Language Policy And Political Issues In Education

This volume covers basic fields of Sociolinguistics and the Sociology of Language; both macro- and micro-domains are presented in the fields of language teaching, minority languages, and problems of language acquisition as well as practical issues of curricula planning and textbook writing. This book addresses students and scholars in the social sciences as well as public officials in education, language teachers and textbook writers.

In this second, fully revised edition, the 10 volume Encyclopedia of Language and Education offers the newest developments including two new volumes of research and scholarly content essential to the field of language teaching and learning in the age of globalization. In the selection of topics and contributors, the Encyclopedia reflects the depth of disciplinary knowledge, breadth of interdisciplinary perspective, and diversity of sociogeographic experience in the field. Throughout, there is an inclusion of contributions from non-English speaking and non-western parts of the world, providing truly global coverage.

Language has too often been studied in isolation from the social and political conditions in which it is used. The late David Corson, the General Editor of the first edition of the Encyclopedia of Language and Education, held the position that an acute understanding of theory was a necessary prerequisite for action, not an alternative to it, especially if one were hoping to change policies for the better. The contributions in this volume acknowledge the centrality of the politics of language, highlighting the importance of the social and political contexts of language policy and language education. This is one of ten volumes of the Encyclopedia of Language and Education. The Encyclopedia bears testimony to the dynamism and evolution of the language and education field, as it confronts the ever-burgeoning and irrepressible linguistic diversity and ongoing pressures and expectations placed on education around the world.

This new edition of takes a fresh look at enduring questions at the heart of fundamental debates about the role of schools in society, the links between education and employment, and conflicts between linguistic minorities and "mainstream" populations.

Janet Enever explores the complex forces that shape national and local language education policymaking for the early introduction of English as a foreign language at primary and pre-primary levels worldwide. This is the first book of its kind demonstrating the extent to which English is now perceived as a prerequisite for participation in the global economy, reflecting the rapid development of early start English now exploding across Asia, Latin America, and other fast-growing economies. “This is a timely and important book. Professor Enever demonstrates comprehensive knowledge of primary English policy and practice in a range of countries and, from a sound theoretical framework, draws together evidence to show how policies are all too often guided by short-term political considerations rather than sound educational practice. Whilst critiquing inappropriate practice, she also analyses the conditions which have the potential to lead to quality – and equitable – English language programmes at the primary level.” David Hayes, Department of Applied Linguistics, Brock University, Canada

In the third part some practical issues are raised by looking into the role of language and culture in teaching reading, foreign language policy in higher education, Hawaiian language regenesis, and gender neutralization in American English."--BOOK JACKET.

This revised second edition is a comprehensive overview of why we speak the languages that we do. It covers language learning imposed by political and economic agendas as well as language choices entered into willingly for reasons of social mobility, economic advantage and group identity.

This formidable selection of papers reflects the psycholinguistic and sociolinguistic underpinnings of the interface between language and education. Following an introduction that positions the field of educational linguistics historically and conceptually, the volume presents 15 contributions by leading scholars that cover the four areas most central to the field: - Language teaching, language learning and literacy (Widdowson, Bialistok, Cohen & Allison); - Language testing (Bachman, Davies, and Shohamy); - Multilingualism, minority languages and language planning (Bratt-Paulston, Fishman, Lambert, Amara, de Bot & van Els); - Language policy (Clyne, Tucker, Donato & Murday, McNamara & Lo Bianco, and Hornberger). New Perspectives and Issues in Educational Language Policy is published in honour of Bernard Dov Spolsky and reflects his impact on applied linguistics in general and educational linguistics in particular. The breadth and coverage makes this an indispensable title for future research in the field of educational linguistics.