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,…

Born and educated in the UK, with Arab parents and Muslims, second-generation British-Arab immigrants in Cardiff find themselves at the core of a complex web of power relations which potentiates their production of multilingual practices. However, while Cardiff is officially bilingual, English being the dominant language and Welsh becoming…

The world is witnessing an unprecedented growth of the English language worldwide. Now more than at any time in linguistic history people are powerlessly assisting the expansion of one global language, English, dominating other languages even in countries, such as Congo-Brazzaville, where its presence was not long ago barely observed. There has…

Despite textbooks serving as a primary educational resource, they are not inclusive. While the argument that the native speaker (NS) lingua-cultural approach or dominance in textbooks may impede English as a lingua franca (ELF)-aware teaching and learning has been accepted by some scholars, this assertion is supported by little empirical evidence…

This study reports on the development of a textbook for a school subject (Grade 8 Afrikaans second language--an official South African language). A framework for the textbook was developed by drawing from Maslow's self-actualisation and Hettler's wellness approaches, and merging these with Seligman's PERMA and the psychosocial system approach, as…

This paper documents English teachers' and advanced English students' perspectives on the use of Spanish in the English classroom in Puerto Rico. Using qualitative data collection methods such as interviews and focus group data, the researchers document the ways that many English teachers on the island justify their use of Spanish in the English…

The importance and amount of English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) usage and English Medium Instruction (EMI) lectures continue to increase on university campuses as universities worldwide seek to promote internationalization among both the student body and the faculty. While EMI has become a priority, the teaching and learning that occurs within this…

This article focuses on the inequalities of an educational policy that favours English over the national language and the resulting impacts on young people. While the constitution identifies Dhivehi to be the official language of the Maldives, and the National Curriculum recognises both Dhivehi and English as languages of instruction, English has…

Building on the recent studies revealing that official bilingualism policies in Canada are often used to reinforce a specific racial and linguistic order, this paper addresses the impact of these federal-level policies on education policies at the provincial level. From the policy genealogy perspective, we examine Ontario's Heritage Languages…

Recently there has been an increase in the number of students learning Mandarin Chinese (in mainland China and internationally). This increase has led to speculation that Mandarin Chinese is becoming a mainstream global language to the point of becoming a "lingua franca." This paper utilizes research findings from different regions and…

This study examines the education policies and education sector strategic plans of Somaliland. For this purpose, qualitative research was adopted and data were collected from reviewing education policies, education sector strategic plans, the joint review of the education sector analysis reports, and the curriculum frameworks of Somaliland.…

Language policy and Linguistic Landscapes (LL) are a highly contested area in South Africa. Due to Apartheid, the education system constitutes the core of such contestation. In Post-Apartheid South Africa the new Constitution of 1996, the South African Schools Act (SASA) and recent political initiatives such as the Use of Official Languages Act of…

Language description is a fundamental requirement for second language (L2) syllabus design. The greatest advances in language description in recent decades have been done with the help of electronic corpora. Such language description is the theme of this article. The article first introduces some basic concepts and principles in corpus research.…

Yoo's (2014) article raises a number of questions concerning local teachers' status and the ownership of English in the Expanding Circle. In this article, I address five issues that I see as most important relating to the ownership of English and empowering local teachers in the Expanding Circle. I provide up-to-date evidence of World…

This paper focuses on the results of a longitudinal study examining the English-language content of Francophone minority school boards' websites throughout Canada, mindful of the changing profile of the boards' parental population. A document analysis research approach was used to analyse how the content destined for a non-French-speaking audience…