Different languages for different jobs in this Los Angeles restaurant Are there language requirements for working in restaurants in Los Angeles? These two employment signs that I saw in the…
In today’s immigration countries, adherents of the “one nation, one language” idea face a unique ideological problem: to claim that the national language is a sign of national loyalty and…
Speak English, people! says British politician Ed Miliband (Source: msn.com) Every ten years the UK government conducts a census, which every British resident is obliged by law to take part…
The Adelaide delegation at this year's Esperanto conference. Indrani is in the front right. When we meet new people we often ask straight away: where are you from? For many…
The house of the English high school teacher in the village in Sulawesi where Pasassung conducted his fieldwork In a recent post, I reviewed language policy research that shows how…
Multiculturalism in Australia: Should it be seen but not heard? (Source: det.wa.edu.au) Australia has embraced multiculturalism as official national policy since the 1970s. Interestingly, the most recent incarnation of the…
Ad for a private English language school in Taiwan: the normalization of American English is obvious in the name and imagery There is no denying the fact that English has…
Promoting English language learning: billboard for private early English instruction in Wuhan Knowledge of English has come to be seen as the key talent of the 21st century, a way…
Jogiyuhak (early study abroad) is very popular in South Korea (Source: chosun.com) Readers of Language on the Move will be familiar with South Korea’s English fever, the sweeping zeal for…
Chinese: What does the Chinese language mean to Western tourists visiting China? Ingrid’s blog post “Character challenge” has set me thinking about Chinese language learning these days. I have found…
Multilingual Hong Kong (Katherine Chen and Gray Carper, 2005-2007) During our visit to Hong Kong, Kimie and I met Katherine Chen, who introduced us to a sociolinguistic film she has…
Losing your voice or learning academic writing? (Source: business2community.com) “A latent function of the educational system is to instil linguistic insecurity, to discriminate linguistically, to channel children in ways that…
Carla Hackett, Neukölln Hipster (Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/cood/6065684573) Recently, I asked my German-speaking, Berlin-based daughter Nanna whether she was able to understand our English-speaking neighbour when he talks with his daughter, Nanna’s…
Bangladeshi manager speaking English and subtitled in British educational video "How fair is fashion?" The other day I watched a show about global textile production. How fair is fashion? by…
Eierlaufen (egg-and-spoon race) at German Camp, USA My two daughters – whom my wife and I are raising as English-German bilinguals in the USA – have been going to German…
Underneath the zipped Asian face a Western face emerges: an English school's ad in Bangkok (unrelated to the school in the blog post). Photo by Olan Sawangnuwatkul Thailand is seeing…