirical). The first of this paper’s two substantive
sections describes the nature of Thailand's (diverse) linguistic landscape and
how the language policies pursued by Bangkok resemble those of other states
between South and Southeast Asia. In light of Bangkok’s policies towards
southern Malays resemble those that impacted Lao and Khmer-speaking
Buddhists in the northeast provinces, I suggest that some dynamics in South
Thailand need to be de-exceptionalized. In the section the follows, I interact
with theoretical treatments of language and religion in ethno-nationalism,
and linguistic injustice. My argument is that anyone seeking peaceful political
resolutions in South Thailand – where a nation linguistic minority is connected to
the Malay cosmopolis – must address the politically sensitive issue of Thailand’s
discriminatory language policy that has led to widespread language loss.

In the post-hurricane María Caribbean, Puerto Rico presents a unique case for teacher educators and policymakers. The article offers a critical reflection about the experience of the colonial non-autonomous U.S.-imposed school system, and contributes to teacher education and language education policymaking (LEP) by exploring the effect of displacements, schooling on identity, and the role teachers can play. The article is based on an analysis that broadened the notion of language and education policy to include standards, textbooks, and teaching practices. The research question is about indigenous identity in a context of not only colonial schooling but conflicting visions of history, and loss of oral tradition in lieu of standardized school-sanctioned knowledge. The article suggests that community and indigenous models and educational autonomy would be more sustainable, practical, and just than standardized notions of school.

Focusing on developments in research on language education policy, this introduction to the thematic special issue begins with a sketch of the new problem space emerging at the intersection of intensified transnational mobility, expanding economic neo-liberalisation and institutionalised of multilingualism. It then identifies situated practice, commodification and declining state authority as key perspectives and themes in the study of language policy, and outlines the methods required to address these. After that, it provides an overview of the articles in which these issues are addressed.

Keywords: Language education policy; Late modernity; European Union; Multilingualism; Sociolinguistic ethnography

Research commissioned by the British Council's Arabic language and culture partnership in order to map out the current state of play with regard to Arabic language and culture in the UK and to assess the opportunities for extending the teaching of Arabic to more schools and learners. Original research carried out in 2013, updated early 2015

Due to an increase in globalization, international business, and the Tokyo Olympics being held in 2020, Japan faces a growing need to develop a population with the English language skills and cultural awareness needed for global success. The need to address these goals has been noted by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) who is spending large amounts of money on various initiatives in schools, universities, and businesses across Japan. This papers outlines some of the key policy changes and educational initiatives that are being spearheaded by MEXT in order to develop the Japanese populous’ English language proficiency and to create a more international higher education system in order for Japan to remain competitive on the global arena. These initiatives will then be framed within the concept of English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) or English as an international language (EIL). Finally, this paper specifically describes a number of programs, all of which have received considerable funding from MEXT, that have been developed at one university in Tokyo to develop globally minded bilingual individuals capable of performing in international academic or business contexts. Results of some of these programs are described in terms of language gains, study abroad placement, and post-graduation employment statistics.

La diplomazia culturale considera la promozione della lingua e della cultura all’estero come uno strumento per esercitare il soft power. Esse, però, possono anche diventare un mezzo di propaganda, come è successo alla lingua e alla cultura italiana nel periodo fascista. Questo libro esamina il caso del Giornalino. Una rivista per insegnanti e studenti di italiano creata e diretta da Giuseppe Prezzolini durante i suoi anni alla Casa Italiana della Columbia University, dal 1934 al 1943. La rivista non è mai stata studiata fino ad ora. Lo scopo è di ottenere un quadro della realtà dell’insegnamento e della cultura italiana negli USA, in particolare nell’area di New York, in quel preciso momento storico e di fornire nuove prospettive di analisi all’impegno di Prezzolini nella promozione della lingua italiana quale direttore della Casa Italiana. Attraverso l’esame della rivista si cercherà di dimostrare che anche Il Giornalino ha svolto un ruolo significativo nel delineare un’immagine positiva del fascismo negli USA presso un’utenza formata essenzialmente dagli studenti di origine italiana e dalle loro famiglie, a cui il regime dava particolare importanza.

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