This thesis sheds light on two of the most heavily contested concepts in social sciences and sociolinguistics: ‘community’, in its inter-relation with ‘language’. I draw on the example of Arabic in Manchester, UK, to develop a comprehensive ethnographic approach to studying ‘lan…
"24" Result
Sort By:
This dissertation examines translation phenomena in Singapore from colonial to contemporary times, arguing that they are better understood as performative acts where their symbolic meaning is more significant than their semantic content. Acts of literary translation are performa…
Historical use of psychological assessments in South Africa has led to racially and culturally biased results. Currently the use of personality assessments in South Africa still raises some controversies as the use of personality assessments in contexts other than those for whic…
In linguistically heterogeneous societies, language planning constitutes core institutional practice for maintaining social cohesion as well as unique cultural identities. This critical sociolinguistic and comparative analysis examines education language policy process in India,…
This ethnographic study of language use and English language learners in Central Java, Indonesia examines globalization processes within and beyond language; processes of language shift and change in language ecologies; and critical and comprehensive approaches to the teaching o…
This exploratory, interpretive study investigates the attitudes towards and experiences of English-medium instruction (EMI) within higher education (HE) on the part of female students completing an intensive foundation programme at a major federal tertiary institution in the Uni…
This thesis approaches two perennial and interrelated problems in the historiography of China - the question of the openness or self-isolation of (Ming) Chinese society, as well as the nature and extent of the Mongol legacy in the (early) Ming - from a new angle. In spite of a g…
This study is based on an interpretive policy analysis of Title VI of the National Defense Education Act of 1958 (later of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended) and the higher education Arabic language programs it has funded. In light of a number of contemporary policies…
The problem here deals with the historical development of English used in the Philippines and Filipino, the national language of the Philippines and tries to discuss: (1) why English is used as the medium of instruction in all schools and universities, (2) what the importance of…
This study investigates language policy and language planning (LPP) in a small private school in an urban area of Puerto Rico. This school is considered an elite school where most of the students are bilingual (Spanish and English) and sometimes multilingual (Spanish, English, F…
Language policies in education are contested domains. Language selection for instruction in schools across the world is even more complicated, particularly with the introduction of globalization, the concept of the nation-state, and the diverse choices of languages. The 2009 Pak…
This study provides a sociolinguistic profile of English in Lebanon. It focuses on the uses of English (and French and Arabic to a lesser extent) in different venues in the Lebanese society, primarily in the capital Beirut. The study also examines the Lebanese attitudes toward m…
An ethnographic case study of the impact of globalization, language policy, and language learning on identity construction was carried out at a public high school (Sekolah Menengah Atas Negeri [SMAN]) 1 Balada in Bima Regency, Indonesia mainly during June, July, and August of 20…
This study examines the language and literacy experiences of Kurdish minority children during their first year of mainstream schooling in a southeastern village in Turkey. I employed ethnographic research methods (participant observation, multi-modal data collection, interviewin…
In Kuwait, the English language is increasingly gaining importance signifying globalisation and internationalisation of the local culture and linguistic environment. Alongside the positive effects of the wide-spread usage of English there are negative tendencies which emerge ont…
In the context of post-9/11 calls for educational reform in the Arab-Muslim world, this study investigates a set of underlying claims and assumptions about the socialising capacities of English-medium education. Specifically, the study examines perceptions about the socialising …
Recent changes in approaches to second language learning have meant that learning is increasingly seen as a social, rather than an individual activity, which involves negotiating membership of a new language community as well as technical mastery of the language. At the same tim…
The thesis encompasses three chapters which provide policy-relevant insights into the domain of conflict economics. The research endeavour goes deep into exploring the underlying linkages of varied economic and non-economic factors (e.g., culture, religion and myriads of ethnic …
English is the most widely spoken language in the world, and many higher education institutes (HEIs) in the global South have prioritised English language education (ELE). In Colombia, the context of this study, English has become the de facto foreign language in Colombian highe…