Language Debates

This book captures an urgent moment for language teaching, learning and research. At its core are a series of debates concerning gender stereotyping, the place of linguistics in modern languages, language activism, multilingualism and modern languages and digital humanities. Taken together, these debates explore the work that languages, and that those who learn and speak them, do in the world as well as the way we think 'through' and 'in' a language and are shaped by it. Language Debates acknowledges the history of language teaching and the current realities of language teaching and learning. It is bold in suggesting ways forward for reform and for policy, setting languages and language learning at the heart of a consciously transformative set of goals. This book is therefore essential reading for academics, language teachers, policy makers, students, activists and those passionate about progressing language learning and teaching. The editors and contributors make up a multilingual and multicultural team who work across languages, cultures and borders with a globally-informed approach to their work. Uniquely, the debates in this volume are based on events with participants in the Language Acts and Worldmaking Debates Series and/or workshops within the wider research project and take into account the ensuing discussions there. Each debate is accompanied by an interview which serves as a model on how to continue the conversation beyond the printed pages of the book. You can also discover ways to join the debate through links on the Language Acts and Worldmaking series website (www.jmlanguages.com/languageacts) which includes recorded debates, additional materials and more information about the series. Like all the volumes in the Language Acts and Worldmaking series, the overall aim is two-fold: to challenge widely-held views about language learning as a neutral instrument of globalisation and to innovate and transform language research, teaching and learning, together with Modern Languages as an academic discipline, by foregrounding its unique form of cognition and critical engagement. Specific aims are to: · propose new ways of bridging the gaps between those who teach and research languages and those who learn and use them in everyday contexts from the professional to the personal · put research into the hands of wider audiences · share a philosophy, policy and practice of language teaching and learning which turns research into action · provide the research, experience and data to enable informed debates on current issues and attitudes in language learning, teaching and research · share knowledge across and within all levels and experiences of language learning and teaching · showcase exciting new work that derives from different types of community activity and is of practical relevance to its audiences · disseminate new research in languages that engages with diverse communities of language practitioners.

Debates in Second Language Education provides an up-to-date account of the key debates and areas of controversy in the field of second language learning and teaching. Adopting a broad and comparative perspective and emphasising the importance of considering a variety of learning contexts, it encourages students and practising teachers to engage with contemporary issues and developments in learning and teaching. Chapters are designed to stimulate thinking and understanding in relation to theory and practice, and help language educators to make informed judgements by arguing from a position based on theoretical knowledge and understanding. Bringing together leading contributors in the field, the book discusses a wide range of issues relating to second language learning and teaching including: the relationship between age and success in language learning aptitude versus motivation as predictors of successful language learning linguistic diversity and plurilingualism the teaching of grammar and vocabulary the value of phonics learning pronunciation the second language only versus the multilingual debate With reflective points in every chapter, Debates in Second Language Education will be a valuable resource for any student or practising teacher, as well as for those engaged in initial teacher education, continuing professional development or Master's level study. It will also be of interest to second language acquisition researchers and those studying applied linguistics.

This volume takes a distinctive look at the climate change debate, already widely studied across a number of disciplines, by exploring the myriad linguistic and discursive perspectives and approaches at play in the climate change debate as represented in a variety of genres. The book focuses on key linguistic themes, including linguistic polyphony, lexical choices, metaphors, narration, and framing, and uses examples from diverse forms of media, including scientific documents, policy reports, op-eds, and blogs, to shed light on how information and knowledge on climate change can be represented, disseminated, and interpreted and in turn, how they can inform further discussion and debate. Featuring contributions from a global team of researchers and drawing on a broad array of linguistic approaches, this collection offers an extensive overview of the role of language in the climate change debate for graduate students, researchers, and scholars in applied linguistics, environmental communication, discourse analysis, political science, climatology, and media studies.

Written by researchers with real-life experience working with languages, Language Debates acknowledges the history and current realities of language teaching and learning. It boldly suggests ways forward for reform and policy, setting languages at the heart of a consciously transformative set of goals. The Debates encourage engagement with leading practitioners and researchers to stimulate readers' curiosity about how the languages we use affect how we think and feel about ourselves, other people, and the world around us. About the Language Acts and Worldmaking series: This series delves into the most relevant and important topics around language learning, teaching and policy, some of which have never been addressed in academic texts before, covering seven themes within seven different volumes with contributors from universities across the UK, US and rest of world.

Debating and discussion tips for ESL learners

This book presents a history of English and development of language education in modern India. It explores the role of language in colonial attempts to establish hegemony, the play of power, and the anxieties in the nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century India. The essays in the volume discuss language policy, debates and pedagogy as well as larger overarching questions such as identity, nationhood and sub-nationhood. The work also looks at the socio-cultural and economic factors that shaped the writing and publishing of textbooks, dictionaries and determined the direction of language teaching, specifically, of English language teaching. Drawing on a variety of archival sources — policy documents, books, periodicals — this book will be of great interest to scholars and researchers of linguistics, language teaching, cultural studies and modern Indian history.