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Books by David Cassels Johnson

This book advances the growing area of language policy and planning (LPP) by examining the episte... more This book advances the growing area of language policy and planning (LPP) by examining the epistemological and theoretical foundations that engendered and sustain the field, drawing on insights and approaches from anthropology, linguistics, economics, political science, and education to create an accessible and inter-disciplinary overview of LPP as a coherent discipline. Throughout the book, the authors address LPP from different perspectives, exploring the interface between planning in theory and its practical problems in implementation. This volume will be of interest to students and scholars with an interest in LPP in particular, and educational, social, and public policy more broadly.

This is the first volume exclusively devoted to research methods in language policy and planning ... more This is the first volume exclusively devoted to research methods in language policy and planning (LPP).

Each chapter is written by a leading language policy expert and provides a how-to guide to planning studies as well as gathering and analyzing data

Covers a broad range of methods, making it easily accessible to and useful for transdisciplinary researchers working with language policy in any capacity.

Will serve as both a foundational methods text for graduate students and novice researchers, and a useful methodological reference for experienced LPP researchers

Includes a series of guidelines for public engagement to assist scholars as they endeavor to incorporate their work into the public policy process

Language Policy provides a detailed overview of the theories, concepts, research methods, and fin... more Language Policy provides a detailed overview of the theories, concepts, research methods, and findings in one accessible source. The author reviews the latest developments in research methods, and proposes new methodological, theoretical, and conceptual directions. This book provides guidance for doing language policy research and specific research projects are proposed. A major focus of the book is how language policies impact educational and community practices and how language policy researchers make connections between macro level language policy texts and discourses and micro level language practices in schools and communities.

Papers by David Cassels Johnson

Springer International Publishing eBooks, 2023

Epistemological and Theoretical Foundations in Language Policy and Planning

The Language Gap, 2021

Manta rays forage for zooplankton in tropical and subtropical marine environments, which are gene... more Manta rays forage for zooplankton in tropical and subtropical marine environments, which are generally nutrient-poor. Feeding often occurs at predictable locations where these large, mobile cartilaginous fishes congregate to exploit ephemeral productivity hotspots. Investigating the zooplankton dynamics that lead to such feeding aggregations remains a key question for understanding their movement ecology. The aim of this study is to investigate the feeding environment at the largest known aggregation for reef manta rays Mobula alfredi in the world. We sampled zooplankton throughout the tidal cycle, and recorded M. alfredi activity and behaviour, alongside environmental variables at Hanifaru Bay, Maldives. We constructed generalised linear models to investigate possible relationships between zooplankton dynamics, environmental parameters, and how they influenced M. alfredi abundance, behaviour, and foraging strategies. Zooplankton biomass changed rapidly throughout the tidal cycle, and M. alfredi feeding events were significantly related to high zooplankton biomass. Mobula alfredi switched from non-feeding to feeding behaviour at a prey density threshold of 53.7 mg dry mass m-3 ; more than double the calculated density estimates needed to theoretically meet their metabolic requirements. The highest numbers of M. alfredi observed in Hanifaru Bay corresponded to when they were engaged in feeding behaviour. The community composition of zooplankton was different when M. alfredi was feeding (dominated by copepods and crustaceans) compared to when present but not feeding (more gelatinous species present than in feeding samples). The dominant zooplankton species recorded was Undinula vulgaris. This is a large-bodied calanoid copepod species that blooms in oceanic waters, suggesting offshore influences at the site. Here, we have characterised aspects of the feeding environment for

The Encyclopedia of Applied Linguistics, 2014

Working Papers in Educational Linguistics, 2004

Journal of Education Policy, 2017

This article considers the impact of the Lau v. Nichols Supreme Court decision on the education o... more This article considers the impact of the Lau v. Nichols Supreme Court decision on the education of English learners in Washington State, US In particular, we focus on the most popular educational program in the state, Sheltered English Instruction. We first examine how intertextual links to various policy texts and discourses shape Washington language policy and then look at how educators in four school districts interpret and appropriate this policy. Based on fieldwork in four school districts, we argue that English learners are often submerged in English-only classrooms, in which the curriculum is not fundamentally changed to meet their needs, thus denying them equal educational opportunity according to Lau v. Nichols. Mirroring national trends, the English Learner (EL) population in Washington State was 9.4% of the total school population in 2014 and the number is steadily rising (National Center for Education Statistics 2016). Educational equity for linguistic minorities is a central concern for educational scholars, practitioners, and activists all over the world. In the United States, the 1974 Lau v. Nichols Supreme Court ruling is a landmark policy regarding educational access for English learners (ELs 1). In a unanimous decision, the judges ruled that ELs could not be placed in mainstream English-only classrooms without additional instructional adaptations. While the Lau decision has been very influential, constitutionally derived federalism forces the federal government to share power with the fifty states, and therefore US state departments of education and school districts are the arbiters of how Lau is interpreted and appropriated. This paper looks at how Washington's language policies and programs relate to the Lau decision. Particular attention is paid to the Sheltered Instruction program-how it is depicted in state language policy and how it is implemented in schools. We show that, while Washington language policy promotes several forms of bilingual education, the vast majority of ELs are enrolled in Sheltered Instruction programs, which are interpreted and appropriated in ways that might not accommodate the linguistic needs of students.

In 2017, NASA announced the discovery of seven Earth-sized exoplanets outside of our solar system... more In 2017, NASA announced the discovery of seven Earth-sized exoplanets outside of our solar system (NASA, 2017). Using the Spitzer Space Telescope, astronomers found the exoplanets orbiting a small star about 40 light years from Earth and named it the Trappist-1 System. Three of these planets, they argue, are within a "habitable zone," which means they are capable of sustaining life. Amazingly, their findings suggest that the orbits are so tight around the small star that the planets take only 1.5-20 days to travel around their "sun." This Trappist-1 ultra-cool dwarf sun is much smaller than ours and, while it should be able to warm the surfaces of the planets, they are not as bright as our world and experience only a salmon-colored daytime light. The astronomers did not actually see the planets; instead, they pointed telescopes at Trappist-1 and measured the amount of starlight blocked as the planets cast their shadows on their sun. Presumably, debate about the details of these findings ensued, and will continue to occur in astronomical circles. However, when these provocative findings were reported by major news outlets such as NBC (Cofield, 2017) and CBS (Lewin, 2017), among others, there was a great deal of interest but no public debate. Why? The astronomers did not actually see the planets through telescopes. No probe had captured photographic evidence. Instead, the researchers used mathematical computations and observations of planetary shadows to argue for the existence of these objects. Compare this with the announcement from the Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) in 1996 that many of their students spoke a marginalized language variety (African American Language or what they called "Ebonics"), which posed a challenge in classrooms where a school-based variety of Standard American English (SAE) was enforced. Reacting to the low test scores of their Black students, the OUSD argued that African American Language (AAL) speakers faced extra linguistic hurdles because they spoke a language variety that was different from what was utilized in classroom interactions and on standardized tests. So, on December 18, 1996, the OUSD released a resolution that declared "Ebonics" to be the language of its African American students, resulting in widespread media coverage that polarized public opinion. The educators who wrote the resolution were aware of their students' communicative repertoiresthey listened to their students every dayand they also had the support of experts: The Linguistic Society of America (LSA) passed its own resolution in 1997 supporting the Oakland School Board's decision (see discussions in Rickford, 1999 and Baugh, 2000; see the full text in Perry & Delpit, 1998, pp.160-161). Furthermore, the ideas in the resolution aligned with decades of linguistic research on dialectal diversity and education: Many Black kids speak a marginalized language variety, which is not reflected, respected, or taught in school. Thus, it was not a new argument nor as scintillating as the idea that there are inhabitable planets perpetually bathed in salmon-colored light 40 light years from Earth. Yet, the public backlash to the OUSD resolution was loud and scathing: The president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), Kweisi Mfume, called the resolution a "cruel joke"; Jesse Jackson declared that it was an "unacceptable surrender bordering on disgrace" (later, Jackson would be more sympathetic); newspaper columnists (e.g., Heilbrunn, 1997) balked at the notion that students' "slang" should be given any respect whatsoever; the secretary of education at the time, Richard Riley, pre-emptively rejected extra funding for the OUSD, even though they had not requested it; racist political cartoons ridiculed the decision (e.g., Huber, 1997). At a congressional hearing about the OUSD Resolution (U.S. Senate, 1997), chaired by Arlen Specter (R-PA), speakers were invited to give statements, including Senator Larry E. Craig, whose credentials included sponsoring English-only legislation; a minister, Reverend Amos C. Brown, who described AAL as a "so-called language"; and a conservative newspaper columnist, Armstrong Williams, who was "deeply troubled" by the resolution and alluded to AAL as "idiom" and "slang" and suggested submersion was the only solution. Upon questioning from Specter about different educational approaches, Williams admitted that he did not really understand Ebonics: "I am trying to understand the Ebonics debate every day" (ibid., p. 66). Thus, witnesses who had no expertise in language research, and were honest about their ignorance, were still invited to speak as experts. Compare that to a congressional hearing about the development of NASA telescopes (U.S. House of Representatives, 2017)at which three of the speakers were scientists, one was a director of the Goddard Space Flight Center at NASA, and one was the Director of Acquisition and Sourcing Management for the U.S. Government Accountability Office (presumably to discuss the proposed costs). In other words, all of the speakers were experts in the subject being discussed. What becomes clear is that, in public debate and discourse about language and language education, the voices of the uninformedeven those who admit their ignorance about the evidence 2 The Re-Normalization of Language Deficit Ideologies The Re-Normalization of Language Deficit Ideologies 3

While the field of language policy and planning (LPP) has enjoyed a robust and diverse theoretica... more While the field of language policy and planning (LPP) has enjoyed a robust and diverse theoretical history, research methods have received less attention. However, we have entered a phase in the field when scholarship is more explicitly foregrounding how particular research methods can be leveraged to illuminate the multiple layers of LPP creation, interpretation, and appropriation. In this chapter, we review the conceptual and methodological development in LPP, focusing on four distinct eras of LPP research. We trace the trends and changes in LPP methodology beginning with the pioneers of the field, through a critical period that incorporated an emphasis on power, and ending with the “empirical turn,” which has been bolstered by increasingly sophisticated LPP-specific research methods. A common goal, we argue, is the interest in making connections between the “macro” and the “micro”—across diverse layers and levels, institutional contexts, and discursive scales—in an attempt to und...

Applied linguistics is an intellectual space – a transdiscipline – where theories and methods fro... more Applied linguistics is an intellectual space – a transdiscipline – where theories and methods from multiple fields intersect around language issues (Halliday 2001). Language policy, as Spolsky has pointed out, is a “paradigmatic example of applied linguistics in that it must draw on a range of academic fields to develop practical plans to modify language practices and beliefs” as well as to investigate policy processes empirically (Spolsky 2005, 31). Theories and methods are not merely imported from this range of academic fields, but refined and strategically combined in order to conduct research that is problem‐centered, or issue‐focused (Hult 2010a). Specialists in language policy and planning (LPP) have drawn upon a broad constellation of research methods that have roots in diverse disciplines such as anthropology, law, linguistics, political science, social psychology, and sociology (of language), among others, in order to conduct inquiry on problems or issues related to policy ...

Journal of Education Policy

Each chapter is written by a leading language policy expert and provides a how-to guide to planning studies as well as gathering and analyzing data

Covers a broad range of methods, making it easily accessible to and useful for transdisciplinary researchers working with language policy in any capacity.

Will serve as both a foundational methods text for graduate students and novice researchers, and a useful methodological reference for experienced LPP researchers

Includes a series of guidelines for public engagement to assist scholars as they endeavor to incorporate their work into the public policy process

Springer International Publishing eBooks, 2023

Epistemological and Theoretical Foundations in Language Policy and Planning

The Language Gap, 2021

The Encyclopedia of Applied Linguistics, 2014

Working Papers in Educational Linguistics, 2004

Journal of Education Policy, 2017

Journal of Education Policy

International Multilingual Research Journal, 2016

Hart and Risley's (1995) concept of a "word gap" (aka "language gap") is widely used to describe ... more Hart and Risley's (1995) concept of a "word gap" (aka "language gap") is widely used to describe inferior cognitive development and lower academic achievement as by-products of the language patterns of families from economically disadvantaged backgrounds. In recent decades, this line of deficit research has proliferated and caused a surge in public exposure in the media and political realms. In this discussion, we employ critical discourse analysis to illuminate intertextual links across three essential domains of "language gap" discourse: (a) academic research literature, (b) public news media, and (c) institutional narratives. The data are analyzed in terms of interdiscursive connections within and between research articles; news and magazine stories; and institutional documents from academic, political, and philanthropic organizations. Here, we demonstrate how discourses that are generated within a socially insulated "language gap" research paradigm propagate a deficit orientation of linguistic minority communities, problematically validate behavior intervention programs among particular socioeconomic groups, and reify linguistic and cultural misperceptions of traditionally marginalized groups. KEYWORDS Language gap; language and poverty; critical discourse analysis 1 We use "language gap" in quotations throughout this discussion for two reasons: (a) the research based on the original "word gap" concept is varied and includes more than just "words," and (b) to communicate that we do not support the notions underlying this concept.

TESOL Quarterly, 2007

Page 1. Slicing the Onion Ethnographically: Layers and Spaces in Multilingual Language Education ... more Page 1. Slicing the Onion Ethnographically: Layers and Spaces in Multilingual Language Education Policy and Practice NANCY H. HORNBERGER AND DAVID CASSELS JOHNSON University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States ...

Language Policy, 2014

Your article is protected by copyright and all rights are held exclusively by Springer Science +B... more Your article is protected by copyright and all rights are held exclusively by Springer Science +Business Media Dordrecht. This e-offprint is for personal use only and shall not be selfarchived in electronic repositories. If you wish to self-archive your article, please use the accepted manuscript version for posting on your own website. You may further deposit the accepted manuscript version in any repository, provided it is only made publicly available 12 months after official publication or later and provided acknowledgement is given to the original source of publication and a link is inserted to the published article on Springer's website. The link must be accompanied by the following text: "The final publication is available at link.springer.com".

The confessional tale (Van Maanen, 2011 ) -in which researchers refl ect on fi eldwork and their ... more The confessional tale (Van Maanen, 2011 ) -in which researchers refl ect on fi eldwork and their research fi ndings in ways that illuminate researcher subjectivity -is a popular genre in ethnographic writing. They are "confessional" because the authors open up about lingering concerns relating to analytical decisions, relationships in the fi eld, or the portrayal of participants. They are almost always written in the fi rst person, directing the attention away from the participants and towards the researcher. Confessional tales are important contributions in the pantheon of ethnographic writings because they reveal precisely what more objectivist accounts obfuscate -how frustrating, diffi cult, and confusing the research process can be, especially when given the benefi t of time and refl ection. I do not want this chapter to be a confessional tale but I agree with Ramanathan ( 2011 ) that it is increasingly crucial for language planning and policy (LPP) scholars to openly question the ethics that motivate our decisions, rendering transparent the typically gauzy façade that shrouds our researching-texting practices. That goal motivates this chapter.

Research Methods in Language Policy and Planning: A Practical Guide, 2015

Applied linguistics is an intellectual space—a transdiscipline—where theories and methods from mu... more Applied linguistics is an intellectual space—a transdiscipline—where theories and methods from multiple fields intersect around language issues (Halliday, 2001). Language policy, as Spolsky has pointed out, is a “paradigmatic example of applied linguistics in that it must draw on a range of academic fields to develop practical plans to modify language practices and beliefs” as well as to investigate policy processes empirically (Spolsky, 2005, p. 31. Theories and methods are not merely imported from this range of academic fields, but refined and strategically combined in order to conduct research that is problem-centered, or issue-focused (Hult, 2010). Specialists in language policy and planning (LPP) have drawn upon a broad constellation of research methods that have roots in diverse disciplines such as anthropology, law, linguistics, political science, social psychology, and sociology (of language), among others, in order to conduct inquiry on problems or issues related to policy formation, interpretation, implementation, resistance, and evaluation.

Research Methods in Language Policy and Planning: A Practical Guide, 2015

Making connections between language policy texts and discourses and language practices is charact... more Making connections between language policy texts and discourses and language practices is characterized by Hult (2010) as the perennial challenge for the field of language planning and policy (LPP). How do we show connections across the multiple domains, contexts, levels, layers, and scales of LPP activity? A related challenge is: Given that a lot of language policy research involves analyzing texts, how do we determine the meaning of a language policy text? How do we make sense of the multiple and potentially conflicting meanings, voices, and styles in a text? To deal with these challenges, discourse analytic strategies have been proffered elsewhere, including speech chain analysis (Mortimer, 2013), Nexus Analysis (Hult, this volume), Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) (Cincotta-Segi, 2009), and a combination of CDA and ethnography (Johnson, 2011). Here, I focus on a strategy within discourse analysis that employs intertextuality to analyze how texts derive meaning from other texts, which can be utilized in concert with many other research methods.

Language Policy in Education: Critical Issues, 2013

This chapter examines power within language policy processes: Who has the right, or is positioned... more This chapter examines power within language policy processes: Who has the right, or is positioned as having the right, to control the creation, interpretation, and appropriation of language policy? Critical approaches (Tollefson, 2006) have focused on the use of macro language policy to marginalize minority languages and minority language users, while ethnographic work (Hornberger & Johnson, 2007, 2011) has tended to focus on the power of agents (e.g., teachers) in language policy processes. This chapter offers a balance between these two approaches. Although the ability of macro policies and discourses to hegemonically constrain language use in schools and communities is an accepted tenet within the field, how this works is not always well documented. What is required is a multi-layered analysis, focusing in particular on how language policies are interpreted in different ways across different contexts, with appropriation influenced by local policies, discourses, and ideologies.

The Routledge Handbook of Educational Linguistics, 2015

This chapter offers an overview of the diverse methods incorporated in language planning and poli... more This chapter offers an overview of the diverse methods incorporated in language planning and policy (LPP) research. We begin with a historical overview of LPP research methods and approaches that have evolved over time. We pay particular attention to newer developments that demonstrate an increasingly robust conceptualization of LPP, in general, and methods of data collection and analysis in particular. Finally, this chapter explores current conceptual and methodological debates that will challenge the field for the foreseeable future.

The Encyclopedia of Applied Linguistics, 2014

Educational language policy—variously referred to as language education policy, language-in-educa... more Educational language policy—variously referred to as language education policy, language-in-education policy, and language policy in education (see discussion in
Menken & García, 2010)—refers to a focus on educational contexts within language policy and planning (LPP) research, primarily in K-12 settings, but might also include informal
educational activities and socialization in homes and communities. This work focuses on how language policy creation, interpretation, and appropriation in schools impact
educational processes and pedagogy, with particular attention to opportunity for minority
and Indigenous language users. While language policies impact the form, function, use, or acquisition of language more generally, educational language policies have been defined as “the official and unofficial policies that are created across multiple layers and institutional contexts (from national organizations to classrooms) that impact language use and education in schools” (Johnson, 2013, p. 77). “Policy” has traditionally been thought of as
something that governing entities enact as a top-down regulation. However, educational language policy research includes analyses of both official and unofficial policy texts and discourses and the social beliefs and practices that shape how they are created, interpreted, and appropriated.

Educational Linguistics in Practice: Applying the Global Locally and the Local Globally , 2011

Ethnography and Language Policy , 2011

Negotiating Language Policies in Schools: Educators as Policymakers, 2010

Educators in the United States who want to promote bilingualism face many challenges including En... more Educators in the United States who want to promote bilingualism face many challenges including English-focused legislation on the federal and state level and widespread confusion, conflict, and controversy about bilingual education. Not only have antibilingual education initiatives passed in California, Arizona, and Massachusetts but also the current federal educational policy-the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB)-ignores the value of bilingualism and bilingual education and instead focuses on English language acquisition. Despite this focus on English, we argue that School District language policy and empowered educators, should and can promote bilingualism. Our focus is on the power of administrators, teachers, and action-oriented researchers working collaboratively to develop research-based, pedagogically sound, and contextually appropriate language policies and programs for bilingual learners.

The notion that lower and working-class youth suffer from linguistic deficits is not a new idea. ... more The notion that lower and working-class youth suffer from linguistic deficits is not a new idea. Bereiter and Engelmann (1966) and Bernstein (1971) argued that the language in lower class homes was deficient, which caused verbal and potentially even psychological deprivation in children. In his groundbreaking research, Labov (1972) responded with a
scathing and dismantling critique, utilizing sociolinguistic tools to explain why interpretations of “deficits” were based in misunderstandings of linguistics and the human capacity for language. Nevertheless, propelled in part by Hart and Risley’s (1995) influential book, a new generation of deficit research has emerged, which re-conceptualizes language deprivation as “language gaps” or “word gaps”.
Like earlier studies, linguists are not conducting this new body of research, and so many of the same problems remain. Yet, despite these shortcomings, the idea that lower-class kids suffer from some language gap is rapidly gaining influence. In this paper, I examine this new generation of language gap research and its impact on educational policy and practice. I argue that this is a critical time for (socio)linguists and language policy scholars to leverage their disciplinary skills to push back against new conceptualizations of linguistic deficits, which continue to marginalize lower-class youth and demonize their parents.

The New Latino Diaspora is a demographic phenomenon that describes the immigration of Latinos fro... more The New Latino Diaspora is a demographic phenomenon that describes the immigration of Latinos from across Latin America to small cities and towns in the United States, which have historically not been popular destinations for Spanish speakers. As a result of this demographic shift, Iowa has experienced a 452% increase in its population of English learners (ELs) in public schools over the past 20 years. Thus, communities throughout Iowa (and the rest of the New Latino Diaspora) have struggled to put a support network in place for newcomers, including educational programs that provide educational opportunity for non-native English speakers. The purpose of this study was to examine how Iowa's educational language policy has adapted to growing numbers of ELs. Findings suggest that policymakers and educators alike have struggled to develop coherent plans for accommodating native Spanish speakers and leverage resources to enact what plans exist. While there is support at the state-level for a diversity of educational programs, including English as a second language (ESL) and bilingual education, there is very little guidance or financial support for districts. In other words, while educators have a lot of agency in determining how to educate non-native English speakers and some very industrious individuals have opened dual language schools, a more robust (funded) structure for language education is needed. We argue that the new language ecology is a linguistic and cultural resource, for both non-native English speakers and students who are currently English monolingual. Our results have implications for the future of linguistic accommodation and educational opportunity for Latinos around the Midwest.