Complex Dynamic Systems Theory (CDST) has been applied to the study of second language acquisition to possibly account for the nonlinear development and variability found within second language development. Characteristics of a dynamic system that make it compatible with examining the developmental trajectory of second language acquisition include…

For students learning English as a foreign language (EFL), using English outside the classroom is as important as participating in the classroom activities. By developing the Extramural English Use Scale, this study aims to explore the frequency of high school students' Extramural English (EE) in relation to the listening, speaking, reading and…

This article is a study of "Mosaic"--a piece of multilingual theatre-in-education designed to promote linguistically diverse practices in primary schools in Birmingham, United Kingdom. Focusing on the relatively uncharted territory of applied theatre as a means of promoting multilingualism, and challenging a culture of monolingual…

This paper spotlights the twelve slogans of the Olympic Games in order to critically analyze the ideologies underlying the discourse. By taking the principles of critical discourse analysis (CDA) and Halliday's (1994) systemic-functional grammar (SFG) as analytical tools, the paper endeavours to reveal the ideology that predominates in the ruling…

Eight children aged 4;1-8;1 and their primary caregivers participated in a study designed to evaluate their use of the onset cluster /str-/ in both read and conversational speech. The cluster is currently undergoing a reported sound change in many varieties of English, with the initial /s/ being retracted to [?]. The study compared the initial…

The present paper aims to reinvigorate discussions of language policy within language, gender and sexuality studies. It provides initial considerations of a poststructuralist, non-heteronormative language policy for German and English--two languages whose structural make-up differs fundamentally with respect to gender representation. Gendered…

Drawing on the work of Philip Deloria (2004) and recent explorations of "American Indian languages in unexpected places" (Webster & Peterson, 2011a), this article challenges received expectations of Native American languages and language users as "rural" and physically distant and of "urban" Indigenous language…

In this article, I question the micro-macro separation in discourse analysis, the separation of personal and institutional discourses. I apply a mostly macroanalytic perspective (critical discourse analysis [CDA]) to inform a predominantly microanalytic perspective (analysis of conversational narratives) and vice versa. In the combination of these…

This is a response to the commentaries on my essay, "Interpretation, autonomy, and transformation". However, the response is reoriented to further interpretation of Chinese pedagogic discourse in the late-19th century, which is often blamed for hampering China's educational advance. Instead of considering Classical Confucian pedagogy as…

The subject of multilingualism in institutions has long been a central interest in sociolinguistics, and it is worth asking why. The answer lies in the role of institutions in the modern nation state, a point made over and over again by Michel Foucault. Institutions control access to all the resources a state can distribute; it distributes them…

In this chapter, I demonstrate how Bourdieu's (1991) notion of symbolic instruments, that is structured and structuring structures, can be applied to the Internet to demonstrate the mediation and construction of knowledge and validation of expertise. This qualitative pilot study explored the online language and interrelationship between expertise,…

Despite its small size and relatively brief national history, New Zealand boasts a distinguished presence in the published record. Authors such as Margaret Mahy and Katherine Mansfield; the renowned soprano Kiri Te Kanawa; and contemporary film icons such as the actor Russell Crowe and producer Peter Jackson are just a few of the well-known names…

Focus on his biography and his performance in the media has long been the basis of interpretation of Bob Dylan's identity. This has resulted in the accepted critical theory of Dylan's identity as mercurial and lacking a central ipseity. However, as Michael Strachan argues, rock biography is an unstable genre because it treats its subjects as…

In recent years, the practice of the ballot initiative has shifted the role of policymaking from legislators and experts to voters generating propositions--including in the area of education policy. This critical discourse analysis project examines the English for the Children group's discursive strategies in their efforts to dismantle bilingual…

We use thematic analysis to explore how mathematical concepts are developed in four enactments of the same task. Thematic analysis emerges from Systemic Functional Linguistics and provides a means to explore the development of mathematical ideas in the classroom discourse. Thematic analysis was used to explore how themes related to the comparison…