Sociolinguistics and Language Education.pdf

32 Part 1: Language and Ideology
Suggestions for further reading
Blommaert, J. (ed.) (1999) Language Ideological Debates. Berlin: Mouton de
Gruyter.
A multivalent resource for much current scholarship, this collection elaborates
on the academic foundations for the study of language ideologies across a broad
array of intellectual and geographic contexts. It includes contributions that illuminate
beliefs and perceptions related to many languages, including Catalan,
Corsican, Flemish, French, German, Hebrew, Mandarin, Portuguese and Spanish;
varieties within some of these codes; and, for some, consideration of the lengthy
historic connections and educational issues arising from the coexistence of certain
of these languages and English in divergent contact situations. Thus, it demonstrates
that many concerns felt keenly by contemporary English language
educators are not exclusive to the learning and teaching of English, but have
historic and contemporary parallels for other languages too.
McKay, S. and Bokhorst-Heng, W. (2008) International English in its Sociolinguistic
Contexts: Towards a Socially Sensitive EIL Pedagogy. New York: Routledge.
Written specifi cally for English language educators seeking to offer appropriate
language instruction for learners of different ages and different aims studying in
very different educational systems embedded in multiple international contexts,
this book deals with ideological components as well as instructional questions
related to the teaching of English. The fi rst three chapters offer a timely and wellgrounded
discussion of the varieties of language contact settings including English
around the globe; the latter four chapters identify pedagogical issues related to
local and national language policies, the nature and extent of variation, relevant
standards, interactional concerns when English is used as a lingua franca and matters
of authentic representation in language teaching materials.
Ricento, T. (ed.) (2000) Ideology, Politics, and Language Policies: Focus on English.
Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
This collection offers several careful accounts of the intersection of ideologies (both
linguistic ideologies and those relevant to other social domains), politics and language
policies affecting education. The discussions are valuable for their historical
perspectives, levels of insight and comprehensive geographic coverage, with
chapters explicating related issues in Australia, India, South Africa and the United
States and settings refl ecting specifi c national, postcolonial and international pressures
affecting public perceptions and demands shaping the use of and requirements
to learn English.
Suárez-Orozco, C., Suárez-Orozco, M. and Todorova, I. (2008) Learning a New Land:
Immigrant Students in American Society. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University
Press.
This volume presents eloquent accounts of the tremendous diversity of experiences
of immigrant students in US schools based on the authors’ fi ve-year study
of over 400 students enrolled in school districts in the greater Boston and San
Francisco Bay areas. The authors document the multiplicity of interacting factors,
including the types of social networks and quality of schools, that affect the likelihood
that these young people, most highly optimistic on school entry, will
improve or decline in achievement and attitudes toward education as they continue
through the grades. Chapter 4, on students’ perceptions of learning English
and learning through English, offers a comprehensive yet concise summary of
diffi culties related to mastery of academic English and notes the challenges for
instruction and assessment raised by this process. Although focused entirely on