Whether creativity can be taught or not has remained an unresolved and recurring topic of debate in creative writing. Writing that is creative and imaginative is distinguished from translation, which is more derivative. However, both activities are creative in their own unique ways. With the intent of fostering creativity in creative writing, I…

This article examines the role of code-switching in recreating the place, Palestine, that contemporary Palestinian memoirist Ghada Karmi was expelled from by providing a close analysis of the code-switched expressions and the plurality of voices and perspectives that this linguistic and cultural phenomenon imply in her work "Return: A…

This article aims to visibilise the opportunities for decolonising standardised language practices for multilingual students learning English as an additional language or dialect (EAL/D) in Australian schools. We suggest that a decolonising approach to language education would value the multilingual, non-standard, and diverse language practices of…

This essay arises out of critical reflections in which I have engaged through my teaching in an Indonesian University. All my students are learning English as a foreign language. They typically struggle with how they are positioned ideologically, especially in relation to the so-called 'native speaker'. My goal as an English educator is to free…

In Hong Kong, Chinese and English are considered separate mediums of instruction. English immersion is expected for schools that teach with English as the medium of instruction, and direct instruction in Chinese is often used to teach English in Chinese medium schools. Evidently, a great divide persists in the Hong Kong government curriculum. In…

This essay emerges from my position as a new trainee teacher, entering my first school, a school as unique and also as typical as any. What struck me was the complexity of the school's culture (and counter-cultures). Language was revealed as a site of resistance, a clash between staff and pupils at the point of instruction; a reluctance to read or…

With particular reference to recent developments (including some in communication-technology), this first of two papers explores the nature of "language change"--its kinds, mechanisms and effects--and some attitudes towards it. It then suggests a case for teaching and learning about language change (bearing in mind, particularly,…

With much regional variation in Cameroon English, language learning and teaching becomes very much affected in Cameroon. As the same users make use of the various forms of English as the changing circumstances require, it becomes more and more difficult for them to make clear distinctions between the varieties, and somehow all of these varieties…

This paper reports on my first-hand experiences of being a "purist" in Hong Kong, during which time I was not allowed to use mixed code, a common discursive practice among Hongkongers in Hong Kong. I shall discuss the difficulties in using "pure" English and "pure" Chinese in my daily life, as well as exploring the…