Bilingual investments of dual-language immersion program alumni

The article explores bilingual investments of dual-language immersion program alumni through an intersectional narrative analysis. Focusing on the experiences of bilingualism of six alumni, we investigate how they continue to be invested in bilingualism, the factors that shape their self-positionings as bilinguals, and the extent to which race is implicated in their experiences as bilingual speakers of Spanish and English. The analysis revealed that investment is not always agentive and is obligatory, and habitual – less conscious linguistic behavior. While individual efforts sustain bilingual investment, biculturalism requires a collective practice. Bilingual experiences are racialized, and raciolinguistic ideologies at home school, and society at large shape alumni’s bilingual investments. Across all findings, we discuss individual and collective similarities and differences among Hispanic/Latinx and White alumni. The article ends with implications for future research and practical recommendations for designing equitable bilingual programs

Multilingualism, nation branding, and the ownership of English in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan

This study examines the ownership of English and linguistic (in)security of multilingual English learners in two post-Soviet nation-states. Using the chronotopic and scalar analysis of discourse, I examine students’ ideologies of English vis-à-vis their linguistic repertoires in the context of national imaginary and globalization. I utilize the concept of ‘nation branding’ to trace the relationship between language ideologies and broader sociopolitical factors, including neoliberalism. The analysis of 60 individual student interviews revealed that the state-circulated nation-branding discourse is a powerful tool for instilling the sense of linguistic ownership. The findings showed that students in Uzbekistan regard English as opportunistic and more valuable in the global market than their local languages. In contrast, students in Kazakhstan see all of their languages including English as pivotal in enacting trilingual identity at local, national, and global scales

Language ideologies and (im)moral images of personhood in multilingual family language planning

Scholars have demonstrated that small-scale relatively private family decisions about language are intertwined with parental language ideologies. Using data from the context of multilingual Central Asian families—including those living in Central Asia and those living abroad—this study employs socially situated analysis of discourse and narrative inquiry to show how parents invoke language ideologies in justifying their decisions about their children’s education and linguistic exposure. The notion of “chronotope” is used to demonstrate how parental ideologies are embedded in images of space, time and moral personhood. Focusing on these images, rather than only on language ideologies, allows an incorporation of the many social factors—both linguistic and non-linguistic—involved in bottom-up language planning, and facilitates increased attention to emic perspectives. This focus also illustrates how state discourses are internalized by participants through their understandings of morality relative to other issues such as language education

Habitus and imagined ideals: Attending to (un)consciousness in discourses of (non)nativeness

This study responds to scholarship that has examined “folk concepts” of (non)nativeness through the lens of imagined ideals of the native speaker, by proposing a framework that integrates both ideals and habits. We operationalize these concepts by drawing from the theoretical notions of chronotope, scale, and habitus. Using data from interviews with Central Asian transnational migrants, we demonstrate how attending to both the habitual and idealized aspects of speakers’ metalinguistic commentary offers a more holistic approach to the study of multilingual repertoires and speakers’ social positionings in relationship to (non)nativeness. Our findings demonstrate how identification as a “(non)native” speaker may become more or less important to participants depending on whether they orient to habits or ideals. We also show that speakers’ use of “discourses of habit”, which emphasize their less conscious linguistic behaviors, may lead to a blurring of the lines between nativeness and non-nativeness. This in turn has implications for theories of agency as resistance to linguistic marginalization, and contributes to applied issues related to language education

The Role of Detective-Criminal Words in the Creation of Character (in the examples of J.H.Chase’s works)

     J.H. Chase's works express almost all types of crime. These works reveal the roots and causes of crimes that endanger the lives of the peoples of the world, such as murder, theft, and drug addiction. Of course, in vividly describing these processes, the writer effectively used detective-criminal words in the speech of the author and the character. Consequently, the purely detective words used in the author’s speech served to depict the plot’s growth in the play, the perception of the details of the crime, the details of the criminal process, the expression of the crime items, and the unusual life in prison

Whose Voice Matters? Chronotopic Position(ing)s and the Dialogic Inclusion of Marginalized Stakeholders in Critical Applied Linguistics

In this paper, we argue that critical applied linguists must work towards the materially transformative, dialogic inclusion of marginalized voices in order to create more just social relations. We show how a spatiotemporal theorization of voice as materially situated and discursively imaginative can enable a more holistic approach to including such voices. Illustrative data come from the experiences of migrant domestic workers in Hong Kong and includes their discourses, those of their employers, and those of domestic worker-led grassroots organizations. We use these data to demonstrate how different stakeholders have unequal abilities to materialize the spatiotemporal imaginaries they voice out, how academic (re)theorizations of language may not always bring about changes to the material spatiotemporal conditions of marginalized stakeholders, and why the collective voices of marginalized groups should be taken into account alongside individual voices. Implications are discussed in terms of action-oriented work that critical applied linguists can engage in to support the inclusion of migrant domestic workers’ voices in particular, and the voices of marginalized stakeholders in our field more generally

Language Education Policy Unlimited: Global Perspective and Local Practices

This book is a first. Language Education Policy is a new field of study that establishes a cross section between educational policy and language policy studies. It inherits from an abundance of intellectual and methodological traditions while opening new perspectives that focus on the interface between policymaking and its enactment in a classroom or an educational setting. The study of the interface between the macro-policy level of the political stage and the micro-policies of education in practice implies a focus on how policy decisions are translated into regulations that affect the lives of people. 21 authors have contributed to this outstanding volume that situates the stakes in the new field of inquiry with examples in 14 countries. The picture on the cover page of this book represents figuratively what numerous activists with a pitch of humor might think should be a good thing: a young dynamic guy taking the responsibility for repairing the planet and straightening the state of affairs, such that it could bring a form of flourishing and peace. The idealistic view of the possibility for humanity to fix its future is not without problem, though. Firstly, notice the activist on the cover picture is a white male. It is difficult not to recognize that the mayhem the planet is in comes in large part precisely from the worldwide action of a certain type of white male. Any categorization has its limits. Financial globalists may not be that representative of all the white males, and this remark does not imply that non-white might not have collaborated and contributed as well to the disaster we are living around this planet, not to speak of white females. Notwithstanding an in-depth analysis of the picture symbolically may raise doubt as to whether a white male, moreover alone, might be the right person to solve issues that evidently have been perpetrated by people with a similar mindset: fixing the world in a proactive and authoritative fashion, with a smile. This reminds me of two quotes, one from Albert Einstein who suggested that we cannot solve a problem from the level of understanding which created it, meaning a new mindset is in order. The second quote is from Ivan Illich who advised young do-gooders from America not to travel to Mexico to fix local houses and thus destabilize the social ecology of villages, but rather stay home and work within their neighborhoods to improve their own communities. Obviously both Einstein and Illich were white males. Yet the guy on the cover page has a saw to fix the world. He may cut things straight his own way, maybe by the rule of law, which brings us to the topic of this book.https://digitalcommons.unomaha.edu/tedfacbooks/1004/thumbnail.jp

Language Policy or the Politics of Language: Re-imaging the Role of Language in a Neoliberal Society

This book is designed for a wide audience of readers looking to learn about the ways globalization and neoliberalism affect language policy and education among social and linguistic groups in various corners of the world. In addition to learning about new approaches to studying people’s experiences at the nexus of language and neoliberalism, readers will also learn more about the linguistic rights of relatively understudied communities such as Native Americans in the U.S., Azerbaijanis in Iran, Tatars in Russia, Kurds in Turkey, and Uyghurs in China. Moreover, the audience will find useful perspectives on multilingual and foreign language education in South Korea, China, U.S. and Spain presented through the various lenses, one of which is translanguaging. Finally, readers will be pleasantly surprised by the theoretical and methodological discussions around discursive practices of American immigrant communities with regards to language and neoliberalism. In addition to ruling the market, the expansion of Neoliberalism has proven successful at shifting and shaping people\u27s values. One obvious example is the individual\u27s education path, which has been subject to a variety of external forces in recent decades. With the rise of the nation-states and the spread of English, the right to choose is no longer an option but a necessity for many around the world. Language Policy or the Politics of Language presents diverse experiences of different speech communities around the world to re-visit the changing role of language in the society characterized by neoliberal values. This volume, Language Policy or the Politics of Language: Re-imagining the Role of Language in a Neoliberal Society, illustrates how neoliberal ideals interact with the national values and how those interactions shape people\u27s life trajectories in relation to their language rights and language education experiences. This volume brings together various theoretical approaches to examine a breadth of material found at the nexus of neoliberalism and language, in turn depicting the larger culture of language policy and politics of language. It stands out as a unique source for both educators and learners due to its diverse range of topics, its theoretical and empirical studies, and its interdisciplinary approaches in discussing the role of language in a neoliberal society. Language Policy or the Politics of Language further stands out given its global approach in discussing the subject matter. In addition to discussing the reification of the English language, it introduces to the reader discussions about languages and language communities that have not been carefully observed in other scholarship yet. This volume is timely in that it advances current understanding of the factors that influence the relationship between dominant and minority languages and their speakers in different corners of the world. The volume starts with an introduction that guides the reader through influential ideas produced on the role of language and how they have changed over time. Following this, the volume is divided into four parts which touch upon different aspects of language and their impact on people\u27s lives. Part I shows that in addition to a language\u27s low sociocultural and economic value, the potential threat of a language to national security and unity can be another factor leading to deprivation of linguistic rights. Part II discusses foreign language education policies that tend to create unequal access for minority groups. The chapters in this part present analyses of empirical data and curriculum developments programs in East Asian countries, such as South Korea and China. More empirical data are presented in Part II, which presents three different learning contexts--bilingual education, English as a foreign language, Spanish as a foreign language--through a discussion of language learning experiences of multilinguals in the United States and Spain. This section shows that challenges faced by learners are quite similar despite the ocean separating the two locations. It moves current thought around multilingualism and education forward by employing original theoretical lenses in addressing the subject matter. The final part of this volume discusses the role of language through discursive lenses, where a combination of theoretical and empirical discussions provide a deeper understanding of the power of language and discourse in making a difference in individuals\u27 daily lives. The volume ends with renewed calls to take a bold stand against the impacts of fabricated perceptions such as language status, linguistic hegemony, so-called homogeneity of good language, lingua franca, language wars and linguistic globalization.https://digitalcommons.unomaha.edu/tedfacbooks/1003/thumbnail.jp