This study examines the discourses of educators in Pakistan through the lens of Critical Multilingual Language Awareness (CMLA) to demonstrate how their lack of critical awareness reinforces and reproduces subtractive language policies and practices in a diverse multilingual setting. CMLA stands for the understanding of the social, political and…

This paper looks at reading in French immersion and how learning French is seen more as a skill rather than a social practice that could be examined through a more critical lens. Most of the teachers often teach students how to read but rarely will they discuss the role of French in Canadian society and how this is manifested in the texts they…

In this paper we review and compare language policy in relation to adult numeracy education in Wales and New Zealand with respect to the Maori and Welsh languages in the latest stage of our international comparative study of adult numeracy education. While much has been written about the relationship between language and literacy, the relationship…

This review of research offers a synthesis and analysis of research studies that address issues of language and literacy practices and learning in transnational contexts of migration. We consider how theoretical concepts from transnational migration studies, including particular Boudieusian-inspired concepts such as transnational social field,…

A significant number of community service-learning projects in higher education involve the teaching or tutoring of immigrants in English. As in related service-learning scholarship, these projects are commonly informed by perspectives on cultural difference, social justice, and power relations in U.S. society. Yet while faculty pair their…

Reviews the history of English and education in the Samoas. Discussion focuses on the social, political, economic, and educational factors that relate to levels of English and native language literacy in the two Samoas, and that help to explain the decline of native language literacy in American Samoa over the past several years. (Author/CB)

Defines and discusses the concept of small languages. Topics addressed include political status; official status (e.g., as a national language); distinctiveness; robustness or the degree of feasibility; social function; education to support the language; functions of literacy; and appropriate technology for use with particular languages. (12…

This collection offers insights into what a democratic vision of literacy looks like in practice. Building on the work of teacher and literacy scholar Jay Robinson, the 10 essays in the collection explore the relationships between literacy and society. The essays pay tribute to Professor Robinson, who retired in 1966 from the University of…

The development of literacy in selected bilingual societies was investigated. Historical and comparative studies were conducted of medieval Jewish communities, the Navajo community, a northern New Mexico village, and the countries of Paraguay and Tonga. The goal of the case studies was to develop a model for the development of literacy in the…

The purpose of this paper is to present a general overview of the linguistic setting of Arabic. Three main areas are covered. The first of these, diglossia, is defined in general terms and then examined more closely in relation to its historical development in Arabic-speaking countries (i.e., as resulting from geographic, socioeconomic, and…

There is a growing awareness among some Arab education specialists that the low levels of educational achievement and high illiteracy and low literacy rates in most Arab countries are directly related to the complexities of the standard Arabic language used in formal schooling and non-formal education. The complexities mostly relate to the…

This fourth book in the Urban Language Series is concerned with the relationship of language to reading. Literacy must be based on the language the child actually uses. In the case of ghetto children, materials in their dialect must be prepared so that their task of associating sounds and words with written symbols is not complicated by lack of…

The text presents an introduction to sociolinguistics for second language teachers, focusing on social dimensions of language likely to be of interest to this group. The first group of chapters addresses the manner in which the larger social and political context affects language broadly: "Language Attitudes, Motivation, and Standards" (Mary…

The issues of reading in bilingual education are examined with a primary focus on the contemporary classroom in the United States. Within bilinqual education, concern for reading has seldom reflected current research and theory, and little research has focused on reading within bilingual programs. In addition to focusing on the specifics of the…