ABSTRACT This study investigates the identity development of five international students during their degree studies at a U.S. university. Drawing on identity and second language socialization theories, the study used a qualitative and interpretivist approach through in-depth, semi-structured interviews and background questionnaires. Participants, who were notably diverse in terms of national origin, educational level, and linguistic background, reflected on their experiences of cultural and academic adjustment during long-term study in the U.S. higher education context. Four themes emerged: (a) context-driven communicative confidence, (b) shifting identities in a new cultural context, (c) social integration and relationship barriers, and (d) strategic communication and daily adaptation. Participants described ongoing negotiations of self as they engaged with new linguistic, academic, and social expectations. Their narratives reveal how identity shifts were influenced by emotional responses, peer relationships, institutional dynamics, and communicative practices. The study highlights the need for more inclusive and culturally responsive university environments that support international students’ sense of belonging, confidence, and personal growth. Although the study is conducted in a U.S. institutional setting, the findings offer implications about international student identity development processes relevant to higher education contexts more broadly.

ABSTRACT The linguistic and cultural diversity of today’s classrooms necessitates viewing plurilingualism as both an educational resource and an objective. Pluralistic approaches to teaching are considered important tools in this regard. This study explored, from a Norwegian perspective, the linguistic potential of three main stakeholder groups in the education context – teachers, parents, and especially pupils – to contribute to one such pluralistic approach, Awakening to Languages (AtL). We gathered questionnaire data on (1) the plurilingual resources and language use of elementary school pupils and their parents, and (2) the plurilingual resources and self-reported proficiency of the pupils’ teachers. A detailed analysis of the frequency with which languages other than the school and majority-culture language were used in different contexts, within and outside the family, showed that elementary school pupils and their families live in complex plurilingual realities, even though the degree of plurilingualism varied among contexts of use as well as among schools. Additionally, our results revealed a wide spectrum of languages used by the pupils and their families. Teachers’ plurilingualism, in contrast, was far more limited. We discuss the implications of our results for a pluralistic approach such as AtL and identify several challenges to its successful implementation.

ABSTRACT In a much-publicised large-scale study, [Amoruso, Lucia, Hernan Hernandez, Hernando Santamaria-Garcia, Sebastian Moguilner, Agustina Legaz, Pavel Prado, Jhosmary Cuadros, et al. 2025. “Multilingualism Protects against Accelerated Aging in Cross-Sectional and Longitudinal Analyses of 27 European Countries.” Nature Aging 5:2340–2354. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43587-025-01000-2.] purport to have found evidence that multilingualism protects against accelerated ageing. However, several crucial claims made in their article do not stand up to scrutiny whereas others are easily misunderstood. Amoruso et al.'s study should not inform either research or policy.

ABSTRACT Early math development is rooted in children’s family experiences, yet the influence of family math language on children’s math competence remains underexplored. This quantitative study examines three dimensions of family math language policy and their associations with young children’s early math competence. Data were gathered from 200 kindergartners from five kindergartens in a Chinese city through parent questionnaires and a child math achievement test. Structural equation modelling revealed that family math ideology and management are significant predictors of practice, and practice is a direct and significant predictor of children’s math achievement. However, the hypothesized mediating role of practice between ideology/management and math achievement was not statistically supported. These results highlight the direct importance of family math language practice while suggesting that the pathways from parental beliefs and management strategies to children’s outcomes may be more complex than initially theorized. Implications for early intervention and future research directions are discussed.

ABSTRACT Macau’s designation as a UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy emphasises its role as a multicultural hub, where culinary spaces function as symbolic sites of authenticity and attraction. This study examines Macau’s culinary linguistic landscapes, focusing on the signage, semiotic cues, and multilingual expressions that structure tourists’ encounters in street food districts such as Rua do Cunha. Drawing on linguistic landscape theory and a tri-dimensional spatial framework, the research investigates how spatial practices, design intentions, and tourist interpretations converge to construct the ‘Macau flavor’. Data were collected through field observations, photographic documentation, semi-structured interviews with tourists, shop owners, and designers, alongside analysis of online tourist reviews. Findings reveal that culinary signage operates as semiotic assemblages, simultaneously guiding consumption, reinforcing cultural identity, and shaping perceptions of authenticity. The study contributes by enriching the application of linguistic landscape frameworks in culinary tourism contexts and offering practical implications for policymakers and practitioners in enhancing inclusive and culturally resonant tourism experiences.

ABSTRACT This paper examines how Islamic beliefs and practices shape conceptions of language, linguistic diversity, and language management in the context of spiritual tourism, focusing on the Biswa Ijtema as a key site of religious multilingualism. It argues that dominant ‘Northern’ models of language management are reconfigured through Islamic epistemologies and moral reasoning, highlighting the relevance of Global South perspectives for multilingualism and language sustainability. Held annually in Bangladesh, the Biswa Ijtema is one of the world’s largest Islamic gatherings, bringing together millions of participants from diverse linguistic backgrounds and creating a multilingual contact zone where sacred, heritage, and vernacular languages intersect. Despite this sociolinguistic richness, such religious mega-gatherings remain underexplored in sociolinguistic research. Situated within the sociolinguistics of Islam, the study draws on more than two months of micro-ethnographic fieldwork, including participant observation, semi-structured interviews with organisers, interpreters, and local and international participants, and fieldnotes. Data were analysed using Reflexive Thematic Analysis informed by Spolsky’s tripartite model of language policy. The findings show that multilingual practices are organised not primarily around communicative efficiency but through ethical, devotional, and historical logics, with Arabic, Urdu, and Bangla forming a transnational Tablīghī daʿwah register. Language management thus operates as moral and cultural stewardship.

ABSTRACT Translanguaging has attracted growing attention in foreign language education; however, despite generally positive student and teacher attitudes, empirical evidence remains limited, particularly in third language (L3) learning. Addressing this gap, the present study examines how translanguaging pedagogy supports multilingual development by investigating additional language developers’ L3 German spoken skills development and perceptions of translanguaging classroom practices. Grounded in translanguaging theory and complexity theory, the study adopts a mixed-methods design. Ninety-nine high school students participated in a nine-week A1-level spoken German course. Participants were assigned to a monolingual German-only condition or to bilingual (Turkish – German) and trilingual (Turkish – German – English) translanguaging conditions. Quantitative data were analyzed using ANOVA, while qualitative data were thematically analyzed. Results indicate significantly greater gains in L3 German spoken skills for learners in translanguaging conditions, with the trilingual group demonstrating the strongest improvement. Qualitative findings reveal that the bilingual group primarily exhibited cognitive and affective development in contrast to monolingual group reporting minimal strategic reflection, ongoing uncertainty, and affective barriers. The trilingual group showed more explicit, systematic, and strategic meta-level reflections. Implications are discussed.