Abstract Switzerland is often praised for its multilingualism; however, this reputation conceals a complex paradox characterized by both pride in and apprehension towards multilingualism. This ambivalence arises from various unresolved contradictions, such as institutional and/or national language policies versus individual multilingualism (plurilingualism) and the distinction between local and foreign languages. This paper draws on the experience of plurilingual speakers in Switzerland reflecting on the ideologies affecting heritage speakers. The discussion emphasizes the importance of decolonizing scholarly knowledge through the explicit articulation of the locus of enunciation and the creation of spaces that empower marginalized voices and languages. The paper draws upon my research and locus of enunciation as a teacher in Swiss higher education, with a plurilingual, multi- and transcultural background, from a family with diverse migration experiences. Also, it draws upon selected reflections of my students and my memories as a former trained elementary school teacher and speaker of a non-prestigious heritage language crossing the linguistic borders in Switzerland. The discussion highlights the significant impact of early educational experiences on academic trajectories. The plurilingual speakers whose experience I draw upon have a migration background, grew up in Switzerland in homes where a language other than the local (majority and official) language is spoken. They attended monolingual schools and regularly confronted monolingual perspectives shaped by native speaker views, language hierarchies, and the entrenched concepts of monolingual habitus ( Gogolin, 1994 ) and monolingual mindset ( Clyne, 2008 ) within educational institutions. The analysis concludes that the Swiss educational system does not adequately address the specific needs nor fully appreciates the potential and linguistic repertoires of heritage speakers arguing that linguistic injustice stemming from monolingual perspectives in Switzerland can be addressed through the framework of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Accessibility, and Belonging (DEIAB).

Abstract The rise of English as an international language has led to the widespread implementation of English-medium education (EME) programs in higher education institutions around the world. Due to the relationship between EME and access to opportunities, knowledge and valuable capital it is unclear if the practice enables or hinders diversity, inclusion and equity. This study examines the beliefs, motivations and perceptions of 107 Spanish and Chinese EME students with an aim to shed light on the relationship between these variables and multilingual identity and context. The participants completed four questionnaires, and the results show significant effects for context as well as for multilingual identity. Participants who self-identify as multilinguals felt more confident, were more open-minded and enjoyed their EME classes more than those who did not. Regarding context, findings revealed that the Chinese students felt less confident, suffered from higher anxiety and perceive less use for English in both the present and future than the Spanish students. These findings suggest that empowering EME students to feel like multilingual users of English rather than learners of the language could have a positive impact on their EME experiences and long-term outcomes, as well as foster diversity, inclusion and equity in this context.

Abstract In 2015, the Brazilian Ministry of Education published a new set of requirements for Language Teacher Education programs (Resolution 2/2015), which included an increase in the number of minimum required hours of study and a larger number of hours for practicum classes. Since then, universities have reformed and/or redesigned their curricula to meet the new policy, based not only on the new requirements but also on current scholarship in Applied Linguistics and Literary Studies. However, there is little research on whether new curricula have addressed issues pertaining to equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI), particularly to curricular and onto-epistemic justice, considering the extent of gender, racial, regional, and other inequalities in Brazil. In this article, we address this gap by investigating how EDI has (not) been included and contemplated/considered in the curricula of English undergraduate programs in three Brazilian public universities. Drawing on conceptualizations of decoloniality and social/curricular justice, we use collective autoethnography to analyze our own experiences as language educators working with such curricula, paying attention to the following dimensions: whether EDI has been incorporated in the overall conception of each program; whether there are classes that address notions pertaining to EDI; and how (or how else) we may find space for including EDI principles in each program. Our results show that EDI generally goes through a process of conceptual diluting in curricular discourses. Therefore, EDI initiatives often operate in curricular margins, through individualized initiatives, particularly in research and community service practices.

Abstract Most reading technologies claim to provide experiences similar to reading on print paper. This study compared reading across different digital platforms and print books. Digital reading mediums used in this study were reading on a PC screen, a handheld e-reader and an iPad. A total of eighty participants enrolled in various university courses took part in this experiment. Each participant was randomly assigned to one of the reading conditions, and subsequent eye-tracking measurements were compared. Results indicated that the mean fixation duration was statistically different only for the reading from the PC condition, whereas it was similar across all other conditions. The reading time and the total number of fixations were comparable for the dedicated e-reader, iPad and printed book. This study provides empirical evidence that e-reading tools closely mimic book-reading conditions.

Abstract The study focuses on the language learning experiences of adult migrants from refugee backgrounds with limited educational experiences before migration. This group is often referred to as LESLLA learners; LESLLA is an acronym for Literacy Education and Second Language Learning for Adults. The study used Constructivist Grounded Theory (CGT) — a data-driven, bottom-up methodology for qualitative research — to gain understanding of the conditions that help or hinder LESLLA learners’ language development and of the strategies they use to enhance learning and to overcome obstacles. The dataset is comprised of thirty interviews with adult refugees from Syria and Eritrea learning Dutch in the Netherlands. The analyses identified self-efficacy, which has been described as ‘the soul of strategies’ (Oxford, 2017), as a core category, differentiating between learners who showed contentment about their language learning achievements and expressed confidence in further learning, and those who expressed little confidence and a sense of failure. Conditions hindering self-efficacy include the cognitive conditions ‘forgetting’ and ‘stress’, and the social condition ‘isolation’. Facilitative conditions in the cognitive realm are ‘motivation’ and ‘language learning strategies’. ‘Social strategies in new social networks’ is the condition that stands out as strongly supportive for self-efficacy. The data showed how LESLLA learners are often not in the position of power to build their networks. This means that social strategies are not an individuals’ asset but rather a condition that is distributed in a social system.

Abstract Learning the host country’s language(s) is a necessary step toward social and professional inclusion for migrants. However, it is often regarded as a challenging task that depends heavily on the sociocultural context in which migrants are situated. This study explores the Norwegian language learning strategies of highly educated Indonesians outside the classroom, particularly in the workplace, in Norway. Following the social turn in second language learning research, the study aims to investigate how social context influences migrants’ strategies for learning Norwegian. The data were collected through a combination of qualitative methods consisting of sequential in-depth interviews, language diaries, and focus group discussions with four focal participants, including both recently arrived and long-term migrants. Based on Darvin and Norton’s (2015) investment model, participants’ narratives of their reported language learning strategies are analyzed in relation to language ideology, identity, and capital in their language learning experiences. The findings from this study suggest that migrant learners’ ideal learning strategies are influenced by their language ideologies. However, different contextual factors, such as work tasks and roles, have a considerable impact on their learning opportunities, and consequently, on why and how they end up using certain learning strategies but not others. Migrants’ professional identities also play an important role in their strategy choice and use. By analyzing migrant learners’ narratives, this study provides a nuanced and learner-centered understanding of language learning strategies in the context of migration in the globalized world. This study also contributes new insights into the use of learning strategies of languages other than English by adult migrant learners inside and beyond the classroom.

Abstract In this paper, I examine the changing currency of languages in the context of migration and mobility based on case studies of Filipino migrants in Australia. Drawing on two sociolinguistic studies conducted with and for Filipino migrants, I highlight how the “monolingual mindset” (Clyne, 2008) reinforced by the “White-English complex” (Piller, Torsh, & Smith-Khan, 2023) negatively impact on the value and currency of Philippine languages. As an alternative, I offer the concept multilingual mindset as an inclusive framework for valuing multilingual migrants in the diaspora. I first introduce the linguistic ecology and national language policies of both the Philippines and Australia to set the scene for my argument. I then map out the migration trends in both countries and the simultaneous socio-political events that have driven the growth of Filipino migration in Australia and introduce the two sociolinguistic studies with and for (Blackledge, 2006; Tetteh, 2015) Filipino migrants. This is followed by the presentation and critical discussion of three key conceptual arguments of this paper derived from these studies. Employing the “monolingual mindset” (Clyne, 2008) and “White-English complex” (Piller et al., 2023) as lenses, I then critically discuss how these concepts are detrimental to heritage language maintenance and inclusive multilingualism and argue that the maintenance of migrant languages in the diaspora would best be facilitated by an adoption of a multilingual mindset. The paper concludes with a discussion on the significance of the multilingual mindset to sociolinguistic studies and migration linguistics (Borlongan, 2023), in general, and to language attitudes, language practices, and language policies across different sectors, in particular.

Abstract Forms of immobility both limit unqualified human agency and enable diverse channels of mobility. In this sense, mobility and immobility work together. Certain philosophical movements such as Southern theories and disability studies treat constraints, sedentariness, and boundaries as needing to be respected and accommodated in any inquiry. This article draws from these schools to theorize disruptions and constraints as resources in the circulation of languages, texts, and meanings. To index this generative role of constraints in communication, I adopt the term “crip” from theorizations in disability studies. “Crip” invokes the paradoxical reality that while being crippled poses disruptions in mobility, this rupture also generates new knowledge and possibilities into the flow of life (McRuer, 2006). This article explains how crip translingualism would treat ruptures, constraints, and boundaries as resourceful for meaning making. This is a corrective to certain previous theorizations that have treated translingualism as based on unrestricted flows and fluidities, influenced by dominant orientations to mobility. I illustrate from a classroom literacy interaction where the ruptures posed by the heritage languages of multilingual students motivated everyone to adopt creative strategies to expand the meaning of “meaning,” redefine literacy as negotiated, and develop ethical dispositions to collaborate in communicating across language boundaries. I argue that the incomprehensions and vulnerabilities created by language diversity actually motivate everyone to develop strategies to creatively read and write. In this manner, constraints don’t stifle the text or students, but mobilize new flows of meanings and interactions.

Abstract The present study explores lexical collocations and their relation to speaking proficiency of Taiwanese EFL college students learning English for academic purposes (i.e., EAP). The data is obtained from 92 English majors at a national university of science and technology in southern Taiwan. The results show that (a) direct collocation instruction promotes the subjects’ performance on their speaking fluency tests, outscoring the other two instruction types; (b) the advanced level students seem to benefit most as they outperformed the other three groups after receiving each of the three instruction types (i.e., lexical collocations, single-item vocabulary, and no instruction); and (c) no significant difference can be found between the high-intermediate and intermediate groups with regard to their post-instruction performances. Therefore, the current study concludes that direct collocation instruction deserves immediate attention and calls for a series of systematic studies to be done on the possible connection between lexical collocations and English proficiency of EFL learners.

Abstract The aim of this paper was to evaluate gender differences in the language used in United Nations (UN) General Assembly debates by one male and one female representative each from India, China, the USA, and Indonesia. The critical discourse analysis (CDA) framework of van Dijk (2015) was used along with the 25 discursive devices in this framework. The data on frequencies of variables were analysed statistically. No significant differences were observed between positive comments about oneself, negative comments about others, length of speech (in words), and the various devices by the gender of the speaker at the 0.05 level of significance. However, gender differences in terms of higher levels for males than for females were observed for populism (t(6) = 2.354, p = .057), norm expression (t(6) = 2.171, p = 0.073), and positive comments about oneself (t(6) = 2.224, p = .068). The correlation coefficients were significant between genders for positive-self, norm expression, and national self-glorification only. These results could be attributed to the small size of four male and four female speeches, leading to high values of standard error, which reflects the significance of differences. Also, there could be overlapping and mixing of gender characteristics in connection with different contexts and occasions due to emergent identities. These political identities were created in particular situations or contexts, and it was not clear how much they could be a result of female or male politicians’ styles. This explanation by Sivrić and Jurčić (2014) seems to be valid for this research as well. Small samples could be a limitation of this study. However, many other works used even smaller samples. The generalisability of these findings needs to be tested using other similar studies.