Minority Languages in the Linguistic Landscape provides an innovative approach to the written displays of minority languages in public space. It explores minority language situations through the lens of linguistic landscape research. Based on very tangible data it explores the 'same old issues' of language contact and language conflict in new ways. It deepens our understanding of language policies, power relations and ideologies.

The chapters cover a wide geographic area, ranging from Sámi in the far North, to Basque, Catalan and Corsican in the South. From the town of Dingle on the West coast of Ireland to the cities of Kiev and Chisinau in the East of Europe, including the contrasting cases of Israel and Brunei. Combining theoretical approaches from various disciplines to provide a framework which connects real bottom-up data with more abstract research on minority languages, this book will be useful for researchers and students in applied linguistics, sociolinguistics and policy sciences, as well as for policy makers.
 

Journal writing is not new--journals have been around for centuries. More recently, journals have been viewed as a means of scaffolding reflective teaching and encouraging reflectivity in research processes. As a result, some educators may ask, “What more do we need to know?” Those likely to raise this question are probably not thinking of the explosive growth of reflective writing enabled by social networking on the Web, the blogs and other interactive e-vehicles for reflection on experiences in our literate, “real,” and virtual lives This revisiting of journal writing from a 21st century perspective, informed by relevant earlier literature, is what Christine Pearson Casanave guides readers through in this first book-length treatment of the use of journal writing in the contexts of language learning, pre and in-service teaching, and research.
Casanave has put together existing ideas that haven't been put together before and has done it not as an edited collection, but as a single-authored book. She has done it in a way that will be especially accessible to teachers in language teacher education programs and to practicing teachers and researchers of writing in both second and foreign language settings, and in a way that will inspire all of us to think about, not just do, journal writing.
Those who have never attempted to use journals in their classes and own lives, as well as others who have used it with mixed results, will probably be tempted to try it in at least some of the venues Casanave provides guidance for. Those already committed to journal writing will very likely find in this book new reasons for expanding and enhancing their use of journals.
 

How can teachers make sound pedagogical decisions and advocate for educational policies that best serve the needs of students in today’s diverse classrooms? What is the pedagogical value of providing culturally and linguistically diverse students greater access to their own language and cultural orientations?
This landmark volume responds to the call to attend to the unfinished pedagogical business of the NCTE Conference on College Composition and Communication 1974 Students’ Right to Their Own Language resolution. Chronicling the interplay between legislated/litigated education policies and language and literacy teaching in diverse classrooms, it presents exemplary research-based practices that maximize students' learning by utilizing their home-based cultural, language, and literacy practices to help them meet school expectations.
Pre-service teachers, practicing teachers, and teacher educators need both resources and knowledge, including global perspectives, about language variation in PreK-12 classrooms and hands-on strategies that enable teachers to promote students’ use of their own language in the classroom while also addressing mandated content and performance standards. This book meets that need.
 

This volume presents the very important issue of integrating culture into the second language classroom. Some of its chapters were originally presented at two symposia on culture learning, Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Culture learning in the Second Language Curriculum, held at the University of Minnesota in 1991 and 1994. Other chapters were developed at a third conference, Culture as the Core: Transforming the Language Curriculum. The latter brought scholars and practitioners together to reflect on the earlier theoretical discussions, refine those ideas in light of subsequent theoretical developments, and translate theory into classroom practice.

The contributions to this book concern the documentation and revitalization of endangered languages and the archiving of documented language materials. The anthology focuses mainly on endangered Oceanic languages, with articles on Vanuatu by Darrell Tryon and the Marquesas by Gabriele Cablitz, on situations of loss and gain by Ingjerd Hoëm and on the Kilivila language of the Trobriands by the editor. Nick Thieberger, Peter Wittenburg and Paul Trilsbeek, and David Blundell and colleagues write about aspects of linguistic archiving. Under the rubric of revitalization, Margaret Florey and Michael Ewing write about Maluku, Jakelin Troy and Michael Walsh about Australian Aboriginal languages in southeastern Australia, whilst three articles, by Sophie Nock, Diane Johnson and Winifred Crombie concern the revitalization of Maori.

Written by leading second language acquisition theorists Explains the importance of sociocognition in relation to current second language acquisition (SLA) theories Describes the effectiveness of different forms of classroom feedback Covers the interpersonal aspects of language learning, and interaction in a variety of classroom and naturalistic settings Recommended reading for applied linguistics graduates, SLA researchers, language teachers and trainee teachers

This collection of original articles provides a state-of-the-art overview of key issues and approaches in contemporary language teaching. Written by internationally prominent researchers, educators, and emerging scholars, the chapters are grouped into five sections: rethinking our understanding of teaching, learner diversity and classroom learning, pedagogical approaches and practices, components of the curriculum, and media and materials. Each chapter covers key topics in teaching methodology such as reflective pedagogy, teaching large classes, outcomes-based language learning, speaking instruction, and technology in the classroom. Chapters assume no particular background knowledge and are written in an accessible style.

In The Oxford Handbook of Language Evolution, sixty leading scholars present critical accounts of every aspect of the field. Its five parts are devoted to insights from comparative animal behavior; the biology of language evolution (anatomy, genetics, and neurology); the prehistory of language (when and why did language evolve?); the development of a linguistic species; and language creation, transmission, and change.

Research on language evolution has burgeoned over the last three decades. Interdisciplinary activity has produced fundamental advances in the understanding of language evolution and in human and primate evolution more generally. The book presents a wide-ranging summation of work in all the disciplines involved. It highlights the links in different lines of research, shows what has been achieved to date, and considers the most promising directions for future work.

The Oxford Handbook of Language Evolution will be valued by everyone interested in one of the most productive and fascinating fields in natural and cognitive science.
Features
• A comprehensive survey of a dynamic multidisciplinary field offering clear, critical, comprehensible accounts on:
• comparative animal behavior
• the anatomy, genetics, and neurology of language evolution
• the development of language in human species
• the prehistory of language
• language creation, transmission, and change
 

But its dominance has so far lasted two centuries at most—far less than the spans of other major languages such as Greek, Latin, Arabic, or Sanskrit. And now, as historian and linguist Nicholas Ostler persuasively argues in his new book, English stands not only to be displaced as the world's language in the not-distant future, but also to be the last lingua franca, not replaced by another.
The primary causes for the spread of lingua francas over time have been empire (to bind peoples together politically), commerce (to facilitate trade), and religion (to reinforce the power of a faith), and Ostler explores each inspiration through the lens of civilizations, spanning the globe from China and India to Russia and Europe. Three trends emerge that suggest the ultimate decline of English, and lingua francas themselves. Throughout the world movements toward democratization in politics or equality in society will downgrade the status of elites. Since elites are the prime users of non-native English, the language will gradually retreat to its native-speaking territories. Moreover, the rising wealth of states like Brazil, Russia, India, and China will challenge and ultimately overtake the dominance of native-English-speaking nations—thereby shrinking the international preference for English. Simultaneously, new technologies will allow instant translation among major languages, enhancing the status of mother tongues and lessening the necessity for any future lingua franca.
Ostler predicts a soft landing for English: It will still be widely spoken, if no longer worldwide, sustained by America's continued power on the world stage. But its decline will be symbolic and significant, evidence of grand shifts in the cultural effects of empire. The Last Lingua Franca is both an insightful examination of the trajectory of our own mother tongue and a fascinating lens through which to view the sweep of history.