Description
Book SynopsisIn this volume a range of authors from different international contexts argue that the notion of communicative competence in English, hitherto largely referenced to metropolitan native-speaker norms, has to be expanded to take account of diverse contexts of use for a variety of purposes. It also discusses the popular belief that language and literacy should simply be regarded as a technical 'skill' which confers universal benefits and that it should be replaced with a social practice view that recognises situated variations and diversity. This volume, we believe, provides a reference point for extended research and practice in these areas that will be of interest to wide range of people engaged in language and literacy education.
Trade ReviewCurrent views of languages and literacies as situated social practices call for reconfigured language policies and instructional practices. This volume brings together the work of leading scholars to provide the foundational theoretical background that establishes that languages and literacies are shifting, evanescent, responsive to context and politically and economically located. As well, the authors present critical theoretical analyses of historical and contemporary policies in globally diverse areas and imagine how social practice views might provide enhanced access to communication for those historically denied such access. Critical and constructive, lively and engaging, the book will be of wide interest to scholars and graduate students and will be essential in the developing scholarship on social practice-oriented conceptualizations of languages and literacies.
-- Kelleen Toohey, Simon Fraser University, Canada
This welcome and elegant collection challenges the conception of languages as stable and reified entities. Interrogating what English is, the notion of communicative competence and the way it falls short in English teaching pedagogies, contributors argue convincingly for a view of language as social practice and outline inspiring examples of the pedagogical implications of this view of language.
-- Catherine Kell, University of the Western Cape, South Africa
This book can be regarded as a timely addition to the emerging literature on language and literacy education. This excellent volume will be of great value, not only to researchers and students of language education, but also to language policy-makers and teaching professionals in schools or universities.
-- Zhang Kun, University of Hong Kong * LINGUIST List, 24.625, 2013 *
Table of ContentsPreface
Chapter 1 – Constant Leung & Brian Street: Introduction: English in the Curriculum – Norms and Practices
Chapter 2 - Mastin Prinsloo: What Counts as English?
Chapter 3 - Ilana Snyder and Denise Beale: The Rise and Rise of English: The Politics of Bilingual Education in Australia’s Remote Indigenous Schools
Chapter 4 - Bruce Horner & Min Lu: (Re)Writing English: Putting English in Translation
Chapter 5 - Angel Lin: Multilingual and Multimodal Resources in Genre-based Pedagogical Approaches to L2 English Content Classrooms
Chapter 6 - Heather Lotherington & Natalia Sinitskaya Ronda: Multimodal Literacies and Assessment: Uncharted Challenges in the English Classroom
Chapter 7 - Martin Dewey: Beyond Labels and Categories in English Language Teaching: Critical Reflections on Popular Conceptualizations
Brian Street & Constant Leung: Concluding Remarks
