language learning – Page 7 – Language on the Move

Language in education

‘Investing in language:’ Why do we think about language education the way we do?

'Soaking up English like a sponge:' The researcher's young son engrossed in a Thesaurus If someone cannot now learn their native language, adding a couple of foerign (sic) dead languages…

Agnes BodisApril 15, 2015

Language in education

Access denied

Nanai/Hezhe children (Source: Wikipedia) We have often examined here on Language on the Move how ‘English for all’ educational policies entrench inequality rather than alleviate disadvantage (e.g., here or here).…

Ingrid PillerMarch 25, 2015

Language and migration

Is language learning on the job the best way to learn a new language?

Meat workers, Fletcher Abattoir (Source: SheepCRC) One of the most famous research subjects to ever have participated in second language learning research is a man known in the literature as…

Ingrid PillerMarch 4, 2015

Intercultural communication

The long conversation: Australia and China

Australia-China Youth Dialogue 2014 I recently returned from the Australia China Youth Dialogue in Beijing, my head buzzing with new ideas. The Dialogue promotes “more sophisticated cross-cultural understanding among Australian…

Alexandra GreyFebruary 18, 2015

Language in Australia

Linguistic diversity and social inclusion in Australia

2012 workshop on 'Linguistic Diversity and Social Inclusion in Australia' at Macquarie University How does language intersect with social inclusion in contemporary Australia? Do social inclusion policies address linguistic diversity?…

Lg_on_the_moveNovember 25, 2014

Language learning

Bilingual students at the crossroads

Livia and her classmates at a crossroads the year before entering (or not) Gymnasium (Switzerland, 2004) Secondary education as a monolingual fork in the road Let me bust a prevalent…

Livia GerberNovember 16, 2014

Multilingual families

Bilingual Avenue

Visit the Bilingual Avenue! Bilingual Avenue is an insightful and entertaining new website devoted to bilingual parenting and bilingual education. Bilingual Avenue features weekly podcasts, a blog and a resources…

Language on the MoveNovember 2, 2014

Crossing borders or carrying borders?

Christmas party at an International High School in Yunnan Over the past few decades, an increasing number of Burmese international students have enrolled in high schools in Yunnan, a province…

Li JiaOctober 27, 2014

Language learning

Partnering for the Future

PASCH Schools: Partners for the future Last week I was privileged to attend the 3rd Conference of School Principals of PASCH Schools in Southeast Asia. A ‘PASCH school’ is a regular…

Ingrid PillerOctober 21, 2014

Language deficit in super-diversity

Linguistic diversity in Sydney (Source: Sydney Morning Herald) The media in Anglophone countries regularly engage in a bit of a bragfest about the linguistic diversity of their cities. In Sydney,…

Ingrid PillerAugust 20, 2014

Language in education

Sink-or-swim for international students

For international students, it's sink or swim (Image source: luvimages.com) It is one of the basic findings of decades of research in bilingual education that language submersion is not a…

Ingrid PillerAugust 6, 2014

Language learning

How the presence of a bilingual school changes the linguistic profile of a community

German International School Sydney It is one of the great narratives of our time that the market will fix everything. In education this means that parental choice is assumed to…

Ingrid PillerJuly 31, 2014

Language learning

Language learning through public speaking

Chinese university students in a debate, 2011 (Photo by Nikki Feng) Public speaking can constitute an excellent language learning tool, as I discovered through participating in public speaking activities in…

Alexandra GreyApril 14, 2014

Language learning

On learning languages and the gaining of wisdom

The National Institute of the English Language in Tehran has used the slogan "A new language is a new life" for more than 50 years I’m preparing my lecture on…

Ingrid PillerJanuary 13, 2014

English as a global language

Disenchanted in Bangkok

Burmese newspaper in a Bangkok restaurant “When Thai people ask me where I’m from, I tell them, “Oh I’m from the Philippines or Singapore. Then, I don’t get that look!”…

Kimie Takahashi 高橋君江October 23, 2013

English as a global language

English and development aid work

An East Timorese girl speaking Bunak, Tetum, Fataluku and Portuguese (Source: Wikipedia) A response to Alexandra Grey, "We do aid, not English" In my experience English is often promoted by…

Kerry Taylor-LeechOctober 18, 2013