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This study reports on the linguistic and sociocultural affordances available to multilinguals through their engagement in a social learning space at a Community of Practices (CoPs). Despite the existence of studies on CoP in language learning contexts, however, little work has been conducted on the affordances of a multilingual learning community, especially foreign languages. To fill this empirical gap, we investigated the affordances which give rise to multiple language learning opportunities in a multilingual practice community (MPC) in Indonesia. To this end, we carried out ethnographic research guided by Wenger's (1998) CoP theory, from which data were collected through observations and interviews. In doing observation, the first author's role was as a participant-observer. Applying a semi-structured interview, participants involved were MPC members as well as a member of a board in this community. Interview data are analysed through a thematic analysis, which is informed by CoPs perspectives. Eight themes emerged in the findings: empowering social media, innovative language engagement activities, learning support, personal freedom of learning, intercultural sharing, sharing online learning platforms, language learning for free, and social networking. The implications suggest that language enthusiasts can adapt to the way multilinguals learn foreign languages from this community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multilingualism is increasingly seen as a resource among researchers, educators and in society. Whereas positive beliefs about the benefits of multilingualism may foster increased motivation for language learning, little is known about students' beliefs about potential multilingual benefits. This study examined the beliefs of Norwegian secondary school students concerning the benefits of multilingualism and the role of some individual differences in these beliefs. The data consisted of questionnaires completed by 593 secondary school students. The initial descriptive statistical analysis showed that students held diverging beliefs regarding the benefits of multilingualism being more positive about benefits related to the language learning process and less positive about general cognitive advantages. Further statistical analyses with independent T-tests revealed interesting relationships between students' overall beliefs about multilingualism and the following variables: Students' who reported having friends with other home languages than Norwegian, students who had lived abroad and students with migration backgrounds held significantly more positive beliefs about multilingualism than students' without such experiences. No significant relationships were found between students' beliefs about multilingualism and the number of languages learned in school or students' multilingual identity. Pedagogical implications for students' language learning in school contexts are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning) research has thrived recently. Yet, while more and more is learnt about the impact of CLIL on motivation, proficiency, and content learning, few investigations examine how CLIL influences students of different socio-economic status (SES) and why. The recent large-scale English Impact study conducted in the Madrid region showed that CLIL has a potential to limit the influence of SES on students' language learning motivation and proficiency. Yet being solely quantitative, it did not probe into the reasons behind such a result. This mixed-methods study aims to uncover such reasons. 138 teachers from different schools in the Madrid region filled in the TALIS questionnaire (OECD 2013. TALIS Teacher Questionnaire. ) and further 20 teachers were interviewed. Whereas no significant differences between teachers from CLIL and non-CLIL schools were identified through the questionnaire, the interviews revealed that teachers from bilingual schools adapted their teaching methodology to best suit their students' needs, and were more willing to take risks than their counterparts in non-bilingual schools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined the linguistic lives, as well as beliefs about multilingualism, of 422 secondary school students (ages 11–16) in Lincolnshire, England. The data were collected using questionnaires, replicating Haukås et al.’s (Haukås, Å, A. Storto, and I. Tiurikova. 2021. “Developing and Validating a Questionnaire on Young Learners’ Multilingualism and Multilingual Identity.” The Language Learning Journal 49 (4): 404–419; Haukås, Å, A. Storto, and I. Tiurikova. 2022. “School Students’ Beliefs About the Benefits of Multilingualism.” Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, doi:10.1080/01434632.2022.2075001.) work. Whilst the sample was predominantly monolingual by typical, often binary, categorisations of language use (e.g. first language), we also found many other instances of language use that contributed to their linguistic identity. The students held divergent views about multilingualism, as in Haukås et al.'s (Haukås, Å, A. Storto, and I. Tiurikova. 2022. “School Students’ Beliefs About the Benefits of Multilingualism.” Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, doi:10.1080/01434632.2022.2075001.) study, yet these were less positive than in the original study. Predominantly, the students did not identify as multilingual despite studying a language at school, and felt this implied a linguistic proficiency beyond their own. Statistical analysis of group differences found that where they had exposure to languages in their personal lives (e.g. friends and family) they were more likely to feel positively about the benefits of multilingualism and its role in their future lives. The study demonstrates that even seemingly ‘monolingual’ students are exposed to a number of languages in, sometimes small, varied, ways and we propose that schools hold great, often untapped, potential as sites of exposure to language(s) and the development of multilingual identities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigate the perceptions of international and American Chinese bilingual pre- and in-service graduate students and language teachers regarding Chinese varieties. The 25 participants were currently enrolled college students or recent graduates majoring in language education or other associated programmes at an urban university in the north-eastern United States. Semi-structured interviews probed their views regarding alternative forms of Chinese. Themes identified included: what constitutes a language versus a dialect, a consideration of ethnic and regional identity associated with Chinese varieties (fāngyán), issues of mutual intelligibility, writing systems, sociopolitical and educational policy, language varieties as a resource, and concerns regarding the real and potential loss of language and associated subcultures. Findings show that with exposure to sociolinguists’ views of language, teachers can clarify terminology so that they can potentially present language to students more accurately, design curricula, and consider policy alternatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a result of internationalisation, many universities have developed policies that encourage publications in English. This study explores this issue by examining multilingual scholars’ experiences of publishing policies in an Anglophone context and more specifically within the discipline of foreign languages – an inherently plurilingual discipline since its primary research focus is language. Drawing on in-depth qualitative interviews, we examine scholars’ appropriation of a foreign language department’s multilingual publishing policy at a US university. Policy appropriation, which principally took the form of English-only publishing, was informed by four factors: English as the academic lingua franca, English as the language of academic prestige, nativeness and promotion. Scholars’ policy appropriation simultaneously reified (English) monolingual publications and negated multilingual publications – 88% of research production was conducted in English – contributing to the monolingual mindset of the department. This study makes a contribution to understanding multilingual scholars’ appropriation of publishing policies and the complex realities and ideologies that impact language of publication. We suggest that more explicit support for multilingual publishing is needed through networks of support, mentoring programmes and language services that help not only non-native researchers publish in English but also encourage native speakers to publish in languages other than English. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Catalan companies have, until very recently, had the Spanish-speaking world as their main market. Following long periods of legal and official repression of the public and commercial use of Catalan, globalisation now places them in a new, multilingual context that makes feasible the use of Catalan alongside that of other languages. This paper describes in what ways Catalan companies (whether or not exporters to the rest of Spain and/on the rest of the world) include the use of Catalan alongside other languages. The study reports on the ELAN.cat project, a partial replication of the EU-wide study of exporting firms conducted by Hagen. About 1071 Catalan firms were investigated, of which a third were exporters to markets outside Spain. Five hypotheses were tested, relating the management of multilingualism, company ownership and the main market, with the use of Catalan. The use of Catalan was found to be so widespread within companies that it failed to act as a discriminating variable in several of the hypotheses; in several cases, the correlation was negative. Low levels of awareness of the need for intercultural training were also detected. The implications of the results for the international competitiveness of Catalan firms are briefly discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Israeli students need to be multilingually literate to read academic texts, mainly in Hebrew, Arabic, Russian and English. In fact, little is known about students' reading habits despite a variety of university reading comprehension courses in different languages. The present study examines students' reading preferences and textual expectations, comparing reading in L1 with L2/L3/Ln. Two questionnaires on reading habits and expectations were administered to 226 students during the academic year 2005-2006. Reading preferences were found to be multilingual, linked to the reader's interests, as well as to text genre and availability. Students reported reading the Internet, textbooks, literature and poetry mostly in L1 (Hebrew, Arabic or Russian), newspapers mostly in L1/L2 (Hebrew, Arabic), academic articles mostly in L2/L3 (Hebrew, English) and sacred texts mostly in L1 (Arabic, Hebrew). In addition, English texts were read regardless of native language, indicating a situation of multilingualism with English. Most reading was reported for social purposes, followed by academic purposes, with personal reading least frequent. English was read more for social and academic purposes than for personal reading, which occurred mostly in L1. Most of the students expected to read for information (indicating social and academic) rather than imagination or fantasy (personal). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports on the effectiveness of a tailored undergraduate course at a tertiary institution in New Zealand constructed to challenge, and encourage changes to, monolingual 'English-only' attitudes. The course was designed to provide knowledge and promote understanding of the phenomenon of English as a global language, and the place of, and implications for, languages other than English in that context. Working with two cohorts of students, a pre- and post-treatment design was used whereby participants completed an attitudinal questionnaire at the start of the course and the same questionnaire at the end. They were also asked what they thought about languages in a globalised world. The questionnaires were analysed to determine if there had been any shift in attitudes by the end of the course. Findings are presented and discussed in terms of the effectiveness of this course to promote positive attitudes towards foreign language learning in New Zealand-based students. It raises the question of whether similar courses could be planned for use by secondary and other tertiary students as part of initiatives to help them to recognise that speaking languages other than English is normative in today's world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]