Multilingual Classroom Ecologies

The theme of this book is the multilingual classroom and the inter- relationships, interactions and ideologies that pertain in such classrooms. Drawing on studies from different multilingual communities in different parts of the world, the volume demonstrates the complex nature of the multilingual classroom from an ecological perspective.

This volume on Ecology of Language presents chapters on ecologies of language , literacy and learning. The subject of language ecology is diversity within socio-political settings where the processes of language use create, reflect and challenge hierarchies and hegemonies. The volume covers the following topics: Historical and theoretical perspectives, language ecologies of selected countries and regions, focus on Asia, Australia, Africa, language ecologies of dispersed and diasporic communities, esp. Chinese, Malay, Moroccan, classroom language ecologies in multilingual contexts, language ecology of literacies, oracies and discourses. This is one of ten volumes of the Encyclopedia of Language and Education published by Springer. The Encyclopedia bears testimony to the dynamism and evolution of the language and education field, as it confronts the ever-burgeoning and irrepressible linguistic diversity and ongoing pressures and expectations placed on education around the world.

This book explores the linguistic ecology of the Kumaun region of Uttarakhand, India through the experiences and discourses of minority youth and their educators. Providing in-depth examples of Indian multilingualism, this volume analyses how each language is valued in its own context; how national-level policies are appropriated and contested in local discourses; and how language and culture influence educational opportunities and identity negotiation for Kumauni young women. In doing so, the author examines how students and educators navigate a multilingual society with similarly diverse classroom practices. She simultaneously critiques the language and education system in modern India and highlights alternative perspectives on empowerment through the lens of a unique Gandhian educational context. This volume allows Kumauni women and their educators to take centre stage, and provides a thoughtful and nuanced insight into their minority language environment. This unique book is sure to appeal to students and scholars of multilingualism, sociolinguistics, language policy and minority languages.

The book proposes a round the world exploration of the way our traditionally monolingual school systems are being challenged by students from diverse language backgrounds, forcing educationalists to question entrenched ideologies of language and challenging teachers in their everyday classrooms to rethink their relationships to language learning and the issue of diversity.

Through case studies from around the world, this book illustrates the opportunities and challenges facing families negotiating the issues of language maintenance and language learning in the home. Every family living in a bi/multilingual environment faces the question of what language(s) to speak with their children and must make a decision, consciously or otherwise, about these issues. Exploring links between language policy in the home and wider society in a range of diverse settings, the contributors utilize various research tools, including interviews, questionnaires, observations, and archival document analysis, to explore linguistic ideologies and practices of family members in the home, illuminating how these are shaped by macro-level societal processes.

Compared with STEM fields, foreign language (FL) education and second language acquisition have only slowly embraced open education and the new knowledge ecologies it produces. FL educators may have been hesitant to participate in the open education movement due to a lack of research which investigates the benefits and challenges of FL learning and teaching in open environments. This book contextualizes open education in FL learning and teaching via an historical overview of the movement, along with an in-depth exploration of how the open movement affects FL education beyond the classroom context; fills the research void by exploring aspects of open second language learning and teaching across a range of educational contexts; and illustrates new ways of creating, adapting and curating FL materials that are freely shared among FL educators and students. This book is open access under a CC BY ND licence.

This volume provides a fascinating glimpse into the complex language ecologies of Southeast Asia. Adopting a relational perspective, it considers their significance for the region, its peoples, the policy and practice of language teaching, learning and assessment and the fate of local languages. It gives particular prominence to the relationship between English and Chinese, it's likely transformation at a time of significant global change and the impact that these two languages and their synergy will have on the place of other languages and dialects. Dynamic Ecologies: A Relational Perspective on Languages Education in the Asia-Pacific Region draws on the research and insights of key scholars in the field and provides case studies that illustrate the impact of relevant language policy in countries including Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, South Korea and Australia.

This volume looks at the interactions of collaborating teachers in multilingual classrooms and how these impact on what counts as knowledge in the secondary school classroom. It also looks at how policy statements and ideologies around multilingualism position teachers and learners in particular ways. A linguistic ethnographic approach is taken in the study, which considers the discourses of whole class and small group teaching and learning. Chapters consider the relation between different languages, different pedagogues and different teacher identities in the secondary school classroom. The book documents how a policy of inclusion is played out in practice.