This essay comprises multiple sets of dialogues between us as colleagues and friends as we revisit the question of the status of English as a global language. Through the metaphor 'multiple classrooms of life', we share reflections and narratives arising out of our experiences with English that are embedded in our professional work, scholarship,…

Because English is widely used as a lingua franca, language testers have started to consider the introduction of non-native accents into English listening tests. This study investigates how accents influence test-takers' performance, and also elicits test-takers' subjective perception of accents. Eighty adolescent L1-Mandarin test takers were…

This article looks at how mother-tongue English speakers and those who do not have English as a mother tongue discuss the complex questions that swirl around the "global" hegemony of English when given an opportunity to discuss these "directly" with one another. The article does so via an analysis of a series of online…

English language proficiency and how it can be improved have been keenly debated issues in Australian universities. The debate has become more intense in the context of the marketing of international education and Australia's increasing share of international students. One reaction has been to raise the minimum English language levels for…

The insights of 12 foreign scholars and language scientists into the battle over making English the "de jure" official language of the United States are presented. The opinions come from England, Canada, the Philippines, the People's Republic of China, Australia, Belgium, India, and the Federal Republic of Germany. The consensus of these…

This book analyzes the system-wide provision of English-as-a-Second Language (ESL) services in Australia, Canada, and England suggests that a truly responsive educational vision is lacking. They find government policies to be inadequate; educational practices for ESL students to be either underdeveloped or poorly coordinated with practices for…

Examines attitudes toward indigenous languages in Australia. Suggests that if indigenous languages were granted official status, they would develop and modernize in response, rather than die out.(Author/VWL)

Although language policy in New Zealand is emerging piecemeal, without any clear central planning and without much of the data needed for sound policy development, political pressure from indigenous, community, and other language interest groups is interacting positively with government values and may still lead to a coherent national policy. (39…

Reviews European Community and Australian language policies. Considers cultural-economic interface in Australia with respect to current interest in teaching Asian languages for trade purposes. Discusses Australia's growing acceptance of languages other than English and its affect on Aboriginal people. Urges the better utilization of the country's…

Discusses the teaching of European languages and less commonly taught languages at all educational levels in Australia. Reference is made to multilingualism and language instruction in other countries. (AM)

Discusses language policy in the multilingual settings of Australia and the Philippines. Examines language policies, language curricula, government initiatives, language attitudes, and cultural maintenance in Australia. Studies language policies, national language development attempts, bilingual policies, viability of minority languages,…

The approaches to language maintenance in Australia are diverse and heterogeneous and include at least three kinds of programs: bilingual education programs; ethnic school programs (after hours or weekend programs that are controlled and managed by the community concerned); and mainstream school programs where the indigenous native language is…

Discusses language policy matters and the management of cultural and linguistic diversity in the area of education, with particular reference to Eritrea in East Africa and its application to Australia's language situation. The article presents examples of the impact of the tyrannical imposition of language usage, including the long-term…

The aims of this paper are to: (1) emphasize the need for language planning in efforts to solve the sociolinguistic problems of bidialectal and bilingual indegenous peoples in Australia, (2) demonstrate that these problems are not confined to Australia, and (3) show that methods of language planning and research in language attitudes developed in…

Explores the background of Australia's shift from its National Policy on Languages (NPL) to the Australian Language and Literacy Policy (ALLP). Findings are that the ALLP's virtual reality serves the ideologies of a power elite; and the NPL's understandings are necessary to avoid the consequences of alienation and racism. (50 references) (CK)