We make this path by walking: The practices and principles of the First International Working-Class Academics Conference

The values of an academic conference might best be defined by the themes of that conference, the disciplines covered and the intended level of delegation. In almost every case we had experienced as a working-class academics organizing group, these were only surface changes, and the entire conference process remained the same across disciplines. Such academic process and practice appear rooted in an archaic series of expectations and conventions that insist on a certain way of being in the Academy. To create an inclusive space in practice and process that goes beyond inclusion as merely themes, but exclusion as actual practice, took reimagining. This article outlines the ways in which we attempted to shift beyond the conventional to create an alternative conference approach that challenged exclusion, actively sought meaningful inclusion and disrupted a culture of conformity. Our focus was on working class academics, as a body of people huge in number, diverse in background but continually obscured in language, policy and practice.

An ethnographic study on the “Use of English Language by the Students of Grade nine” in a Private Boarding School of Chitwan

English in Nepal is generally believed to be used only for international communication. The medium of instruction in private boarding schools is English & in most public schools are also practicing English medium classes. Most of the private schools have applied compulsory English language policy. English continues to play a crucial role in the communication among the students in those schools. This study has made an attempt to analyse the reason behind adopting compulsory English language policy and also tried to explore the trend of following the language policy by the students of grade nine. The study concludes that parents in particular and the society as a whole is responsible for the compulsory English language policy and the students of grade nine do not follow the school policy for exercising the freedom.

Latest trends in multilingualism, language policy and language education in Ireland and in Europe

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Towards a Multilingual Preschool Policy

The effects of immersive strategies and the benefits of a multilingual language policy have been extensively explored in the literature; however, it is valuable to look at the actual application of a multilingual policy. Putting linguistic-educational research into practice by implementing a transformative pedagogical approach is characterized by a process of trial and error, which has remained understudied. This chapter aims to fill this gap by adopting a case study approach that focuses on the implementation of a multilingual/cultural policy at a preschool in the Dutch-speaking part of Belgium. More than half of the children attending the preschool come from a multilingual background. Based on ethnographic fieldwork, consisting of observations, participations, interviews, and focus group discussions with different stakeholders, this chapter analyzes the mechanisms behind the preschool's switch from negatively undergoing multilingualism to positively engaging with it.