Critical Perspectives of the Language Gap

Critical Perspectives of the Language Gap

Author: Eric J. Johnson

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2020-04-02

Total Pages: 133

ISBN-13: 1351016652

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This volume is an orchestrated critique of the notion that individuals from lower socioeconomic status communities have inferior language skills as compared to middle- and upper-class groups. The idea of this so-called “language gap” stems in large part from Hart and Risley’s (1995) publication Meaningful Differences in the Everyday Experience of Young American Children. Hart and Risley proposed that by age 3, children from more economically affluent households were exposed to approximately 30 million more words than children from low-income backgrounds. They also claimed that this gap in exposure to words negatively impacts cognitive development and eventual academic achievement. The contributing authors in this book contest the original concept of a “language-gap” as well as the recent swell of academic research and public programs that it has produced. The chapters interrogate the linguistic, academic, cultural, and social implications of the “language-gap” by providing critical accounts grounded in the scholarly disciplines of sociolinguistics, anthropology, and education. This book was originally published as a special issue of the International Multilingual Research Journal.


The Language Gap

The Language Gap

Author: David Cassels Johnson

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2021-07-29

Total Pages: 147

ISBN-13: 1317201698

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The Language Gap provides an accessible review of the language gap research, illuminating what we know and what we do not know about the language development of youth from working and lower socioeconomic classes. Written to offer a balanced look at existing literature, this text analyzes how language gap research is portrayed in the media and how debatable research findings have been portrayed as common sense facts. This text additionally analyzes how language gap research has impacted educational policies, and will be the first book-length overview addressing this area of rapidly growing interest.


English as an International Language

English as an International Language

Author: Farzad Sharifian

Publisher: Multilingual Matters

Published: 2009-01-08

Total Pages: 304

ISBN-13: 1847691218

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Collectively, the chapters in this volume make a significant contribution to the emerging paradigm of English as an International Language (EIL) by exploring various aspects of the English language and its pedagogy in the context of the globalization of this language. The volume shows great deal of promise in terms of expanding the paradigm and also establishing new grounds for thinking, research, and practice.


Critical Perspectives on Global Englishes in Asia

Critical Perspectives on Global Englishes in Asia

Author: Fan Fang

Publisher: Multilingual Matters Limited

Published: 2019

Total Pages: 207

ISBN-13: 9781788924122

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This book addresses the incorporation of Global Englishes into language policy and curriculum, pedagogy and assessment practices, and focuses on a wide range of geographical and language contexts. It will be of interest to policymakers, curriculum developers and practitioner-researchers in the area of English language education.


Critical Perspectives on Teaching, Learning, and Society

Critical Perspectives on Teaching, Learning, and Society

Author: Paul Chamness Iida

Publisher: IAP

Published: 2022-06-01

Total Pages: 351

ISBN-13: 1648027768

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Founded in 2002, the International Society for Language Studies is a worldwide organization of volunteers, scholars, and practitioners committed to critical, interdisciplinary, and emergent approaches to language studies. Its eighth volume of the Readings in Language Studies series, Critical Perspectives on Teaching, Learning, and Society, presents international perspectives on issues of language related to a variety of themes.


Critical Perspectives on Language Education

Critical Perspectives on Language Education

Author: Katie Dunworth

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2014-07-24

Total Pages: 237

ISBN-13: 3319061852

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The studies in this volume investigate how multilingual education involves a critical engagement with questions of identity and culture, and a movement towards new ways of being and belonging. It addresses previously under-explored issues, in particular the integration of theories like ‘thirdness’, and practices of language education and maintenance with relevance to the Asia-Pacific region. The analyses reveal the delicate balance of interests of all stakeholders and offer detailed insights into the reality of multilingual education, with specific examples of Chinese, English, Japanese and Tamil. In a globalised world, effective language education has become increasingly important, and the studies presented here have the potential to inform and advance evidence-based multilingual education through adding important dimensions of theoretical exploration and refreshing empirical resources.


Diversity and Developmental Science

Diversity and Developmental Science

Author: Dawn P. Witherspoon

Publisher: Springer Nature

Published: 2023-01-30

Total Pages: 347

ISBN-13: 3031231635

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This book examines the challenges faced by developmental scientists as the population under the age of 18 in the United States has become a majority-minority, with no racial/ethnic group having a numeric majority. The volume tackles how these demographic shifts compel scientists to consider the unique and universal processes that promote the growth, thriving, and resilience of these populations across this new landscape and also takes into account systems of oppression, power, privilege, racial justice, and structural disadvantage. It describes the challenges of conducting research with diverse populations and offers practical methodological solutions. The book provides an overview of the current demographic shifts and their implications for developmental researchers. It examines key diversity science constructs that need to be considered for all developmental research within this new global context in which societies are becoming more diverse. In particular, chapters address how to measure and conceptualize these constructs using within-group designs as well as research that includes youth from multiple backgrounds. In addition, the volume focuses on the contexts that shape the developmental trajectories of youth and how best to capture these contexts with an eye toward diversity science. Key areas of coverage include: Identifying best practices in the conceptualization and measurement of race and ethnicity in developmental science at the individual and contextual levels. Stimulating a dialogue that translates to an actionable agenda designed to tackle issues of conceptualization and measurement of key constructs associated with race/ethnicity. Leading-edge strategies for building interdisciplinary teams to conduct ethical and responsible work with diverse populations that include scholars of color. Finally, the book addresses translational work, including how the incorporation of diversity science can influence policy and help build collaborative research teams that are well-poised to conduct ethical research in these diverse populations. The volume provides recommendations for researchers to incorporate diversity science into their work. This book is a must-have resource for researchers, professors, clinicians, therapists and other professionals as well as graduate students in developmental, clinical child, and school psychology, public health, ethnic studies, counseling, anthropology, African American/Black Studies, Latinx/Latino/Chicano Studies, and Asian American Studies.


Critical Perspectives on Equity and Social Mobility in Study Abroad

Critical Perspectives on Equity and Social Mobility in Study Abroad

Author: Chris Glass

Publisher: Taylor & Francis

Published: 2021-07-22

Total Pages: 197

ISBN-13: 1000414450

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This edited volume brings together the perspectives of a diverse group of international scholars to explore the intersections of study abroad and social mobility. In doing so, it challenges universalist assumptions and power imbalances implicit in study abroad across the Global North and South, and explores the implications of COVID-19 for equity within study abroad programs, policy, and practice going forward. Offering empirical, theoretical, and conceptual contributions, Critical Perspectives on Equity and Social Mobility in Study Abroad foregrounds critical reflection on the stratification of access to study abroad and examines the varied outcomes of international study in relation to graduates’ entry into domestic and international labor markets. Focusing on the experiences and outcomes of students from varied backgrounds, chapters identify a number of power imbalances relating to student race, ethnicity, religion, local and international policies and politics, and put forward valuable recommendations to ensure greater equity within the field. Against the backdrop of growing criticism over the power imbalances in international exchange, this text will benefit researchers, academics, and educators with an interest in higher education, international and comparative education, and multicultural education. Those interested in educational policy and the sociology of education more broadly will also benefit from this book.


Critical Perspectives on Linguistic Fixity and Fluidity

Critical Perspectives on Linguistic Fixity and Fluidity

Author: Jürgen Jaspers

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2019-01-15

Total Pages: 275

ISBN-13: 0429890389

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This volume offers a critical perspective on current views on linguistic fixity and fluidity in sociolinguistics and highlights empirical accounts alternative to prevailing trends in the field. Featuring accounts from a broad range of regional contexts, the collection takes stock of such terms as "polylingualism", "metrolingualism" and "translanguaging" to question perceptions around multilingual and monolingual language use. The book critiques the status of fluid language use as a more "natural" language practice and in turn, its greater potential for corresponding social transformation, demonstrating the value of linguistic fixity and the continuous debate between fixity and fluidity in multilingual speakers' lives. In providing these accounts, the book seeks not to advocate for linguistic fixity or fluidity, but to argue that sociolinguists pay close attention to the way both types of linguistic practice open up or close down avenues for social transformation. This collection is a key reading for graduate students and scholars in sociolinguistics, multilingualism, and linguistic anthropology.


A New Companion to Linguistic Anthropology

A New Companion to Linguistic Anthropology

Author: Alessandro Duranti

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 2023-06-06

Total Pages: 646

ISBN-13: 1119780659

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Provides an expansive view of the full field of linguistic anthropology, featuring an all-new team of contributing authors representing diverse new perspectives A New Companion to Linguistic Anthropology provides a timely and authoritative overview of the field of study that explores how language influences society and culture. Bringing together more than 30 original essays by an interdisciplinary panel of renowned scholars and younger researchers, this comprehensive volume covers a uniquely wide range of both classic and contemporary topics as well as cutting-edge research methods and emerging areas of investigation. Building upon the success of its predecessor, the acclaimed Blackwell Companion to Linguistic Anthropology, this new edition reflects current trends and developments in research and theory. Entirely new chapters discuss topics such as the relationship between language and experiential phenomena, the use of research data to address social justice, racist language and raciolinguistics, postcolonial discourse, and the challenges and opportunities presented by social media, migration, and global neoliberalism. Innovative new research analyzes racialized language in World of Warcraft, the ethics of public health discourse in South Africa, the construction of religious doubt among Orthodox Jewish bloggers, hybrid forms of sociality in videoconferencing, and more. Presents fresh discussions of topics such as American Indian speech communities, creolization, language mixing, language socialization, deaf communities, endangered languages, and language of the law Addresses recent trends in linguistic anthropological research, including visual documentation, ancient scribes, secrecy, language and racialization, global hip hop, justice and health, and language and experience Utilizes ethnographic illustration to explore topics in the field of linguistic anthropology Includes a new introduction written by the editors and an up-to-date bibliography with over 2,000 entries A New Companion to Linguistic Anthropology is a must-have for researchers, scholars, and undergraduate and graduate students in linguistic anthropology, as well as an excellent text for those in related fields such as sociolinguistics, discourse studies, semiotics, sociology of language, communication studies, and language education.