Francis M. Hult | University of Maryland Baltimore County (original) (raw)

Books by Francis M. Hult

This volume provides a state-of-the-art snapshot of language and education research and demonstra... more This volume provides a state-of-the-art snapshot of language and education research and demonstrates ways in which local and global processes are intertwined with language learning, use, and policies. Chapters present new research and cutting-edge syntheses addressing current theoretical and methodological issues in researching equity, access, and multilingual education. Organized around three central themes --- bilingual education and bilingualism, the continua of biliteracy, and policy and planning for linguistic diversity in education --- the volume reflects the holistic and dynamic perspective on language (in) education that is the hallmark of educational linguistics as a field.

The Handbook of Educational Linguistics is a dynamic, scientifically grounded overview revealing... more The Handbook of Educational Linguistics is a dynamic, scientifically grounded overview revealing the complexity of this growing field while remaining accessible for students, researchers, language educators, curriculum developers, and educational policy makers.

-A single volume overview of educational linguistics, written by leading specialists in its many relevant fields

-Takes into account the diverse theoretical foundations, core themes, major findings, and practical applications of educational linguistics

-Highlights the multidisciplinary reach of educational linguistics

-Reflects the complexity of this growing field, whilst remaining accessible to a wide audience

In the sociopolitics of language, sometimes yesterday’s solution is tomorrow’s problem. This vol... more In the sociopolitics of language, sometimes yesterday’s solution is tomorrow’s problem. This volume examines the evolving nature of language acquisition planning through a collection of papers that consider how decisions about language learning and teaching are mediated by a confluence of psychological, ideological, and historical forces. The first two parts of the volume feature empirical studies of formal and informal education across the lifespan and around the globe. Case studies map the agents, resources, and attitudes needed for creating moments and spaces for language learning that may, at times, collide with wider beliefs and policies that privilege some languages over others. The third part of the volume is devoted to conceptual contributions that take up theoretical issues related to epistemological and conceptual challenges for language acquisition planning. These contributions reflect on the full spectrum of social and cognitive factors that intersect with the planning of language teaching and learning including ethnic and racial power relations, historically situated political systems, language ideologies, community language socialization, relationships among stakeholders in communities and schools, interpersonal interaction, and intrapersonal development. In all, the volume demonstrates the multifaceted and socially situated nature of language acquisition planning.

Papers by Francis M. Hult

Researching Multilingualism: Critical and Ethnographic Perspectives

In this chapter, I take up nexus analysis, an ethnographic sociolinguistic approach to the study... more In this chapter, I take up nexus analysis, an ethnographic sociolinguistic approach to the study of discursive flows across scales, and its applicability to educational linguistics research. I begin with a brief discussion that situates multidimensional inquiry in educational linguistics, highlighting the conceptual relevance of scales. Then, turning to nexus analysis, I provide an exposition of some of its fundamental principles and how they facilitate scalar research. Next, I discuss how these principles allow nexus analysis to be used as a meta-methodology to guide the selection and integration of multiple methods for data collection and analysis, since multi-method research is often called for in educational linguistics. Finally, I reflect on how the principled yet flexible nature of nexus analysis makes it useful as a guide to research design in educational linguistics.

Language, Culture and Curriculum

The Swedish educational policy for upper secondary English, which took effect in 2011 and adopts ... more The Swedish educational policy for upper secondary English, which took effect in 2011 and adopts a globalized perspective on language, is explored with respect to how skills and awareness related to local, national, and international roles of English are represented in policy documents. A discourse analytic approach to language policy is used to offer a critical reading of the national syllabus for English, the accompanying guide and commentary on the syllabus, and the general upper secondary curriculum. Analysis, informed by the work of Robert Phillipson, shows how English is represented with respect to the specific functions it serves as a lingua cultura (a language indexing socially situated value systems), a lingua emotiva (a language of popular culture and entertainment), a lingua academica (a language of research, teaching, and learning), a lingua economica (a language of market forces and globalization), and a lingua tyrannosaura (a language of power or threat). The findings show that sociocultural and sociopolitical dimensions are identified in the syllabus for English to a greater extent than academic and professional/vocational dimensions of English which are treated in more detail in the general upper secondary curriculum and that the relationship between plurilingualism and English is minimally addressed but nascent.

Discourse and Education

What is today recognized as a discursive approach to policy might appear to be a fashionable inno... more What is today recognized as a discursive approach to policy might appear to be a fashionable innovation; however, it has been cultivated over time as the field of language planning and policy (LPP) has matured. This contribution traces the early foundations of an approach to LPP that focuses on the interplay between human agency and societally circulating (language) ideologies. It examines work that has focused on national policies as well as research focused on policy in practice, including how language practices can be understood as de facto language policy. Challenges related to making connections between policy and practice are also discussed. Finally, future prospects for researching language policy with a discourse analytic orientation are considered.

Modern Language Journal

As applied linguistics becomes increasingly diverse in the topics, methods, and theories within i... more As applied linguistics becomes increasingly diverse in the topics, methods, and theories within its scope, the field has more potential than ever to reach a truly holistic and integrated understanding of language development and meaning-making across the lifespan. Perhaps the greatest challenge to attaining this goal is the building of knowledge in parallel across respective areas of specialization without a mechanism for connecting the parts to form a whole. As individual scholars, we have deep insight into the components on which we focus. As a field, our grasp of how the components form a system is only beginning to emerge. Building upon work by the Douglas Fir Group, which proposes a transdisciplinary approach to thinking about the multidimensional nature of language development, I put forward nexus analysis as a useful mechanism to explain connections among components of the system. Nexus analysis, originally developed by Ron Scollon and Suzie Wong Scollon, is a conceptual orientation that is specifically designed to identify and map connections. I present the core elements of nexus analysis, rendering them in broad strokes, with a focus on how they might serve generally as a way to conceptualize the processes through different dimensions of language teaching and learning integrate. I posit ways in which nexus analysis, with its emphasis on social action and the factors that mediate it, can facilitate links across cognitive and sociocultural perspectives on language development.

Language Problems and Language Planning

The function of the public service broadcasting company Sveriges Television (Swedish Television) ... more The function of the public service broadcasting company Sveriges Television (Swedish Television) as a component of the Swedish ecology of language planning and policy is examined. Analysis of recent policy documents as well as data about television programming illuminates how television serves as a language planning mechanism. It is shown that television is explicitly framed as a tool for status planning through regulations about the relative positions of different languages in this domain. The management of content in Swedish, national minority languages, and other languages, in turn, suggests that Sveriges Television is also implicitly engaged in discourse planning that (re)produces the current linguistic hierarchy in Sweden through the representation of multilingualism.

Oxford Handbook of Language Policy and Planning

The present chapter provides an overview of the relationship between language policy and planning... more The present chapter provides an overview of the relationship between language policy and planning (LPP) and linguistic landscapes (LL), with illustrations from studies that have examined them together. I begin with a brief exposition of key LL principles and their relevance for LPP. I then turn to a discussion of direct connections between the two, when there is explicit LPP about LL, followed by various ways in which there are also indirect connections. Finally, I reflect on considerations for future research.

Bilingual Review

In 1984, Richard Ruiz set forth three orientations to language planning: language as problem, lan... more In 1984, Richard Ruiz set forth three orientations to language planning: language as problem, language as right, and language as resource. Since that time, the orientations have only become more powerful, rising to the level of paradigm in the field of language policy and planning (LPP). In this paper, we revisit Ruiz's orientations. By drawing upon Ruiz's own work as well as the work of other scholars who have been inspired by him, we unpack the ideas aligned with each orientation in order to reflect upon the application of the three orientations as a heuristic for LPP. In contrast to critiques that the three orientations do not map onto the political reality of policy situations, we argue that they are analytically useful as both etic concepts that can be used by researchers to guide deductive analysis about the values that emerge from messy policy debate and negotiation and as (latent) emic concepts in situations when people express their beliefs about language.

ELT Journal

Teachers have the potential to be active agents in language policy and planning (LPP) processes w... more Teachers have the potential to be active agents in language policy and planning (LPP) processes when designing lessons or managing linguistic resources in their classrooms. A key consideration, then, is to guide pre-service educators towards an understanding of LPP principles and how they can be applied in practice. The present study documents an interactive LPP roleplay project that was designed to raise awareness among pre-service teachers about how they can engage with policy interpretation and negotiation. The project took place in the context of a sociolinguistics course within an English teacher education program. Following the roleplay, pre-service teachers wrote reflective journals which were analysed inductively in order to investigate how they experienced the roleplay with respect to professional development. Findings show that roleplay helped them see the relevance of policy to educational practice and also provided hands-on experience with the challenges and benefits of negotiating policy interpretations with colleagues.

Language in Education: Social Implications

When hearing the word ‘policy’ many people think first of lawmakers who draft and pass legislatio... more When hearing the word ‘policy’ many people think first of lawmakers who draft and pass legislation and politicians who espouse platforms on various social issues, not teachers. Even with respect to educational policy, one might immediately call to mind national secretaries or ministers of education rather than educators. Teachers, however, are at the front line of language policy since the classroom is a key site where policies become action. Moreover, teachers make decisions every day that amount to developing language policies for their classrooms; for example, teachers decide which language(s) to use during instruction, which language(s) to encourage when students speak to each other, what words are taboo, etc. Policy, then, is not just an area that lawmakers and politicians should care about. In fact, a range of individuals are involved in making, interpreting, and implementing educational language policy other than legislators and education ministers: teachers, administrators, parents, textbook publishers, curriculum developers, and the list goes on. This chapter offers a glimpse into language policy with a particular focus on its relevance for educators. First, major considerations for language planning related to the domain of education are introduced. Then, I explore the different scales of society, ranging from governments to schools and classrooms, where educational policy and planning is shaped. Finally, the impact and relevance of language policy on educational settings is discussed with special attention to what teachers need to know.

Encyclopedia of Applied Linguistics

The ecology of language has its foundation in the work of sociolinguists and linguistic anthropol... more The ecology of language has its foundation in the work of sociolinguists and linguistic anthropologists in the 1950s and early 1960s. Since the late 20th century, the ecology of language, sometimes known as “ecolinguistics” or “language ecology,” has become an umbrella term for a wide range of perspectives that seek to make connections between language and environment: using concepts related to ecology to understand social environments for multilingualism, analyzing discourses of environment and environmentalism, and describing relationships between biological and cultural diversity. While each of these perspectives is useful in its own way for understanding aspects of language in society, and all of them overlap in meaningful ways, the focus here is on the first perspective since it is arguably the most widely used with respect to the study of language (in) education. In this regard, the ecology of language is a conceptual orientation to critical thinking about multilingualism in and around teaching and learning. From this point of view, the ecology of language highlights the importance of being aware of the social and political environment in which language learning and teaching takes place. This includes paying attention to how language education relates to large-scale linguistic ecosystems like regions, countries, and cities as well as to small scales like communities, schools, classrooms, and interpersonal interactions. This text examines foundations, controversies, major contributions, and future directions in ecological perspectives on multilingual education.

Directions and Prospects for Educational Linguistics

This chapter considers the intellectual benefits and challenges of transdisciplinarity for educat... more This chapter considers the intellectual benefits and challenges of transdisciplinarity for educational linguistics. Building on earlier work about the nature of educational linguistics, Halliday's notion of theme in transdisciplines is expanded upon. The concept of theme is presented as foundational for the problem-oriented nature of educational linguistics. The application of a thematic orientation is then set forth as a way in which to approach the topics encompassed by the field. Finally, practical implications for doing thematic research, along with key benefits and potential pitfalls, are examined.

International Journal of Multilingualism, 2019

A tailor shop located in Singapore’s Chinatown is explored as a case of creative linguistic marke... more A tailor shop located in Singapore’s Chinatown is explored as a case of creative linguistic marketing practice, examining how such practice can be understood in relation to the interaction of local and global forces on the linguistic landscape. The shop uses a range of Scandinavian semiotic resources (language and artefacts) which for us, coming upon the shop, seemed unexpected or, using Sweetland’s term, spectacular. Following in the spirit of linguistic landscape analysis, we investigate one particular dimension of the visual semiosis of this shop, namely the signage. Drawing upon photographic and interview data, we trace the history of this semiosis, charting how its purpose and meaning has changed over time. What emerges from our study is that what seems idiosyncratic to researchers can have rich local meaning in context. What appears to be an outlier on the linguistic landscape can offer insight into situated experiences. In this light, our study of a shop and its semiotic landscape contributes to an understanding of the changing sociolinguistic patterns and creativity that occur in spaces like Singapore, and that reflect not just contemporary but also previous eras of globalisation and contact across historical, political and cultural borders.

Other by Francis M. Hult

LPREN Brief

Language policy and planning center on how multilingualism is managed in society. Language-in-edu... more Language policy and planning center on how multilingualism is managed in society. Language-in-education planning is a specific type of language policy and planning that focuses on how decisions are made with respect to which language(s) and modalities are used for teaching and learning within education. Special attention is paid to understanding how decisions are made about the language abilities students need (in various languages) in order to participate in society and, in turn, how they can achieve those abilities. All planning in deaf education is, in essence, related to language planning since issues of modality in instruction are of central concern. In this way, principles of language planning and policy can inform the work of all professionals involved in various aspects of deaf education.