This study investigated multilingual students' linguistic challenges at English-medium instruction (EMI) universities in Kazakhstan. Using language policy and planning as a theoretical lens, this study looked at EMI policy in general, particularly the academic English challenges of students due to a haphazard implementation of the EMI policy in…

Singapore is a multiracial nation with a majority ethnic Chinese population. Since its independence in 1965, it has adopted an 'English-knowing' bilingual policy to achieve economic, social, and political objectives. For the past two decades, there has been a rapid increase in the percentage of ethnic Chinese Primary One students coming from…

This qualitative study investigates the process of family language policy and planning among a group of immigrant mothers with south Asian backgrounds in Hong Kong, and explores the underlying cultural, socio-political and ideological reasons. Moving beyond a discrete analysis of family language policy within the home context to incorporate…

This qualitative study offers critical insight into how language policy interacts with daily classroom decisions at a large and highly diverse urban community college in the United States. Specifically, it examines the challenges that faculty teaching developmental writing courses for English language learners experience when determining what…

The University of the South Pacific is a regional university catering for 12 countries. Its location situates it within unparalleled linguistic diversity, and its regional structure creates a highly multilingual body of staff and students interacting either face-to-face on the major campuses or remotely via e-learning and satellite communications.…

In the early 1990s, the government of Papua New Guinea (PNG) enacted educational reform. It officially abandoned its English-only policy at elementary school level, in favour of community languages. In response, the Kairak community of East New Britain Province developed a vernacular literacy programme. This paper, based on original fieldwork…

This paper reports on a study that examined the extent to which the development of academic literacy in isiZulu, an indigenous language spoken across all the nine provinces in South Africa, enhances opportunities for epistemological access. The focus is in relation to a pilot study of a Bachelor of Education Honours module that uses isiZulu as the…

Education policy always appears to be controversial, especially in post-colonial nations. In Vanuatu, the dual educative system inherited from the period of colonization has raised many debates. The government of Vanuatu is certainly aware of national educational issues in the school system such as the poor literacy rate and high school fees but…

In a national context where the language rights of indigenous people have been recognized constitutionally since 2003, we deal with the following questions: How can bilingual education programmes in Mexico be clearly defined and applied? And what exactly are the final objectives of a bilingual education programme? We shall address the issue of the…

This article suggests a theoretical framework for re-examining the complex relationship of language, literacy, and cultural practices, across multiple generations in the context of community-based Indigenous language revitalization. In the scholarship of Indigenous language revitalization and education, researchers have shifted from viewing…

India is home to 1652 languages, but only 22 are officially recognized. And while the Constitution requires local authorities to provide mother tongue instruction in schools (Article 350A, Constitution of India), a mere 43 languages are used nationally as instructional medium. An exploding demand for English-medium schooling across socio-economic…

The former British Labour Government acknowledged that religious practices play an important role in the development of children's identities [DCFS. (2009). "Your child, your schools, our future: building a 21st century schools system." London: HMSO; DfES (2007). "Curriculum review: Diversity and citizenship." London: HMSO].…

Traditional African literacy practices have often been ignored in the wake of European colonialism and the educational policies of colonial governments. Nonetheless, literacy had been established in parts of Africa following the introduction of Islam. This paper will examine the developments of literacy in pre-colonial West Africa. In this region,…

Discourses of development, education, gender, feminism and critical linguistics arrive in Africa from usually well-meaning but often opportunistic agents from other contemporary socio-political and economic contexts. Each of these forms a new layer that veils the earlier discourses and practices. Simultaneously, people in Africa are…

This paper analyses the rationale for the creation of multimedia texts, in the context of learning English in an economically and socially depressed context. Issues of implementation of macro-level language policies in a local context are particularly stringent when the macro-level approach is rendered impracticable for some reason (e.g. cost,…