This article focuses on the ever-increasing stress on multilingual education (MLE) in policy documents, especially its pairing with mother tongues in education (MTE). This focus brings into relief the relationship between MTE, the preservation of linguistic diversity and social democracy. We argue that the outcome of this relationship crucially…

In this brief forum article, I draw from the disciplinary orientation of linguistic anthropology to discuss how a collection of linguistic and semiotic resources gets "enregistered" as the "language" for specific communicative activities. Enregisterment is an ongoing social and ideological process whereby a semiotic corpus gets…

One key tenet of Global Englishes for Language Teaching (GELT) is that the native English speaker should no longer serve as the role model for second language (L2) English users. Such a view does not discount that some degree of linguistic knowledge is necessary for successful global communication. However, GELT scholarship has remained relatively…

This article presents a theoretical review of and methodological guidelines for the study of two key notions in second language acquisition research, complexity and difficulty. The term "complexity" has gained considerable currency over the past decades and has taken on a wide range of meanings. We argue for a more restricted…

While it is widely accepted that language teachers require knowledge of second language acquisition (SLA) (Richards, 2010), what about content teachers, who are increasingly required to help develop their learners' academic language proficiency? How much do they need to know about SLA theories and how can they acquire such knowledge and expertise?…

In a series of articles critical of aspects of the idea of translanguaging, MacSwan (e.g. 2022) has suggested that "deconstructivism" has derailed the translingual project. This paper draws attention to a number of weaknesses in this argument that are important for taking critical questions about language seriously. The term…

In response to calls for an assessment tool that provides a separate performance dimension from the linguistic quality-oriented measures of complexity, accuracy, and fluency (CAF) and guided by systemic functional linguistic (SFL) theories, this study introduces a set of fine-grained objective measures of communication/content/function…

In celebration of ASOCOPI's 60th anniversary, this article critically discusses how language teaching and learning in Colombia have addressed the relationship between language and content within higher education, aiming to prepare future professionals for the current interconnected world. Through the analysis of the national literature, we explore…

This paper examines English's linguistic imperialism and the resulting widespread use of the language among speakers of various linguistic backgrounds. It challenges the mistaken belief that native speakers (NS) are inherently better at speaking English simply due to their birthplace. Despite the growing number of non-native speakers (NNSs),…

Research has identified a particularly useful lexicogrammatical resource that language learners need in order to develop academic literacy, that of grammatical metaphor (GM). GM enables the wordy expression characteristic of informal, spoken discourses to be reorganized into the cohesive and abstracted expression valued in academic texts. Although…

This paper explores family multilingualism through the lens of language ideologies upheld by parents within three Chinese transnational families living in Luxembourg. Following a linguistic ethnographic approach throughout the inquiry and analysis process, this study provides illuminating insights into the Chinese parents' language ideologies…

Translanguaging has recently gained much currency in second language (L2) education. While the conceptualization of this theory stems from the goal of enhancing L2 education for learners, one challenge scholars have underlined is the need for more responsive, practical classroom activities consistent with translanguaging principles and stance.…

This article unfolds and argues for Biliteracy Metaphor Analysis (BMA), a methodology for examining the interpretation and use of metaphors in canon literature in a biliteracy context, in this case the canon of Danish literature read and interpreted by multilingual students in a ninth grade classroom. BMA combines Spradley's ethnographic framework…

Previous research has demonstrated that formulaic sequences (FSs), including such types as collocations, idioms, or phrasal verbs, are ubiquitous and play an important role in second/foreign language (L2) proficiency. However, FSs can pose significant challenges for L2 learners, especially those in contexts where there is limited exposure to L2…

This article examines how tertiary language learners of German engaged with the novel "Blutbuch" (2022) by Swiss author Kim de l'Horizon. Celebrated as the first nonbinary novel in German literature, excerpts of this autofictional text were taught in a 3-week unit, which was part of a semester-long German course targeted at university…