Minority Languages And Multilingual Education

​This book presents research on the situation minority language schoolchildren face when they need to learn languages of international communication, in particular English. The book takes minority languages as a starting point and it bridges local and global perspectives in the analysis of multilingual education contexts. It examines the interaction of minority languages and cultures, majority languages and lingua franca-s in a variety of settings across different regions and countries on all continents. Even though all chapters in this book involve minority languages, the issues discussed are relevant to any context in which more than language is used in education. The book reveals challenges and opportunities of multilingual education by discussing issues such as Northern and Southern concepts, language education policies, language diversity, interethnic understanding, multimodal language practices, power, conflict, identity and prestige, among many others. “This is the volume that finally accounts for multilingual education from a truly multilingual perspective by involving proposals and research from a variety of multilingual speech communities in the world. The (linguistically) rich Ethiopia and Mexico can teach the poor Europe and other Northern countries about multilingual education. CLIL promoters may learn from Finnish Sámi and Canadian Innu and Mi’gmaq indigenous communities as well as from Basque results. Speakers and teachers of minority and international languages will certainly be glad to hear the news. There is no need for a monolingual bias or tunnel vision in acquiring English in non-English speaking communities. This volume includes new challenging pedagogical perspectives while pointing to interesting conclusions for worldwide educational authorities”. Maria Pilar Safont Jordà, Universitat Jaume I, Castelló, Spain

​This book presents research on the situation minority language schoolchildren face when they need to learn languages of international communication, in particular English. The book takes minority languages as a starting point and it bridges local and global perspectives in the analysis of multilingual education contexts. It examines the interaction of minority languages and cultures, majority languages and lingua franca-s in a variety of settings across different regions and countries on all continents. Even though all chapters in this book involve minority languages, the issues discussed are relevant to any context in which more than language is used in education. The book reveals challenges and opportunities of multilingual education by discussing issues such as Northern and Southern concepts, language education policies, language diversity, interethnic understanding, multimodal language practices, power, conflict, identity and prestige, among many others. “This is the volume that finally accounts for multilingual education from a truly multilingual perspective by involving proposals and research from a variety of multilingual speech communities in the world. The (linguistically) rich Ethiopia and Mexico can teach the poor Europe and other Northern countries about multilingual education. CLIL promoters may learn from Finnish Sámi and Canadian Innu and Mi’gmaq indigenous communities as well as from Basque results. Speakers and teachers of minority and international languages will certainly be glad to hear the news. There is no need for a monolingual bias or tunnel vision in acquiring English in non-English speaking communities. This volume includes new challenging pedagogical perspectives while pointing to interesting conclusions for worldwide educational authorities”. Maria Pilar Safont Jordà, Universitat Jaume I, Castelló, Spain

This book looks closely at Yi bilingual education practice in the southwest of China from an educationalist’s perspective and, in doing so, provides an insight toward our understanding of minority language maintenance and bilingual education implementation in China. The book provides an overview on the Yi people since 1949, their history, society, culture, customs and languages. Adopting the theory of language ecology, data was collected among different Yi groups and case studies were focused on Yi bilingual schools. By looking into the application of the Chinese government’s multilingual language and education policy over the last 30 years with its underlying language ideology and practices the book reveals the de facto language policy by analyzing the language management at school level, the linguistic landscape around the Yi community, as well as the language attitude and cultural identities held by present Yi students, teachers and parents. The book is relevant for anyone looking to more deeply understand bilingual education and language maintenance in today’s global context.

In a context where linguistic and cultural diversity is characterized by ever-increasing complexity, adopting official multilingual policies to correct a country's ethno-linguistic, socio-economic, and symbolic imbalances presents many obstacles, but the greatest challenge is implementing them effectively. To what degree and in what ways have official multilingualism and multiculturalism policies actually succeeded in attaining their goals? Questioning and challenging foundational concepts, Minority Languages, National Languages, and Official Language Policies highlights the extent to which governments and international bodies are unable to manage complex linguistic and cultural diversity on an effective and sustained basis. This volume examines the principles, theory, intentions, and outcomes of official policies of multilingualism at the city, regional, and national levels through a series of international case studies. The eleven chapters – most focusing on lesser-known geopolitical contexts and languages – bring to the fore the many paradoxes that underlie the concept of diversity, lived experiences of and attitudes toward linguistic and cultural diversity, and the official multilingual policies designed to legally enhance, protect, or constrain otherness. An authoritative source of new and updated information, offering fresh interpretations and analyses of evolving sociolinguistic and political phenomena in today's global world, Minority Languages, National Languages, and Official Language Policies demonstrates how language policies often fail to deal appropriately or adequately with the issues they are designed to solve.

The papers in this volume describe a wide variety of language contact settings in which one or more languages are in a process of shift. In the first part of the book theoretical perspectives are presented, followed by linguistic, sociological and descriptive studies of languages and countries that have attracted the interest of researchers before, as well as less well known examples. Data are presented from: the Philippines, Korea, Japan, Israel, The Netherlands, Belgium, Canada, Sweden, Spain, Denmark, Morocco, Finland, Malaysia, Germany, USA, Ireland, India, Tanzania and Australia.

This volume focuses on research in education in the Basque Country where Basque, a minority language, is used as the language of instruction. It focuses on academic and linguistic results and the challenges the Basque educational system is currently facing. This volume can be useful for other bilingual and multilingual contexts involving different language combinations.

This innovative collection is the first of its kind to showcase global perspectives on learning minority languages as second languages, offering unique insights into their acquisition and specific characteristics and raising greater awareness around other languages and contexts where SLA occurs. The volume examines how minority languages are acquired as second languages across a range of geographic settings where these languages are unique minorities; that is, they are spoken in one or more states where they have a minority status. International case studies explore particular features of these languages as well as the challenges of teaching and learning them, including standardization, legal recognition at all educational levels, the dissemination of printed and digital materials and more or less limited language use in the local community. Highlighted languages include Ashaninka, Basque, Frisian, Hawaiian, Irish, Isthmus Zapotec, Quechua Chanka, Tonga and Welsh. Each chapter adopts a consistent structure, with a brief introduction to the sociolinguistic landscape, followed by sections on language use in education, research studies, reflections and discussions related to the learning of minority languages as second languages and the implication of these processes for the revitalization of minority languages. Breaking new ground in second language acquisition research, this book is an indispensable resource for advanced students and researchers in SLA, multilingual education, bilingualism and sociolinguistics.

This very original, inspirational book globalises our understanding of languages in education and changes our understanding of bilingual and multilingual education from something mostly western to being truly transnational: it spotlights the small, celebrates African and Asian cases of multilingual classrooms and demonstrates that such education is universally successful. Colin R. Baker, Pro Vice-Chancellor, Bangor University, Bangor, Wales, UK A norm-setting work on multilingual education, which combines theoretical perspectives with practical experience from different parts of the globe, this book demonstrates convincingly not only that multilingual education works, but also that, for most developing countries, there is no viable alternative. Ayo Bamgbose, Professor Emeritus, University of Ibadan, Nigeria This excellent volume brings to light the fascinating lived experiences of multilingual education in linguistically rich but resource impoverished countries, and offers important lessons from which we can all learn. Amy B. M. Tsui, Professor , Pro Vice-Chancellor & Vice President, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong This is a book of hope and inspiration. Documenting the significant shift that is taking place in countries around the world in the status and legitimacy of mother tongue-based multilingual education, it represents a giant step towards a "tipping point" where mother tongue-based multilingual education will be normalized as the preferred and, in fact, common sense option for educating the children of the world. Jim Cummins, The University of Toronto, Canada This important book challenges us to think about multilingual education from a different angle––this time putting the periphery at the center. The effect is one of destabilizing old visions and imagining new worlds where multilingual education provides the backdrop for generous understandings of all peoples. Ofelia García, Program in Urban Education, Graduate Center/The City University of New York, USA There are regrettably few detailed accounts of successful elementary school instruction in the pupils' home language, which makes this book with its surprising examples (especially Ethiopia and Nepal but other third world cases) so relevant. Students of language education policy will learn a great deal about the possibility of multilingual education from the chapters of this important book. Bernard Spolsky, Professor Emeritus, Bar-Ilan University, Israel At least half of today’s languages are marginalised and endangered and the attention of the world needs to be focused on these minor and minority languages together with the value of multilingualism. If the book succeeds in enhancing the consciousness of the world towards predicaments of the third world, then its efforts will have been amply rewarded. Debi Prasanna Pattanayak, Former Director, Central Institute of Indian Languages, India Drawing on the most powerful and compelling research data to date and connecting this research to linguistic human rights, this book explores the conditions and practices of robust bilingual and multilingual educational innovations in both system-wide and minority-settings and what it is that makes these viable. It demonstrates how, in countries where educational practices are inclusive of linguistic diversity and responsive to local conditions and community participation, implementation of bilingual education even within limited budgetary investment can be successful.