This ethnographic study investigates the language ecology of Urumchi, Xinjiang with a focus on contextual factors as related to the language practices of Uyghur young adults. The thesis explores how the migration and settlement of Han Chinese, coupled with the expansion of Mandarin (and corresponding marginalization of Uyghur and other ethnic minority languages) in the Xinjiang education system has resulted in a punctuation of the linguistic equilibrium of the province. This study demonstrates how socio-political forces contribute to the devaluation of minority linguistic capital in a linguistic market, and how a language policy in the domestic field, as the primary structuring structure, may be utilized to stabilize diglossia and maintain the intergenerational transmission of a minority language. Participant observation, interview and documentary data were collected over an 18-month period of fieldwork in Urumchi. The analysis of interview data from 26 Uyghur adults, defined as early to mid-twenty years of age, who had been educated in Mandarin classes (mínkăohàn), Uyghur classes (mínkăomín), and bilingual Mandarin-Uyghur classes (shuāngyǔ) or a combination of these programs yielded four themes: context and language investments; expected returns; language choice; and linguistic anxiety. The data suggests a high degree of ambivalence among Uyghur young adults toward Mandarin; this form of cultural capital is conceived of as requisite for participation in the Han Chinese dominated economy, yet of a colonial nature and damaging to the demarcation of Uyghur social identity. Case study narratives are presented on four Uyghur young adults: one female educated in Mandarin classes (mínkăohàn); one male educated in Mandarin classes (mínkăohàn); one female educated in Uyghur primary and Mandarin-Uyghur secondary classes (mínkăomín/shuāngyǔ); and one male educated in Uyghur primary and Mandarin-Uyghur secondary classes (mínkăomín/shuāngyǔ). Each case study consultant completed a 94-item expressive vocabulary assessment. The data suggests that the expansion of Mandarin as the language of instruction in the Xinjiang education system has resulted in unstable diglossia among Uyghur communities, evidenced by Uyghur language attrition and Mandarin-Uyghur code-switching. Findings emphasize contextual factors that are contributing to the disruption of the intergenerational transmission of Uyghur and actions to support the vitality of this cultural heritage. / text

This thesis presents a case study, exploring a Tibetan boarding class in inland China from a Tibetan learner’s perspective. As one of a number of forms of Chinese minority education, Tibetan boarding schools/classes are little known internationally (Wang & Zhou, 2003). To respond to the need for more research in this area, this case study gives voice to a Tibetan learner who experienced the boarding class. An attendee of a Tibetan boarding class in Jiahe served as the particular “case” in this study. Underpinned by a theoretical framework of language ecology, this study centers on a learner, considers the impacts of his referential contexts, and explores a particular Tibetan boarding class as an example of Chinese minority education in practice. Data collected through interviews, observations, and document review reveal that language learners constantly negotiate with multiple identities and interact with their referential contexts. Meanwhile, the multilayered and multifaceted referential contexts play an influential role in learners’ experiences and learning outcomes. Tibetan Education, as exemplified by the Tibetan boarding class, facilitates and encourages minority learners to participate in the mainstream education and the majority cultural practice. However, Tibetan education also impedes the maintenance and preservation of their indigenous languages. In conclusion, Chinese minority education endeavors to ensure that various ethnic and linguistic learners have educational opportunities and qualities to develop individuals’ ability; to strengthen their competence; to upgrade their social, educational, and economic situations; and to invest in what they define as worthwhile and valuable in a way that they view as effective. The present study is informed by multicultural education, a notion grounded and well studied in North American discourse. In addition, suggestions for further improvement of Tibetan boarding classes are also discussed. Yet in view of the variations between North American discourse and Chinese context, the notion of multicultural education can not be entirely applied to Chinese minority education. Therefore, future studies could aim to develop theories grounded in Chinese minority education context. / February 2008

This thesis presents a case study, exploring a Tibetan boarding class in inland China from a Tibetan learner’s perspective. As one of a number of forms of Chinese minority education, Tibetan boarding schools/classes are little known internationally (Wang & Zhou, 2003). To respond to the need for more research in this area, this case study gives voice to a Tibetan learner who experienced the boarding class. An attendee of a Tibetan boarding class in Jiahe served as the particular “case” in this study. Underpinned by a theoretical framework of language ecology, this study centers on a learner, considers the impacts of his referential contexts, and explores a particular Tibetan boarding class as an example of Chinese minority education in practice. Data collected through interviews, observations, and document review reveal that language learners constantly negotiate with multiple identities and interact with their referential contexts. Meanwhile, the multilayered and multifaceted referential contexts play an influential role in learners’ experiences and learning outcomes. Tibetan Education, as exemplified by the Tibetan boarding class, facilitates and encourages minority learners to participate in the mainstream education and the majority cultural practice. However, Tibetan education also impedes the maintenance and preservation of their indigenous languages. In conclusion, Chinese minority education endeavors to ensure that various ethnic and linguistic learners have educational opportunities and qualities to develop individuals’ ability; to strengthen their competence; to upgrade their social, educational, and economic situations; and to invest in what they define as worthwhile and valuable in a way that they view as effective. The present study is informed by multicultural education, a notion grounded and well studied in North American discourse. In addition, suggestions for further improvement of Tibetan boarding classes are also discussed. Yet in view of the variations between North American discourse and Chinese context, the notion of multicultural education can not be entirely applied to Chinese minority education. Therefore, future studies could aim to develop theories grounded in Chinese minority education context.

This thesis presents a case study, exploring a Tibetan boarding class in inland China from a Tibetan learner’s perspective. As one of a number of forms of Chinese minority education, Tibetan boarding schools/classes are little known internationally (Wang & Zhou, 2003). To respond to the need for more research in this area, this case study gives voice to a Tibetan learner who experienced the boarding class. An attendee of a Tibetan boarding class in Jiahe served as the particular “case” in this study. Underpinned by a theoretical framework of language ecology, this study centers on a learner, considers the impacts of his referential contexts, and explores a particular Tibetan boarding class as an example of Chinese minority education in practice. Data collected through interviews, observations, and document review reveal that language learners constantly negotiate with multiple identities and interact with their referential contexts. Meanwhile, the multilayered and multifaceted referential contexts play an influential role in learners’ experiences and learning outcomes. Tibetan Education, as exemplified by the Tibetan boarding class, facilitates and encourages minority learners to participate in the mainstream education and the majority cultural practice. However, Tibetan education also impedes the maintenance and preservation of their indigenous languages. In conclusion, Chinese minority education endeavors to ensure that various ethnic and linguistic learners have educational opportunities and qualities to develop individuals’ ability; to strengthen their competence; to upgrade their social, educational, and economic situations; and to invest in what they define as worthwhile and valuable in a way that they view as effective. The present study is informed by multicultural education, a notion grounded and well studied in North American discourse. In addition, suggestions for further improvement of Tibetan boarding classes are also discussed. Yet in view of the variations between North American discourse and Chinese context, the notion of multicultural education can not be entirely applied to Chinese minority education. Therefore, future studies could aim to develop theories grounded in Chinese minority education context.

No description available.

This dissertation discusses a case study of the pedagogical uses of social media as part of a larger ecological framework for language learning and critical discourse studies that was conducted during the spring 2014 semester of intermediate Italian. It was organized to balance postmodern theories with metaphors drawn from quantum physics. Every aspect of the course, and each interaction outside of class (including multimodal online resources), avoided the cause-and-effect approach often found in task-based and computer assisted language learning. Second language learners adapted to the paradoxical engagement of language and identity as simultaneous process and product, while reducing neither to fiction. The study broadly adapted a socio-cognitive-ecological approach (Larsen-Freeman, 2012) to shift the focus from differences in technology or method to the participants' perception of human possibilities through the affordances of technology. Participants were trained to navigate dynamic levels of ambiguity and possibilities of meaning while facing the static requirement by the academic institution to pass quizzes and exams, and complete homework assignments on the basis of a 'correct' answer. Recent studies in quantum physics and consciousness provided an elegant model that allows for the coexistence of seeming opposites. Agency, which was central to the participants' experience of discovery and play with variants within the elusive 'standard', allowed for conformity to, or deviation from, the collective. Data collection and analysis adapted 'system analysis' so that interpretation was within a more contextualized understanding of the emergence of complex systems resulting from self-organization, self-selection and co-evolutionary symbiosis. Adaptive teaching was used to meet the needs of the participants by beginning with outcomes and then working backward to explore why certain approaches, tools and tasks were, or were not, effective. The insights gleaned from the study demonstrate that higher levels of critical L2 discursive analysis enhanced by human-machine interactions do not require relegation to upper level division SLA courses. The participants' self-selected samples of their work reveal a story that is complex, dynamic and very human, told through the voices of those most often ignored in the processes of language planning, assessment and curriculum development.

<p>The principle aim of this thesis is to investigate all the challenges and opportunities/possibilities involved in realising the implementation of the official Western Cape Language Policy (finalised in 2002). These challenges and opportunities/possibilities were investigated within various structures of the Western Cape Province of South Africa&rsquo / s civil service environment in six major multilingual towns in the Western Cape. The historical and political context leading to the creation of this policy is provided in the following three paragraphs. Following the demise of Apartheid with South Africa&rsquo / s first democratic elections in 1994, the New South Africa brought with it amongst other things the following changes: a new Constitution / new legislation / access and freedom within a system of inclusion / the creation of new provinces / the constitutional breakdown of social, geographical and linguistic barriers / the subsequent migration to different towns and cities of people speaking different languages and their integration there / the creation of district and regional municipalities / freedom of the press. All of these introduced a whole new platform of language interaction and association and therefore general communication (Constitution of the RSA, 1996). In addition, in contrast to the Apartheid policy of only two official languages &ndash / English and Afrikaans &ndash / eleven languages were declared official languages of the state. The declaration of 11 official languages in 1996 (English, Afrikaans, isiZulu, isiXhosa, Sesotho, Sepedi, Setswana, Tshivenda, isiNdebele, siSwati and Xitsonga) was an integral part of highlighting multilingualism in the newly designated nine provinces of SA. Each of the nine provinces &ndash / the Western Cape, Eastern Cape, Northern Cape, Gauteng, the Northwest Province, Northern Province (now called Limpopo), Mpumalanga, the Free State and Kwazulu-Natal - had to, in consultation with different provincial stakeholders, draft language policies according to the National Language Framework. In the Western Cape Province, three languages were identified as dominant, namely Afrikaans, isiXhosa and English. The Western Cape Language Policy (WCLP) was consequently drafted by the Western Cape Language Committee (WCLC), a statutory body and a sub-committee of the Pan South African Language Board (PanSALB), after the Westen Cape Provincial Languages Act, Act 31 of 1998, was accepted by Parliament in 1998. This WCLP was the first provincial language policy to be completed in the New SA. The policy was accepted and the draft was ready for implementation by 2002. This thesis presents a critical overview of previous and current strategies being used by all provincial government departments in the implementation of the WCLP. This includes a sample of general public knowledge of the existence of the terms and meaning of the WCLP, different outcomes of studies and language-related projects done by the WCLC, PanSALB, DCAS and the Central Language Unit (CLU) since 2000. It also focuses on the role that different private and public language implementation agencies are playing, or not, in their communication with the multilingual civil society of the Western Cape. Projections for and challenges facing the implementation of the WCLP since its acceptance in the Western Cape Provincial Parliament (WCPP) in 2004 were also researched carefully, together with an analysis of research already conducted on behalf of the provincial government. Document analysis therefore forms a core part of this methodology, together with fieldwork research conducted in six selected major multilingual towns of the Western Cape. This was done in order to explore the challenges experienced by Afrikaans-, isiXhosa- and English-speaking people at grassroots level, since they needed to become more aware of their language rights as set out in the WCLP. Drawing on a theoretical and conceptual framework based on studies in Language and Power Relations, specifically studies on the role of Language Ideologies, Linguistic Citizenship, Agency and Voice and Language Ecology on effective Language Planning, Policy and Implementation, the thesis presents, through its document analysis, quantitative and qualitative data, an analysis of the limited or failed implementation of the WCLP in both government departments as well as the civilian populations in six selected multilingual towns of the Western Cape. This was achieved by examining actual language practices at particular language policy implementation agencies such as the post office, the police station, the high school, households, the municipal office, the day hospital and the clinic in each of these towns. The thesis gathers together all this evidence to prove that the implementation of the WCLP has been hampered by a range of factors such as wide-spread ignorance of the policy, the dominance of particular languages in the province over others, power relations within government structures and relatively inflexible language ideologies held by those charged with policy implementation at different levels. It concludes by providing a number of practical recommendations on how more effective implementation can be achieved.</p>

<p>The principle aim of this thesis is to investigate all the challenges and opportunities/possibilities involved in realising the implementation of the official Western Cape Language Policy (finalised in 2002). These challenges and opportunities/possibilities were investigated within various structures of the Western Cape Province of South Africa&rsquo / s civil service environment in six major multilingual towns in the Western Cape. The historical and political context leading to the creation of this policy is provided in the following three paragraphs. Following the demise of Apartheid with South Africa&rsquo / s first democratic elections in 1994, the New South Africa brought with it amongst other things the following changes: a new Constitution / new legislation / access and freedom within a system of inclusion / the creation of new provinces / the constitutional breakdown of social, geographical and linguistic barriers / the subsequent migration to different towns and cities of people speaking different languages and their integration there / the creation of district and regional municipalities / freedom of the press. All of these introduced a whole new platform of language interaction and association and therefore general communication (Constitution of the RSA, 1996). In addition, in contrast to the Apartheid policy of only two official languages &ndash / English and Afrikaans &ndash / eleven languages were declared official languages of the state. The declaration of 11 official languages in 1996 (English, Afrikaans, isiZulu, isiXhosa, Sesotho, Sepedi, Setswana, Tshivenda, isiNdebele, siSwati and Xitsonga) was an integral part of highlighting multilingualism in the newly designated nine provinces of SA. Each of the nine provinces &ndash / the Western Cape, Eastern Cape, Northern Cape, Gauteng, the Northwest Province, Northern Province (now called Limpopo), Mpumalanga, the Free State and Kwazulu-Natal - had to, in consultation with different provincial stakeholders, draft language policies according to the National Language Framework. In the Western Cape Province, three languages were identified as dominant, namely Afrikaans, isiXhosa and English. The Western Cape Language Policy (WCLP) was consequently drafted by the Western Cape Language Committee (WCLC), a statutory body and a sub-committee of the Pan South African Language Board (PanSALB), after the Westen Cape Provincial Languages Act, Act 31 of 1998, was accepted by Parliament in 1998. This WCLP was the first provincial language policy to be completed in the New SA. The policy was accepted and the draft was ready for implementation by 2002. This thesis presents a critical overview of previous and current strategies being used by all provincial government departments in the implementation of the WCLP. This includes a sample of general public knowledge of the existence of the terms and meaning of the WCLP, different outcomes of studies and language-related projects done by the WCLC, PanSALB, DCAS and the Central Language Unit (CLU) since 2000. It also focuses on the role that different private and public language implementation agencies are playing, or not, in their communication with the multilingual civil society of the Western Cape. Projections for and challenges facing the implementation of the WCLP since its acceptance in the Western Cape Provincial Parliament (WCPP) in 2004 were also researched carefully, together with an analysis of research already conducted on behalf of the provincial government. Document analysis therefore forms a core part of this methodology, together with fieldwork research conducted in six selected major multilingual towns of the Western Cape. This was done in order to explore the challenges experienced by Afrikaans-, isiXhosa- and English-speaking people at grassroots level, since they needed to become more aware of their language rights as set out in the WCLP. Drawing on a theoretical and conceptual framework based on studies in Language and Power Relations, specifically studies on the role of Language Ideologies, Linguistic Citizenship, Agency and Voice and Language Ecology on effective Language Planning, Policy and Implementation, the thesis presents, through its document analysis, quantitative and qualitative data, an analysis of the limited or failed implementation of the WCLP in both government departments as well as the civilian populations in six selected multilingual towns of the Western Cape. This was achieved by examining actual language practices at particular language policy implementation agencies such as the post office, the police station, the high school, households, the municipal office, the day hospital and the clinic in each of these towns. The thesis gathers together all this evidence to prove that the implementation of the WCLP has been hampered by a range of factors such as wide-spread ignorance of the policy, the dominance of particular languages in the province over others, power relations within government structures and relatively inflexible language ideologies held by those charged with policy implementation at different levels. It concludes by providing a number of practical recommendations on how more effective implementation can be achieved.</p>

'Language Ecology and Language Planning in Chiang Rai, Thailand' had three main aims: to study the language ecology and sub-ecologies of Chiang Rai province, to study the factors and forces that affect the language ecology, and to study language plans and language policies in Chiang Rai. This study employed two main frameworks: theoretical and methodological framework. The theoretical construct is based on a parameter rich linguistic theory, Ecolinguistics, where concepts and parameters from linguistics and non-linguistics disciplines are employed. The parameter rich theory assists immensely in the understanding of language as it believes that language is interconnected with the world and the world with language. The study was conducted using ethnography as the methodological framework due to it allowing a wide array of data collection methods which include document studies, observation, participant observation, recorded and unrecorded interviews, personal communications and field notes. Moreover, ethnography provided an opportunity to reflect on the researcher's multiple identities and in varying degrees as insider and outsider. Data collection was conducted in Chiang Rai and six villages in three districts; two districts in the Greater Mae Khong Subregion (G1-IS) area namely Chiang Khong and Chiang Saen; and one district in a special economic border zone area Maesai district. The districts were chosen based on economic influences while the six villages were randomly selected. The villages studied were Wiang Mok and Huay Kok villages in Chiang Khong district; Sop Ruak and Santhaat villages in Chiang Saen province; and Phamee and Payaang Chum in Maesai district. Data were also collected from stakeholders concerned in language planning namely government and nongovernment organizations. There were two main findings in accordance with the research aims. Firstly, it was found that the language ecology and sub-ecologies of Chiang Rai province and the villages were dynamic and multiplex. The dynamics and complexities of the ecology and sub-ecologies wee dependent on numerous interactions of different factors and forces. The factors were social educational, geographical, economic, and political/geopolitical. There were four main levels of forces: world level, national level, regional/provincial level, and home level. The interaction of forces could be positive, negative or neutral to the health of the language ecology. Secondly, with regards to language planning and policy, it was found that there was no explicit minority language policy or planning in Thailand. Two types of language policy were found in Chiang Rai and Thailand: a top-down policy and quasi-bottom up policy. Both policies were education related. The top-down policies were comprised of an implicit national language policy and an explicit foreign language policy, especially for English and Chinese. The quasi-bottom up policy was the only local policy found in Chiang Rai where a Chinese language curriculum was developed at the local level but with a national economic related strategic vision. The study also suggested that future language planning and policies in Thailand should take into account the findings of language ecology and sub-ecologies in Chiang Rai. Language plans should recognise the effect of those factors and forces that will affect other languages within the same ecology. / http://proxy.library.adelaide.edu.au/login?url= http://library.adelaide.edu.au/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=1375070 / Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Adelaide, School of Humanities, 2009

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / The principle aim of this thesis is to investigate all the challenges and opportunities/possibilities involved in realising the implementation of the official Western Cape Language Policy (finalised in 2002). These challenges and opportunities/possibilities were investigated within various structures of the Western Cape Province of South Africa’s civil service environment in six major multilingual towns in the Western Cape. The historical and political context leading to the creation of this policy is provided in the following three paragraphs. Following the demise of Apartheid with South Africa’s first democratic elections in 1994, the New South Africa brought with it amongst other things the following changes: a new Constitution; new legislation; access and freedom within a system of inclusion; the creation of new provinces; the constitutional breakdown of social, geographical and linguistic barriers; the subsequent migration to different towns and cities of people speaking different languages and their integration there; the creation of district and regional municipalities; freedom of the press. All of these introduced a whole new platform of language interaction and association and therefore general communication (Constitution of the RSA, 1996). In addition, in contrast to the Apartheid policy of only two official languages – English and Afrikaans – eleven languages were declared official languages of the state. The declaration of 11 official languages in 1996 (English, Afrikaans, isiZulu, isiXhosa, Sesotho, Sepedi, Setswana, Tshivenda, isiNdebele, siSwati and Xitsonga) was an integral part of highlighting multilingualism in the newly designated nine provinces of SA. Each of the nine provinces – the Western Cape, Eastern Cape, Northern Cape, Gauteng, the Northwest Province, Northern Province (now called Limpopo), Mpumalanga, the Free State and Kwazulu-Natal - had to, in consultation with different provincial stakeholders, draft language policies according to the National Language Framework. In the Western Cape Province, three languages were identified as dominant, namely Afrikaans, isiXhosa and English. The Western Cape Language Policy (WCLP) was consequently drafted by the Western Cape Language Committee (WCLC), a statutory body and a sub-committee of the Pan South African Language Board (PanSALB), after the Westen Cape Provincial Languages Act, Act 31 of 1998, was accepted by Parliament in 1998. This WCLP was the first provincial language policy to be completed in the New SA. The policy was accepted and the draft was ready for implementation by 2002. This thesis presents a critical overview of previous and current strategies being used by all provincial government departments in the implementation of the WCLP. This includes a sample of general public knowledge of the existence of the terms and meaning of the WCLP, different outcomes of studies and language-related projects done by the WCLC, PanSALB, DCAS and the Central Language Unit (CLU) since 2000. It also focuses on the role that different private and public language implementation agencies are playing, or not, in their communication with the multilingual civil society of the Western Cape. Projections for and challenges facing the implementation of the WCLP since its acceptance in the Western Cape Provincial Parliament (WCPP) in 2004 were also researched carefully, together with an analysis of research already conducted on behalf of the provincial government. Document analysis therefore forms a core part of this methodology, together with fieldwork research conducted in six selected major multilingual towns of the Western Cape. This was done in order to explore the challenges experienced by Afrikaans-, isiXhosa- and English-speaking people at grassroots level, since they needed to become more aware of their language rights as set out in the WCLP. Drawing on a theoretical and conceptual framework based on studies in Language and Power Relations, specifically studies on the role of Language Ideologies, Linguistic Citizenship, Agency and Voice and Language Ecology on effective Language Planning, Policy and Implementation, the thesis presents, through its document analysis, quantitative and qualitative data, an analysis of the limited or failed implementation of the WCLP in both government departments as well as the civilian populations in six selected multilingual towns of the Western Cape. This was achieved by examining actual language practices at particular language policy implementation agencies such as the post office, the police station, the high school, households, the municipal office, the day hospital and the clinic in each of these towns. The thesis gathers together all this evidence to prove that the implementation of the WCLP has been hampered by a range of factors such as wide-spread ignorance of the policy, the dominance of particular languages in the province over others, power relations within government structures and relatively inflexible language ideologies held by those charged with policy implementation at different levels. It concludes by providing a number of practical recommendations on how more effective implementation can be achieved.