This book is a timely comparison of the divergent worlds of policy implementation and policy ambition, the messy, often contradictory here-and-now reality of languages in schools and the sharp-edged, shiny, future-oriented representation of languages in policy. Two deep rooted tendencies in Australian political and social life, multiculturalism…

This book aims to advance the understanding of multilingualism in society. Challenges to the myths of monolingualism in the English-speaking countries (the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and United Kingdom) are commonplace. It is less well-known that the same assumptions and behaviors associated with monolingualism in the…

Based on an Australian study creating sociolinguistic profiles of nine languages other than English (LOTE) commonly used in Australia, the report examines implications for public language policy and planning. The languages are: Arabic; Chinese; French; German; Modern Greek; Indonesian/Malay; Italian; Japanese; and Spanish. The report begins by…