Emergence and Development of a Research Area in Language Education Policies: Our Contribution to Setting the Grounds for a Local Perspective on Policymaking

This article presents our narration of the emergence and development of a research area about the teaching and learning of the English language in Colombia and the creation of a research group named Critical Studies of Colombian Education Policies. The narration includes a description of the bilingual education policy in Colombia and a literature review of how the themes Different Shades of the Colombian National Plan of Bilingualism and Theoretical and Practical Concerns over Bilingualism have been addressed by authors of local journals, such as How, Profile, Íkala, and Colombian Applied Linguistics Journal, in the issues published from 2008 to 2020. The description and literature review link the life stories of our growth as teachers and researchers as related to the research area and research group mentioned above. A final part of the narration refers to our contributions to the ELT field in Colombia through the following two themes: Dimensions of Language Policies: A Political Discourse Perspective and Making Teachers’ Agency Relevant: Bottom-up Approaches to the Study of Language Education Policies.

Colombian ELT Community and Scholarship: Current Pathways and Potency

This editorial article reflects on the paradigmatic changes that the Colombian ELT community has recently experienced due to the developments of local scholarship in varied topics. This editorial article makes the changes evident by introducing the papers for this special issue of HOW journal on its 30th anniversary. These include topics as interculturality, literacy, English language pre-service teacher construction and professional development, critical views about bilingual education policy, and the interrelation between gender and ELT. The local scholarship development in these topics displays a rupture with the ELT canon. By so doing, the Colombian ELT scholarship shows a potency that wields foundations for the ELT field in the country.

Prospects and Challenges of Bilingual Education in the Light of Pakistan’s Language Policy

This research study explores prospects and challenges of bilingual education in the light of language policy of Pakistan. It directs the scholars and policymakers to revisit the notion of language and norms of traditional bilingual education. However, the researcher brings in light that translanguaging as a particular model facilitates for understanding dynamic multilingualism to promote social justice to languages and their speakers. The implementation of this model is viable in both theory and practice. The issue of monoglossic model of bilingual education in Pakistan is yet to be dealt with. Moreover, the researcher employed qualitative empirical method and used secondary data from previous studies to investigate the problem. Additionally, the findings reveal that the subtractive language policy, linguistic hegemony, politicians’ monolingual politics are challenges to the dynamic bilingual education. On the other hand, multilingual reality and its practice, speakers’ multilingual repertoire, transcultural interaction of students are important prospects of dynamic bilingual education policy in Pakistan. The study also highlights the research gap in Pakistani bilingual classrooms from the latest approach of translanguaging and dynamic model of bilingualism which can direct a multilingual language policy of Pakistan.

The “Bilingual Education” Policy in Xinjiang Revisited: New Evidence of Open Resistance and Active Support among the Uyghur Elite

The “bilingual education” policy in Xinjiang has been one of the most contentious policies implemented in the region in recent decades. Given its negative impact on one of the most important markers of Uyghur ethnic identity, it has been a major cause of Uyghur discontent. Nevertheless, our knowledge of the genesis of this policy and the negotiations that took place around its implementation has been partial at best. Through an in-depth analysis of two essays published in the early and mid-2000s by two prominent Uyghur scholars, a large body of academic publications by other Uyghur scholars, and ethnographic data collected since the early 2000s, this article reexamines part of the conventional academic wisdom that relates to this policy, particularly the role Uyghurs have played in relation to it. The article suggests two main revisions to the existing knowledge. One has to do with the amount and form of Uyghur resistance to the policy, and the other with the role Uyghurs have played in promoting the policy. I argue that at least in its early stages, not only did not all Uyghurs resist the policy, but also, in fact, part of the Uyghur political and academic elite played an active role in promoting it. In addition, contrary to the implicit agreement in the existing scholarship that Uyghurs could resist the policy only in covert forms, in fact a considerable number of Uyghur academics have been engaged for years in persistent and overt struggle against it.

Prospects and Challenges of Dynamic Bilingual Education in the Light of Pakistan’s Language Policy

This research investigates challenges and prospects of the dynamic, bilingual education in the light of Pakistan’s language policy. It guides language policymakers to adopt the dynamic, bilingual policy in Pakistan’s education system. However, the researcher revealed that most of the participants willingly favored and practiced the dynamic model of bilingual instruction, but there is no formal policy guide for them. The employment of this education model is valid and feasible in both theory and practice. Besides, readers and policymakers through this research paper would come to know that the dynamic, bilingual education improves students’ socio-cognitive, linguistic performance and functional biliteracy through translanguaging and multimodalities. The issue of monoglossic separation of languages in Pakistan is yet to be solved. Furthermore, the researcher used qualitative, empirical methodology to do analysis and employed open-ended questionnaires to collect data. The researcher used purposive sampling to collect data from sixteen respondents. Additionally, findings show that the subtractive language policy, linguistic politics, the power elite’s monolingualism, parents’ obsession with English, and students’ negative attitudes are challenges to the dynamic, bilingual education. In contrast, Pakistan’s multi-lingual reality along with translingual practices, the use of multimodalities, students’ multi-lingual repertoire, functional biliteracy, and transcultural interaction are some of the prospects of the dynamic, bilingual education policy in Pakistan. Thus, there are both challenges and prospects of the dynamic, bilingual education policy in Pakistan.

English language in Brunei: Use, policy, and status in education – A review

This paper explores the literature on the status of the English language in Negara Brunei Darussalam, particularly in education. The review encompasses a total of 103 sources, including 44 journal articles, 27 book chapters, 15 books, and 17 other items (institution/organisation websites and reports, government documents, newspaper articles, and conference presentations), published between 1985 and 2020, with at least 70 sources published in the last decade. The author summarises findings from research in key areas in the Bruneian context including bilingual education, linguistic diversity, the status of English, educational policies, educational divides, and challenges to the student experience, particularly in higher education in the bilingual setting. The author found that: i) while there are concerns over the impact of English on the Malay language and on indigenous languages in the Sultanate, and apprehension around an educational divide, the majority of attitudes appear to be very positive about the use of English in Brunei, including in education; ii) the bilingual education policy has evolved over time, and now places an emphasis on English as a key competency for the 21st century; iii) the student experience in the bilingual context is a particularly under-researched area. Staff working in tertiary education can always benefit from further insights into different aspects of learning, teaching, and content delivery, which may be applicable in many settings. The paper concludes with recommendations for further research in Brunei.

Translation, rewriting and formation of Singapore’s bilingual education policy

Individuals inevitably have their own perception of Singapore’s bilingual education policy, especially those who experienced its formation and history from the pre-independence days of the 1950s to the 1980s. The book, My Lifelong Challenge: Singapore’s Bilingual Journey by Lee Kuan Yew, the founding Prime Minister of Singapore, provides much information and insights into this part of history. Through the comparison of the English and Chinese editions, this paper discusses the poetics, patronage and ideological differences related to the reasons for the translation and rewriting by Lee Kuan Yew of the Chinese edition. It suggests that Lee Kuan Yew had different intentions for the English and Chinese editions in relation to the respective readerships; as regards the English readership, the author intends the readers to gain knowledge of the historical background and to emphasize to them the importance of Mother Tongue; as regards the Chinese readership, he seeks to address any misunderstandings and misgivings towards the government that this group of readers may have and to gain their support for the bilingual policy.

Bilingual Educational Policy in Georgia: Can it Benefit the Process of Integration of Society?

This article reviews the educational policy for the integration of society in Georgia. It is an analytical research paper on the current situation of ethnic minority education in Georgia. The problems and opportunities of bilingual education policy are analysed in the article. The content analysis research method was utilised in the study. The author argues that bilingual education is a crucial tool for the integration of Georgian society; however, local control, involvement, and context are crucial in the implementation of a national bilingual educational programme. The changes on the political, institutional and pedagogical levels of bilingual education are necessary for the successful implementation of bilingual education reform.