Nagoya City poster titled “Pleasant Communication with Simple Japanese”. Note the play on words for “Nagoya” and “pleasant” (nagoyaka) “Cheers, mate.” It’s a cold January night in Hokkaido, Japan, the…
Emily BaileyOctober 23, 2023
Editor's note: Language learning and teaching is rarely about language alone. Sometimes, it is about making a political statement and taking a soft power approach, as Jeffrey Gil and Minglei…
Jeffrey GilJuly 18, 2023
LI, Jia & HE, Bin, Yunnan University *** ‘The Glory’, a Korean drama, has ranked the top among the ten most watched TV and films since its release on March…
Li JiaApril 17, 2023
Multilingual responses are common during the special liturgies of Lent Many people celebrated Easter with chocolate bunny treats and by enjoying the long weekend. But not as many know the…
Pia TenederoApril 12, 2023
Editor’s note: Regular readers of Language on the Move will have noticed that we have been very quiet for the past two months. This is because some core team members…
Language on the MoveMarch 7, 2023
(Image credit: Mana Akbarzadegan via Unsplash) When Muhammad* applied for admission to a postgraduate degree at an Australian university, he was asked to show evidence of his English language proficiency.…
Ingrid PillerJanuary 6, 2023
Anthropologist Napoleon Chagnon interviewing unidentified Yanomami people Editor's note: How do researchers in anthropology and sociology deal with linguistic diversity? Do they learn the language(s) of the people they work…
Language on the MoveOctober 31, 2022
What stops Australia from doing something like Sweden has done to promote multilingualism? Is it too hard to implement mother tongue instruction in the education system of Australia? On the…
Language on the MoveFebruary 21, 2022
Mis dos voces (Image credit: Rayon Verde) Imagine this: you go out to a fast-food restaurant and order a burger. While you wait for your order to be filled, you…
Ingrid PillerFebruary 9, 2022
The South China-Laos-Thailand region with the new railway line (Source: South China Morning Post) Language learning through watching films and playing videogames is a new trend. This kind of informal…
Li JiaDecember 4, 2021
The Sumerian Empire under King Shulgi (2094 to 2046 BCE) (Image Credit: Wikipedia) Do you know in which language the Sumerians started the written chronicle of humanity? It is a…
Ingrid PillerJuly 18, 2021
We prepared and distributed numerous learning packs Editor’s note: The language challenges of the COVID-19 crisis have held much of our attention this year. Here on Language on the Move, we…
Nusrat ParveenDecember 7, 2020
Carla Chamberlin, Ingrid Piller, and Mak Khan in conversation TESOL and social justice One of the thrusts of my research has been a critical examination of the social consequences of…
Ingrid PillerNovember 19, 2020
LI Jia and LV Yong, Yunnan University *** Editor’s note: There is a Chinese saying that two heads are better than one (三个臭皮匠赛过一个诸葛亮). This proverb emphasizes both collective wisdom and the…
Li JiaOctober 23, 2020
Language learning is integral to practice-based legal education, and needs to be given more attention in research and course design. That’s the key message of my recently published article about…
Alexandra GreyOctober 15, 2020
This work is licensed under a