Academic literacies research has been identified as an emerging but significant field in higher education. This article extends the discussions around methodology in academic literacies research by drawing on the current text and context debates in sociolinguistics and linguistic ethnography. It uses illustrations from a recent academic literacies…

In Native American communities, the "global here and now" (Appadurai, 2001) is linked to twin movements for standardization and English supremacy, resulting in the decline of Indigenous languages and persistent educational disparities. This article takes up Appadurai's call to democratize research on globalization, juxtaposing theories that…

Most pedagogical applications of wikis in foreign language education draw on this collaborative tool to improve (formal) writing skills or to develop target language cultural sensitivity, missing largely on the opportunity to support student-developed L2 content knowledge. Seeking an alternative to traditional teacher-centered approaches, this…

In the 21st century, the People's Republic of China (PRC) is reemerging and reengaging in the world on all fronts. One area of this reengagement is the huge increase in the number of Chinese students who are studying abroad. This paper discusses and analyzes the academic experiences of the growing number of Chinese international students who are…

Nepal is a multilingual country with low adult literacy rate (about 57% in 2008). Through different policy documents and motivation from some of the transnational organizations such as UNESCO, Nepal is on the process of adopting lifelong learning perspective as a major educational policy. In this context the article raises two issues: how to…

Communication is increasingly taking place through written messaging using online and mobile platforms such as email, instant messaging and text messaging. A number of scholars have considered whether these texts reflect spoken or written language, though less is known about the role of punctuation. In fact, it is commonly assumed that punctuation…

The sociolinguistic phenomenon of bidialectism can significantly influence foreign-language learning. This study provides empirical evidence (drawn from the Greek Cypriot bidialectal community) for this influence and it supports the recommendation that foreign-language educators be trained in language-variation issues. The study's methodological…

At the current historical juncture in which differences and inequalities are surfacing greater than ever in the world, societies, and schools, the main goal of this essay is to revisit the aspects of structuralism that can potentially contribute productively to understanding the invisible structures and forces that everyone carries (mostly…

This paper deals with the initial findings from an international research project called "Children Crossing Borders." This study focused on discovering how early childhood education and care (ECEC) systems in five countries (the UK, France, Germany, Italy, and the USA) serve the children of recent immigrants and what parents with diverse…

This study discusses the banlieue language in an innovative and multi-fronted manner. It seeks to challenge many theories in research on banlieue language, especially stereotypes regarding its speaker base. By expanding current research may be expanded to include more sociolinguistic factors than ever before, we can begin to see that banlieue…

While others have focused on gender-based language and the workplace, this research study explores gender-based language, in this case women's language, and the classroom. The study specifically examines examples of women's language and how this language affects student response in the classroom. Five variables have been identified as…

Since the beginning, second language acquisition (SLA) studies have been predominantly cognitive in their theoretical assumptions and programmatic agendas. This is still largely true today. In this paper, we set out our proposals for learning talk analysis (LTA). LTA synthesizes insights from linguistic philosophy, ethnomethodology, conversation…

One of the objectives of English as Lingua Franca (ELF) researchers is an account of the unique features of English that they have found in the speech of European users of English. These features, it is argued, describe a variety of English which they label "English as Lingua Franca". The choice of this particular term is problematic…

The concept of framing from anthropology and sociolinguistics is useful for understanding student reasoning. For example, a student may frame a learning activity as an opportunity for sensemaking or as an assignment to fill out a worksheet. The student's framing affects what she notices, what knowledge she accesses, and how she thinks to act. We…

This study analyzes gender variation in nonstandard typography--specifically, abbreviations and insertions--in mobile phone text messages (SMS) posted to a public Italian interactive television (iTV) program. All broadcast SMS were collected for a period of 2 days from the Web archive for the iTV program, and the frequency and distribution of…