This volume critically examines the effects of the spread of English from colonialism to the ‘New World Order’. The research explores the complex and often contradictory roles English has played in national development. Historical analyses and case studies by leading researchers in language policy studies reveal that deterministic relationships between imperial languages, such as English, and societal hierarchies are untenable, and that support of vernacular languages in education and public life can serve diverse ideologies and political agendas. Areas and countries investigated include Europe, North America, Australia, Hong Kong, India, Malaysia, Singapore, South Africa, and Sri Lanka. The role of theory in language policy scholarship and practice is critically evaluated. A variety of research methodologies is used, ranging from macro-sociopolitical and structural analyses to postmodern approaches. The work collectively represents a new direction in language policy studies.
“Ricento's book is a valuable contribution to the field and appropriate not only for courses on language planning and global English, but also for a language policy angle of Australian studies that deals with societal aspects of language.”
Gerhard Leitner, Free University Berlin, in GAST Newsletter 15, 2001
“This is an impressive collection of historical-structural and postmodern analyses of the role of English internationally. It includes representative work of some of the best known scholars in applied language studies.”
James W. Tollefson, University of Washington
Cited by (98)
Cited by 98 other publications
Abdeljaoued, Marii
2025. Tunisia, English in. In The Wiley Blackwell Encyclopedia of World Englishes, ► pp. 1 ff.
Gobana, Jeilan Aman
2025. Investigating quality education in mother tongue: Ensuring children’s rights to access and equity schooling. Cogent Education 12:1
Haider, Mehwish, Sham Haidar & Hazrat Umar
2025. Neoliberalism and Pakistani English teachers’ identities: English teachers serve as neoliberal agents and victims. Globalisation, Societies and Education► pp. 1 ff.
Lopera , Sergio & Nelly Sierra
2025. Students’ Agency in a Foreign Language Policy in Colombian Higher Education. Profile: Issues in Teachers' Professional Development 27:1 ► pp. 83 ff.
Szundy, Paula Tatianne Carréra
2025. Atitudes responsivas sobre a Base Nacional Comum Curricular: entextualizações em foco. Revista Brasileira de Linguística Aplicada 25:4
García, Paula González
2024. Multilingual English-Speaking Caribbean. In Educational Innovation to Address Complex Societal Challenges [Advances in Educational Technologies and Instructional Design, ], ► pp. 91 ff.
Pan, Lin & Qiang Wang
2024. Using English to Realize “the Chinese dream”: the political-economic ideology of language planning in China. Asia Pacific Journal of Education► pp. 1 ff.
Islam, Md. Sadequle & Sílvia Melo-Pfeifer
2023. “Bangla Helps Learners to Get the Gist Better”–Translanguaging in Postcolonial English as a Foreign Language Classes in Higher Education in Bangladesh. In Handbook of Multilingual TESOL in Practice, ► pp. 71 ff.
Meighan, Paul J.
2023. “What is language for us?”: Community-based Anishinaabemowin language planning using TEK-nology. Language Policy 22:2 ► pp. 223 ff.
Moore, Sarah C. K.
2023. Language Policy and Planning for Multilingual Educator Preparation. In Language Education Programs [Language Policy, 34], ► pp. 73 ff.
Rahman, Mohammad Mosiur & Manjet Kaur Mehar Singh
2022. English Medium university STEM teachers’ and students’ ideologies in constructing content knowledge through translanguaging. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism 25:7 ► pp. 2435 ff.
Reagan, Timothy
2022. Language planning and language policies for sign languages: an emerging civil rights movement. Sociolinguistica 36:1-2 ► pp. 169 ff.
Ajšić, Adnan
2021. Central Theoretical Concepts and the Current Research Context. In Language and Ethnonationalism in Contemporary West Central Balkans, ► pp. 23 ff.
Giæver, Katrine & Liz Jones
2021. Putting Arendt, Bakhtin and atmosphere to work: Exploring different paths concerning the language development of multilingual children. Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood 22:2 ► pp. 183 ff.
Grey, Alexandra, Loy Lising & Jinhyun Cho
2021. Ideologies of English in Asia: an editorial. International Journal of the Sociology of Language 2021:271 ► pp. 1 ff.
Guo, Yan
2021. Migrant parents as policymakers: advocating for equitable English as an additional language (EAL) policy. Critical Inquiry in Language Studies 18:4 ► pp. 321 ff.
Wahyudi, Ribut
2021. The Discursive Constructions of TEFL Key Themes in the National Policies and Curriculum Documents of Two Indonesian Universities and Their Possible Ecological Reconstructions. In Policy Development in TESOL and Multilingualism, ► pp. 53 ff.
Chen, Xiuwen, Fred Dervin, Jian Tao & Ke Zhao
2020. Towards a multilayered and multidimensional analysis of multilingual education: ideologies of multilingualism and language planning in Chinese higher education. Current Issues in Language Planning 21:3 ► pp. 320 ff.
Crack, Angela M.
2020. Insights from the archives: British development aid and English language teaching. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development 41:6 ► pp. 503 ff.
Kretzer, Michael M. & Russell H. Kaschula
2020. (Unused) potentials of educators’ covert language policies at public schools in Limpopo, South Africa. Current Issues in Language Planning 21:3 ► pp. 254 ff.
Rahman, Mohammad Mosiur, Manjet Kaur Mehar Singh & Abdul Karim
2020. Distinctive medium of instruction ideologies in public and private universities in Bangladesh. Asian Englishes 22:2 ► pp. 125 ff.
Erdocia, Iker
2019. Medium of instruction ideologies: accommodation of multilingualism in the bilingual regime of Navarre. Current Issues in Language Planning 20:3 ► pp. 284 ff.
Lee, Hakyoon
2019. Konglish? Or Multilingual Practice? An Investigation of Subtitles in Korean TV Shows. The Korean Language in America 23:1 ► pp. 27 ff.
Odugu, Desmond I. & Camille N. Lemieux
2019. Transitional multilingual education policies in Africa: necessary compromise or strategic impediment?. Language and Education 33:3 ► pp. 263 ff.
Pacheco, Mariana, P. Zitlali Morales & Colleen Hamilton
2019. Introduction and Overview. In Transforming Schooling for Second Language Learners, ► pp. 1 ff.
Zhou, Minglang
2019. Defining Language Ideology and Language Order. In Language Ideology and Order in Rising China, ► pp. 25 ff.
Annick De Houwer & Lourdes Ortega
2018. The Cambridge Handbook of Bilingualism,
Soler, Josep & Virve-Anneli Vihman
2018. Language ideology and language planning in Estonian higher education: nationalising and globalising discourses. Current Issues in Language Planning 19:1 ► pp. 22 ff.
Sowa, Patience A.
2018. Sifting Through Shifting Sands: Confronting the Self in Teaching Bilingual Emirati Preservice Teachers. In Self-Study of Language and Literacy Teacher Education Practices, ► pp. 203 ff.
Thorstensson Dávila, Liv
2018. The pivotal and peripheral roles of bilingual classroom assistants at a Swedish elementary school. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism 21:8 ► pp. 956 ff.
Aghagolzadeh, Ferdows & Hossein Davari
2017. English Education in Iran: From Ambivalent Policies to Paradoxical Practices. In English Language Education Policy in the Middle East and North Africa [Language Policy, 13], ► pp. 47 ff.
Choi, Jinsook
2016. ‘Speaking English naturally’: the language ideologies of English as an official language at a Korean university. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development 37:8 ► pp. 783 ff.
De Costa, Peter I. & Yu-Shiang Jou
2016. Unpacking the Ideology of Cosmopolitanism in Language Education: Insights from Bakhtin and Systemic Functional Linguistics. Critical Inquiry in Language Studies 13:2 ► pp. 73 ff.
2015. Mapping Language Ideologies. In Research Methods in Language Policy and Planning, ► pp. 181 ff.
Hamann, Edmund T. & Linda Harklau
2015. Revisiting Education in the New Latino Diaspora. In Revisiting Education in the New Latino Diaspora, ► pp. 3 ff.
Jie, Zhang
2015. National Language Policies. In The International Encyclopedia of Language and Social Interaction, ► pp. 1 ff.
Odugu, Desmond Ikenna
2015. Antinomies of Ideologies and Situationality of Education Language Politics in Multilingual Contexts. International Multilingual Research Journal 9:3 ► pp. 137 ff.
Fitzsimmons-Doolan, Shannon
2014. Language Ideologies of Arizona Voters, Language Managers, and Teachers. Journal of Language, Identity & Education 13:1 ► pp. 34 ff.
Kibler, Amanda, Guadalupe Valdés & Aída Walqui
2014. What Does Standards‐based Educational Reform Mean for English Language Learner Populations in Primary and Secondary Schools?. TESOL Quarterly 48:3 ► pp. 433 ff.
Manan, Syed Abdul & Maya Khemlani David
2014. Mapping ecology of literacies in educational setting: the case of local mother tongues vis-à-vis Urdu and English languages in Pakistan. Language and Education 28:3 ► pp. 203 ff.
Sandhu, Priti
2014. “Who Does She Think She Is?”—Vernacular Medium and Failed Romance. Journal of Language, Identity & Education 13:1 ► pp. 16 ff.
Taylor-Leech, Kerry & Anthony J. Liddicoat
2014. Macro-language planning for multilingual education: focus on programmes and provision. Current Issues in Language Planning 15:4 ► pp. 353 ff.
2013. Issues surrounding English, the internationalisation of higher education and national cultural identity in Asia: a focus on Japan. Critical Studies in Education 54:2 ► pp. 160 ff.
Barakos, Elisabeth
2012. Language policy and planning in urban professional settings: bilingualism in Cardiff businesses. Current Issues in Language Planning 13:3 ► pp. 167 ff.
Morren López, Minda
2012. Children's language ideologies in a first-grade dual-language class. Journal of Early Childhood Literacy 12:2 ► pp. 176 ff.
Ricento, Thomas
2012. Critiques of Language Policy and Planning. In The Encyclopedia of Applied Linguistics,
Ridge, Stanley
2012. ‘The inescapable relevance of actual behaviour’: English and equity in multilingual societies. English Academy Review 29:1 ► pp. 19 ff.
Tollefson, James W. & Mai Yamagami
2012. Language Ideology in a Language Classroom. In The Encyclopedia of Applied Linguistics,
Abdelhay, Ashraf, Busi Makoni, Sinfree Makoni & Abdel Rahim Mugaddam
2011. The sociolinguistics of nationalism in the Sudan: the politicisation of Arabic and the Arabicisation of politics. Current Issues in Language Planning 12:4 ► pp. 457 ff.
Haworth, Penny
2011. Globalising literacy: the challenge of ethnolinguistic diversity in New Zealand. Literacy 45:3 ► pp. 141 ff.
Palmer, Deborah
2011. The Discourse of Transition: Teachers' Language Ideologies Within Transitional Bilingual Education Programs. International Multilingual Research Journal 5:2 ► pp. 103 ff.
Pan, Lin
2011. English language ideologies in the Chinese foreign language education policies: a world-system perspective. Language Policy 10:3 ► pp. 245 ff.
Pan, Lin
2015. English Language Ideologies Reflected in Teachers’ and Students’ Discourse. In English as a Global Language in China [English Language Education, 2], ► pp. 99 ff.
Pan, Lin
2015. English Language Ideologies in Chinese Foreign Language Education Policies. In English as a Global Language in China [English Language Education, 2], ► pp. 79 ff.
Beukes, Anne-Marie
2010. ‘Opening the doors of education’: Language policy at the University of Johannesburg. Language Matters 41:2 ► pp. 193 ff.
Fuentes, Ronald
2010. Language Policy: Hidden Agendas and New Approaches, by Shohamy, E. G.. Journal of Language, Identity & Education 9:4 ► pp. 285 ff.
King, Kendall A. & Anna De Fina
2010. Language Policy and Latina Immigrants: An Analysis of Personal Experience and Identity in Interview Talk. Applied Linguistics 31:5 ► pp. 651 ff.
Coperahewa, Sandagomi
2009. The language planning situation in Sri Lanka. Current Issues in Language Planning 10:1 ► pp. 69 ff.
Hamid, M. Obaidul
2009. Language policy, culture, and identity in Asian contexts,by A. Tsui and J. Tollefson. Journal of Language, Identity & Education 8:1 ► pp. 57 ff.
Ives, Peter
2009. Global English, Hegemony and Education: Lessons from Gramsci. Educational Philosophy and Theory 41:6 ► pp. 661 ff.
Ives, Peter
2010. Global English, Hegemony and Education: Lessons from Gramsci. In Gramsci and Educational Thought, ► pp. 78 ff.
Gottlieb, Nanette
2008. Japan: Language Policy and Planning in Transition. Current Issues in Language Planning 9:1 ► pp. 1 ff.
Lewis, M. Paul & Barbara Trudell
2008. Language Cultivation in Contexts of Multiple Community Languages. In The Handbook of Educational Linguistics, ► pp. 266 ff.
Luykx, Aurolyn, Okhee Lee & Una Edwards
2008. Lost in Translation. Educational Policy 22:5 ► pp. 640 ff.
Ndhlovu, Finex
2008. The Conundrums of Language Policy and Politics in South Africa and Zimbabwe. Australian Journal of Linguistics 28:1 ► pp. 59 ff.
Varghese, Manka M.
2008. Using Cultural Models to Unravel How Bilingual Teachers Enact Language Policies. Language and Education 22:5 ► pp. 289 ff.
Fleming, Douglas & Lynne McGivern
2007. Canadian Lessons for United States Language Policy and Planning. In Language of the Land, ► pp. 131 ff.
GRANT, RACHEL A., SHELLEY D. WONG & JORGE P. OSTERLING
2007. Developing literacy in second‐language learners: Critique from a heteroglossic, sociocultural, and multidimensional framework. Reading Research Quarterly 42:4 ► pp. 598 ff.
Grin, François
2007. Pourquoi donc apprendre l’anglais ? Le point de vue des élèves. Droit et Cultures 54 ► pp. 75 ff.
Leeman, Jennifer & Glenn Martínez
2007. FROM IDENTITY TO COMMODITY: IDEOLOGIES OF SPANISH IN HERITAGE LANGUAGE TEXTBOOKS. Critical Inquiry in Language Studies 4:1 ► pp. 35 ff.
Stroud, Christopher & Lionel Wee
2007. Consuming identities: Language planning and policy in Singaporean late modernity. Language Policy 6:2 ► pp. 253 ff.
Achugar, Mariana, Meg Gebhard, Paul Bruthiaux & Kanavillil Rajagopalan
2006. BOOK REVIEWS. Journal of Language, Identity & Education 5:4 ► pp. 317 ff.
Baldauf, Richard B.
2006. Rearticulating the Case for Micro Language Planning in a Language Ecology Context. Current Issues in Language Planning 7:2-3 ► pp. 147 ff.
Dogancay-Aktuna, Seran
2006. Expanding the Socio-Cultural Knowledge Base of TESOL Teacher Education. Language, Culture and Curriculum 19:3 ► pp. 278 ff.
Hatoss, Anikó
2006. Community-Level Approaches in Language Planning: The Case of Hungarian in Australia. Current Issues in Language Planning 7:2-3 ► pp. 287 ff.
Ramanathan, Vaidehi
2006. The Vernacularization of English: Crossing Global Currents to Re-dress West-based TESOL. International Journal for the Psychology of Religion 3:2 ► pp. 131 ff.
Ramanathan, Vaidehi
2009. Silencing and Languaging in the Assembling of the Indian Nation-State: British Public Citizens, the Epistolary Form, and Historiography. Journal of Language, Identity & Education 8:2-3 ► pp. 203 ff.
Ramanathan, Vaidehi
2013. Language Policies and (Dis)Citizenship: Who Belongs? Who Is a Guest? Who Is Deported?. Journal of Language, Identity & Education 12:3 ► pp. 162 ff.
Ramanathan, Vaidehi
2015. Contesting the Raj’s ‘Divide and Rule’ Policies: Linguistic Apartheid, Unequal Englishes, and the Postcolonial Framework. In Unequal Englishes, ► pp. 203 ff.
Hult, Francis M.
2005. A Case of Prestige and Status Planning: Swedish and English in Sweden. Current Issues in Language Planning 6:1 ► pp. 73 ff.
Wright, Wayne E.
2005. The Political Spectacle of Arizona's Proposition 203. Educational Policy 19:5 ► pp. 662 ff.
Bolton, Kingsley
2004. World Englishes. In The Handbook of Applied Linguistics, ► pp. 367 ff.
Bolton, Kingsley
2005. Where WE stands: approaches, issues, and debate in world Englishes. World Englishes 24:1 ► pp. 69 ff.
Fernández, Paula González
2004. Book review. ITL - International Journal of Applied Linguistics 143-144 ► pp. 137 ff.
Joseph, John E.
2004. Language and Politics. In The Handbook of Applied Linguistics, ► pp. 347 ff.
Joseph, John E.
2012. Nation. In The Encyclopedia of Applied Linguistics,
Phillipson, Robert
2004. English in Globalization: Three Approaches. Journal of Language, Identity & Education 3:1 ► pp. 73 ff.
Phillipson, Robert
2012. Linguistic Imperialism. In The Encyclopedia of Applied Linguistics,
Seidlhofer, Barbara
2004. 10. RESEARCH PERSPECTIVES ON TEACHING ENGLISH AS A LINGUA FRANCA. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics 24 ► pp. 209 ff.
Sifakis, Nicos C.
2004. Teaching EIL—Teaching International or Intercultural English? What Teachers Should Know. System 32:2 ► pp. 237 ff.
Spolsky, Bernard
2003. Language Policy,
Brutt-Griffler, Janina
2002. Class, Ethnicity, and Language Rights: An Analysis of British Colonial Policy in Lesotho and Sri Lanka and Some Implications for Language Policy. Journal of Language, Identity & Education 1:3 ► pp. 207 ff.
Martín Rojo, Luisa & Angel Gabilondo Pujol
2002. Michel Foucault. In Handbook of Pragmatics, ► pp. 1 ff.
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